Module 13: Meet Felicity An American Girl

Book Summary:  This is the first of six books about the American Girl Felicity.  Felicity is a shopkeeper’s daughter in Williamsburg.  She falls in love with a horse named Penny, but soon discovers that the owner of this horse is cruel to her.  She is then determined to find a way to save Penny, even if it means breaking the law.  She lets the horse go when the owner comes to take her back.

 

My Impressions: This book like all of the American Girl books gives us an insight into the history of our country.  The last chapter gives great information into life in 1774.  The book was beautifully illustrated throughout.  It ends abruptly without answers to many questions. 

Professional Review:  School Library Journal

Gr 2-5 – Felicity Merriman lives in Colonial Williamsburg, where her father is a shopkeeper.  She rails against the behavior expected of nine-year-old girls, and would rather be helping in her father’s store or, better yet, spending time around her horses.  She is particularly drawn to Penny, an unbroken, mistreated horse owned by an abusive alcoholic, Jiggy Nye.  Felicity visits and ultimately tames Penny, taking literally Nye’s statement that anyone who rides the horse can have her.  When Jiggy reclaims his horse, Felicity frees her, knowing that this constitutes horse stealing for which the penalty is hanging.  But Felicity manages to pull it off without getting caught.  This ending leaves a lot of unanswered questions and may be somewhat unsettling for readers who can justifiably question the morality of Felicity’s actions even as they cheer her determination.  “A Peek into the Past” gives a brief history, richly arrayed with scenes, portraits, and artifacts of the time.  Other than the too-abrupt ending, the volume is well written and attractively illustrated in full color; the full-page pictures and small vignettes effectively augment the text and provide the flavor of the period.

Library Uses:  With the American Girl books a girl’s book club could be started. 

Discussion starters could include:

·       Using the retelling hand to retell the story.

·       If you could change places with any character from the book who would it be and why?

·       How is the main character’s life different from yours?

Other activities:

·       Have ginger snaps for a snack.  Felicity brought these to her dad at the shop. 

·       If you are going to continue the book club past the Felicity series begin a map and pin the locations of each story.

Orlando, M. M., & Jones, T. E. (1992). Book reviews. School

          Library Journal, 38(2), 90.

Tripp, V.  (1991).  Meet Felicity An American Girl.  Middleton,

          WI, Pleasant Company.