For those familiar with American Girl books

[kristenk]

I'm hoping to get DD an American Girl mini doll and the set of that girl's books for Christmas. DD hasn't really gotten into the historical stories too much, but she really likes the books from all of the former Dolls of the Year. I think she has a hard time relating to the girls in the historical books, maybe??

Does anyone have any suggestions for which set of books I should get? I guess I'm looking for something that she might be able to relate to. Sorta hoping that the doll will ease the way into the books for her... Maybe? sigh.

My Plan B is for her to get a mini doll for her stocking and a random set of books (Dork Diaries, etc.).

[egoldber]

How old is she? What kinds of interests does she have?

ETA: With older DD, we started by reading book 1 of each of the historical doll series. It was pretty clear almost right away that there were some stories she really connected with and others not so much.

[brittone2]

Yeah, I was going to ask how old she is as well. DD wasn't into the historical stories as much a year ago. This year we are part of a HSing co-op, and we use the historical books as a little intro to US history topics. (my kids study world history using Story of the World, so we haven't really done a comprehensive study of US history yet). We build off of that with the kids reading biographies from the same time period as the AG stories as part of a different co-op class, and then we also tie in some study of the US presidents during the AG time periods we are working in.

DD is newly 6 and loves the books now. We read them together and then she reads a few paragraphs as a time. We are doing Addy now as part of our co-op, and book one was tough for her :(

I picked up some of the paperdolls for DD, thinking maybe she'd enjoy acting out scenes, etc. from the books. She's getting Kit for Christmas; last year she wasn't in to the historical dolls and opted for a Just Like You doll (or whatever they are called!)

[kristenk]

She's 8. She'll be 9 in February.

She reads well, but it's SO hard finding something that she actually WANTS to read. The only series of books that she really liked was Diary of a Wimpy Kid. She read those quickly and actually read for enjoyment and took time for reading when she could have been playing outside or watching television. That's almost unheard of around here! She'd much rather be playing outside than doing anything else.

Maybe I should just go with the mini doll and unrelated book series? I just want books to capture her imagination! Why is that so hard??? (Oh, and we recently finished book 1 of Harry Potter as her story-before-bed. Several days she wanted to skip reading so we could read Christmas books or so she could do something else. She just didn't seem to care too much about what happened in the book. sigh.)

[brittone2]

She's 8. She'll be 9 in February.

She reads well, but it's SO hard finding something that she actually WANTS to read. The only series of books that she really liked was Diary of a Wimpy Kid. She read those quickly and actually read for enjoyment and took time for reading when she could have been playing outside or watching television. That's almost unheard of around here! She'd much rather be playing outside than doing anything else.

Maybe I should just go with the mini doll and unrelated book series? I just want books to capture her imagination! Why is that so hard??? (Oh, and we recently finished book 1 of Harry Potter as her story-before-bed. Several days she wanted to skip reading so we could read Christmas books or so she could do something else. She just didn't seem to care too much about what happened in the book. sigh.)
Does she like crafty stuff? I wonder if she'd like reading one of the books and then doing a craft with you related to that time? My kids love doing that, but definitely a YMMV situation. I just wonder if an experience like that would bring it to life for her? DD enjoyed this year when she was working through the Felicity books (well, DS1 too) and then we went to a HSing event about colonial times where the kids engaged in tin punching, colonial games, etc. I think that brings the stories to life a bit more.

[Percycat]

My DD is a reluctant reader. I gave her the Felicity books/doll as a 7 year old Bday present. We read them together in preparation for a trip to Williamsburg (mostly as me doing a read aloud). I agree with the suggestion of adding some other connection to the books. She really enjoyed dressing up like Felicity and seeing the type of house Felicity might have lived in. The Felicity stories also involve a horse. This fall, I took DD horseback riding for the first time.

Felicity's friend is Elizabeth and DD was excited to see that Elizabeth also had a book and has started reading this one more on her own.

I will probably pick up another set of books for her 8th birthday --- if they are still at Costco when I finally make it back to the store sans kids.

I am an "older mom" and did not grow up with AG. I am REALLY surprised how much I enjoyed the Felicity series and look forward to DD reading more of the historical girl books.

[MMMommy]

Would a more "modern" historical girl be of more interest to her? If so, then Julie might be a better choice. My older DD is partial to Julie, and my younger DD really likes Kit.

[maestramommy]

If I can insert a related question, is it possible to get girls into the books without doing the doll? Our library shelves are full of them.

Asking because I read a few of the early books (Kit, Felicity) as an adult and thought they were really great, but I have no interest in buying the dolls.

[brittone2]

If I can insert a related question, is it possible to get girls into the books without doing the doll? Our library shelves are full of them.

Asking because I read a few of the early books (Kit, Felicity) as an adult and thought they were really great, but I have no interest in buying the dolls.
My DS1 likes historical fiction and started reading them several years ago, along with the My America series (might want to check that out when they are a bit older). He isn't into the dolls :) In our co-op, the other family with two boys also read the books. I realize that isn't necessarily typical of many boys that age, but in our case, they enjoy them. I don't think DS1 would always elect to read them on his own any longer, but as part of our co-op, he doesn't mind reading them and then discussing and doing projects. So yes, I'd say it is very possible. If AG is big in the schools they attend though, the dolls may be tough to escape!

[kristenk]

Maybe Felicity would work. Her greatest desire in life is to operate an old-fashioned water pump! lol I'll have to check on that.

I was also wondering about Julie. Of course, Julie's the mini doll that's out of stock on Amazon.

Can someone tell me off-hand about some of the themes in Felicity and Julie?

ETA: I'll look into the crafts, too.

[egoldber]

Julie is from the 1970s. Her parents are divorcing, that is her "social issue" in the book. She also moves to a new school when they have to sell their house.

Felicity is from the American Revolution. Her friend is from a Royalist family and there is tension between the families. I seem to remember something about her mother getting ill and almost dying? But I'm not sure about that. Also, Felicity loves horses and there is a strong horse element in her stories. She also rescues a horse that is being mistreated.

Just FYI, the Felicity 18" doll is no longer sold.

[sophiesmom03]

We went with Dd's interests - she loves all things Native American and farm related so Kaya and Josefina's books interested her (Josefina's family has a farm, and the southwest location appeals to DD).

We live in a New England house built pre-Revolutionary War so Felicity was a natural choice for last year. We could look at the cooking fireplace and beehive ovens and imagine Felicity's family cooking at them, etc.

Molly has a lot of song and dance, Felicity has a horse, Kit is a writer, Samantha is in NYC and her friend has a sort of little orphan Annie experience. Do any of these appeal? All of the girls are spirited and active, but the settings and details make them different from one another...

[lizzywednesday]

...

Felicity is from the American Revolution. Her friend is from a Royalist family and there is tension between the families. I seem to remember something about her mother getting ill and almost dying? But I'm not sure about that. Also, Felicity loves horses and there is a strong horse element in her stories. She also rescues a horse that is being mistreated.

Just FYI, the Felicity 18" doll is no longer sold.

Felicity's mother gets very ill during Christmas, which is covered in the 3rd Felicity book "Felicty's Surprise," but she does manage to recover.

Felicity's grandfather, with whom she is very close, does die in one of the books, probably "Changes for Felicity" - it's been ages since I read them.

[SummerBaby]

My DD who will be 9 in July, also prefers the modern, doll of the year fiction. As for the historical books, she probably liked Samantha, Kit, and Molly the best. We haven't read Julie yet. She also really enjoyed the historical mysteries, particularly Samantha's. The reading level seems more advanced for the mysteries, but most of them are great stories.

Another thought if your DD prefers present day fiction is the Innerstar U books. They are "choose your ending" books. My DD loves them and they all have positive messages. They also come with online codes you can use on the AG website. I think they are kind of cheesy, but they certainly get DD to read.

[kristenk]

Thanks, everyone! I'm going to go with the Julie boxed set. She's always liked Julie when we go to the AG store. I don't know why I never thought about looking into her story. I think DD might like it. <fingers crossed>