MeganW Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 My girls are suddenly all excited about American Girl books, as all their friends are asking for the dolls for Christmas. (I told mine they couldn't have the dolls before reading the books, so they would know which doll's personality & story they liked.) I just assumed that the books are decent quality as far as grammar, kid attitudes, vocab, accurate portrayal of historical times, etc., because the manufacturer must be somewhat into education or they wouldn't have developed this product. It just occurred to me that I shouldn't be making huge assumptions like that. Are the books good? Or twaddle? Are these books something I should be encouraging? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Between Some of the books are better than others. Addi, Kirsten, and Josephina display a healthy respectful attitude while still of course struggling with their own views, and working through them. Samantha has a lot of struggle with her own views verses grandmary's and keeps more secrets than I'd like but my daughter and I enjoyed the discussion this sparked and felt that Samantha overall showed excellent character in the face of changing times. Kaya is good - we, as Christians had to discuss a lot of the spiritual stuff. But it wa a great first exposure to those types of beliefs, so I was glad for it. Molly is pretty much a complaining bratty child. Felicity is better than Molly overall but then there's the issue of her completely disobeying her father and putting herself in great danger-and she is the hero for it. I was unhappy with the message this sent. There's a LOT of rewarded disobedience with felicity so three of the books I didn't allow my daughter to read until after I read them and could discuss them more. We have not read the newer ones, Julie and Rebecca because I have read the summary and decided they weren't for us at all. They definitely helped my daughter understand more about being a girl in our history! Her favorites were Samantha and Kaya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 I've read a couple from the Kirsten and Samantha dolls. Honestly, I was expecting better quality in the writing. I think I will add it to my list of entry level chapter books that child can read on own (like Magic Treehouse) vs. a meaningful family read aloud. I also decided that my daughter can select her own doll (probably next year) without having read the books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 I wouldn't call them literature, but I wouldn't go so far as to call them twaddle. They are somewhere in between. For dd, they were good, age-appropriate beginning chapter books that helped her transition to reading real chapter books. They also nurtured a real interest in American history. They have served as something of a jumping-off point for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Twaddle, but also harmless. I let my own dd read them because even though they are mind candy, they are better than many other book series out there. The grammar and etc. are fine. The story lines are modern ones, with modern values, set into a historical context. They get some of the props right (like the look of the clothes) but not the values or the "feel" of that historical context. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Does it really matter? They are enjoyable and wholesome. We encourage both quality literature and twaddle - anything the children want to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Aimee- I don't think we should be in the habit of discouraging good questions from sincere homeschool parents trying to find their way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 It depends on their reading level. For readers who are just starting to read longer chapter books independently, I think they are great. They are a step above Magic Treehouse and have really nice historical information that the girls can use as a jumping point for learning more about the era. I love the nonfiction books that you can usually find to accompany the books. For anyone who is a proficient reader- I'm thinking higher than a 2nd/3rd grade level, they are pretty weak. I wouldn't read them as literature but they are fine for fun reading. I wouldn't want my mature readers spending a lot of time on them as there are much better options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Oh yes- the World of ... Non fiction books are beautiful. They will be found in the non fiction section and you can ask your librarian to help you find them. My dd thought they were a bit boring but I was so intrigued I began to read them cover to cover. Then, seeing my interest, she joined in! They are large oversized books which have pages and pages full of pictures and information on the clothing conditions, historical context, issues of the time, typical toys and foods, how holidays were celebrated then (and which!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Twaddle, but also harmless. I let my own dd read them because even though they are mind candy, they are better than many other book series out there. The grammar and etc. are fine. The story lines are modern ones, with modern values, set into a historical context. They get some of the props right (like the look of the clothes) but not the values or the "feel" of that historical context. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2two Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 :iagree: I agree too. It is actually the only "twaddle" I have let them read and they enjoy doing it in their free time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Twaddle, but also harmless. I let my own dd read them because even though they are mind candy, they are better than many other book series out there. The grammar and etc. are fine. The story lines are modern ones, with modern values, set into a historical context. They get some of the props right (like the look of the clothes) but not the values or the "feel" of that historical context. I agree with this. At a 2nd-3rd grade level they're fine. Above that it would start ranking higher on my twaddle/brain chocolate meter, but they'd still be better than many options for their unassigned reading time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Oh yes- the World of ... Non fiction books are beautiful. They will be found in the non fiction section and you can ask your librarian to help you find them. My dd thought they were a bit boring but I was so intrigued I began to read them cover to cover. Then, seeing my interest, she joined in! They are large oversized books which have pages and pages full of pictures and information on the clothing conditions, historical context, issues of the time, typical toys and foods, how holidays were celebrated then (and which!). Can you give me a bit more information about these books? They sound interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Can you give me a bit more information about these books? They sound interesting. You can see a sample of the Samantha one here . There is one for each of the AG sets. At least the first sets, I don't know about the newer ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Another vote for "somewhere in between". I didn't really enjoy them as read-alouds, but they are good for a 3rdish grader to read. I definitely agree about the "XXX's World" books, too. They are neat. I got several - Josefina, Kirsten, and Molly at the used book store and they came in handy when we studied US history last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 I wouldn't call them literature, but I wouldn't go so far as to call them twaddle. They are somewhere in between. For dd, they were good, age-appropriate beginning chapter books that helped her transition to reading real chapter books. They also nurtured a real interest in American history. They have served as something of a jumping-off point for us. I agree. I have to say that the Welcome to _____'s World are the books that actually got my dd9 interested in history! They're serving as a great jumping off point for American history starting in January. She's starting with Kaya, to which I'll add in nonfiction books on Native Americans, maybe The Birchbark House, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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