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Molly Story Collection by Valarie Tripp (American Girls)

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Summary: Molly is growing up in 1945 America in the middle of the war. She must make many sacrifices including having her father gone while he serves as a medic in Europe. 

Attention Span/reading level: Small chapter books, 8+ (I listen with a three year old in the car.) 

Good uses for book in teaching: Sacrifices made during war time. What it might be like having a father gone to war. 

Favorite part: Honestly the only part I really liked was how it taught about the sacrifices family had to make during the war. Rations, having to eat food from your garden that you don't like, family members being gone, not having money for extra things.  

 I guess I also liked the scene where Molly's mother comes in and makes the parsnips that Molly doesn't want to eat better and tells about how she (the mother) had tried to hide not eating sardines by giving them to the dog when she was younger. It was a good mother-daughter moment. 

Least favorite part: Molly's attitude.

Warnings/negative feedback?: Molly and her friends gather up Molly's brother's underwear and throw them out the window as a way to embarrass him in front of the girl he likes. (The mother does make them all help in cleaning up). 

Review: I hated these stories. Molly was awful. She always wanted to be in charge and she was always bickering with someone. She thought she knew everything and most of the ideas she had were not good ones (like leading her group through a patch of poison ivy at summer camp to win capture the flag). Of all the American Girl stories I had read so far (about 4 different series) this was by far the worst. I couldn't even finish the last story because I couldn't stand it and I didn't want my daughter to hear any more of the arguing and attitude.  

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