[7kiddosmom]

My older 3 girls joined an American Girl discussion at our public library. They (we all) read the first book of the Kaya set and they all really enjoyed it. Just wondering about the other book and if anyone has an opinion.

Kasey

 

[Openskyheart]

My dd8 has an American Girl doll, and we've read "Meet Felicity" which she liked. I thought it was a nice little book, but not great literature or anything. If my dd wanted me to read more American Girl books to her, or to read them to herself, I would make sure she had them available.

Laura

 

[AngelBee]

I

them!

 

[7kiddosmom]

I agree about them not being great literature. The one we read was fun and it had the girls asking questions about the Native American way of life.

 

[Missy]

My dd was given Addy by my parents several years ago and my grandmother made clothes for every Christmas and birthday--Addy has a better wardrobe than anyone else in the house. We read the series to her when she got the doll and now she's reading them to herself. We liked them b/c, at least in the first book, they didn't sugarcoat the issues of slavery the way so many books for children do. They presented it from the perspective of a child. Also, each book has a section that discusses events and life during the time period of the book. It isn't, as pp have noted, great literature, but my dd enjoys them and she gets something out of them. My grandmother passed away last September, so the clothes she made are very important to my daughter.

Missy

 

[phathui5]

I've read the Felicity, Molly and Kirsten ones (as a kid) and really enjoyed them. Plus, they're a good introduction to those time periods.

 

[shaywyn]

We just checked Meet Addy (or whatever the correct title is

) out of the library but haven't read it, yet. Have to weigh in with my opinion later

Several of my dd's friends belong to an American Girl homeschool group that meets weekly and they seem to really enjoy it.

 

[UnschoolnMa]

My Dd really likes them

She loved Molly the best so far.

 

[Linda on the move]

We've read the Kirsten, Kit and Felicity books outloud and my older DD has read most of the books to herself. The books have tons of history in them and my kids have learned a great deal. Kirsten is my favorite

 

[TiredX2]

One warning--- some are harder than others.

Here is a quick link to Lexile levels for the first book in each series:
http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault...+american+girl

They seem to think it goes Kit, Felicity, Samantha, Kaya/Kristin, Addy, Molly

 

[teachinmaof3]

Love them here too!

 

[thrrrnbush]

My kids aren't old enough to really benefit from this series but I did a bit of research anyway. A year or so ago I sent "Meet Kit" to my grandmother (she was born more or less the same year as the character) and had her read it. I wanted to know how real it felt to someone who was there then. While it wasn't the same thing as her story she said that most pieces of it were something she knew someone else who'd been there done that. So at least the one book got a positive review from someone who'd been that age at that time. I wish I could have gotten her to write her own "American Girl" style autobiography. I prodded but she's not a writer. Now that she's had her stroke I'm pretty sure I'm only ever going to know the stories I've already heard.

For my own learning tastes I find "Welcome to Kit's World" more interesting. As said before the story books are less than memorable literature and I personally find The American Girls Collection approach to non-fiction a little more engaging. Lots of pictures, reminiscent of the ones I remember in old time-life collections, bite-sized chunks of information. That works for me. But time will tell what works for the kids.

So I've been wondering is there any hope of that pretty historical doll costuming ever fitting a 16" waldorf style playmate doll? My daughter has one who she adores and who is definitely unique. She picked out her components from swatches so "Elizabeth" has dark chocolate-y skin, long red curls and ice blue embroidered eyes. And since I made her myself, and I don't really sew, Elizabeth also has one hand that is bigger than the other and one leg that is longer than the other. The girl is so one-of-a-kind and I hesitate to replace her with some pre-fab plaything, but those costumes... Well, I've always be a pushover for a period piece, I just love historical costumes. Any thoughts?

Thank you,
Crystal

 

[Missy]

Crystal--

I can't answer about the Waldorf doll, but the clothes my grandmother made for Addy (frequently from American Girl patterns) fit the Raggedy Ann my grandmother made. The dress that Addy came with (the only purchased dress she has) also fits Raggedy Ann.

 

[girlndocs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7kiddosmom I agree about them not being great literature. The one we read was fun and it had the girls asking questions about the Native American way of life.

Um, there is no "Native American way of life."

:

 

[7kiddosmom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by girlndocs Um, there is no "Native American way of life." :

There is a Native American way of life it is called culture--holidays, rituals, food, dress, language, etc. The way of life now may not be in the form it was back in the time we are reading about but it did exist and a form of it still exists today with Native America descendants.

 

[User101]

I've read them and l don't remember any glaring problems with them.

 

[User101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7kiddosmom There is a Native American way of life it is called culture--holidays, rituals, food, dress, language, etc. The way of life now may not be in the form it was back in the time we are reading about but it did exist and a form of it still exists today with Native America descendants.

I am going to make an ASSumption and say that I think what girlndocs meant in that there is no one "Native American Way of Life" because each of the tribes has their own very distinct culture and traditions.

 

[Dar]

I agree with annettemarie. The whole term smacks of the "noble savage" thing, too.

Rain read all of the books that were out 5 or so years ago. My biggest problem was the "cleaning up" of history... for example, there's a bit in the Kristin series when her friend Singing Bird and her family have to move out West, and Kristin is sad, but the new settlers need new land so the native people had to go... like, this is the way the world works, and there's nothing wrong with it.

Dar

 

[7kiddosmom]

Native American is a generic term that encompasses all tribes just as Irish would be used to include all clans. According to the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary Native American refers to ANY member of ANY tribes in the western hemisphere or the U.S., except the Eskimos. While some aspects of the culture are different for each tribe other things - daily living, traveling because of seasons, gathering and hunting for food among other things - are similar.

 

[User101]

I'm not so sure Native Americans would appreciate the generalizations. Do all tribes really have the same daily life, eat the same foods, hunt and gather the same way? I really don't think so.