Tag: American Girls

155 – Samantha – Our First American Girl

Samantha Parkington was the first character that I read about in the American Girls book series. She was introduced when I was a little girl. I grew up on this book series and it has been wonderful to see that my daughter loves them just as much as me. She has her own dolls now, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see how well these books help teach about key periods of American history. This is especially important because our family lives in England and we want to stay connected with both of our cultures.

Find out what Chloë noticed about these books, especially the uncomfortable truths about how society treated certain groups of people in 1904. In some ways it’s difficult to see her struggle with the injustice of racism and classism, but at the same time it’s good so see how instinctively she recognizes and rejects these forms of bigotry.

There is a bit of background noise in this episode, which came from Chloë wanting to hold her American Girl dolls while we had our conversation. I never want to prioritize production quality over the enthusiastic participation of my daughter and co-host, so I am sure with this in mind, none of you will mind a few rustling sounds here and there as the dolls are cuddled.

Did you have a Samantha doll or did you read her books? What’s your favorite outfit of hers? What’s your favorite of her adventures?

Also, I wanted to note that our original conversation was much longer. We spent a lot more time discussing issues of race and class than what is presented here. But the conversation was edited down to keep it to the usual show length. I also felt parts of our conversation were very personal, and some moments between parents and children are more special if they are kept private.

21 – Tricky Topics in Children’s Literature: Death

Death in children’s literature is a heavy topic, and it’s one that teachers understandably often steer clear of. But don’t give up on the subject entirely. If your students are up for it, deaths in literature can be a chance for really good discussion if you handle the subject with pragmatism and sensitivity. In this episode, we take a look at how scenes of death are presented in children’s novels written before and after modern medicine, as well as the differences in how the death of a parent versus the death of a child affect the plot of a story.

Activity: How Do Characters Deal with Death?

This worksheet can be used after reading any story in which a character dies. Students can complete it alone, with a partner, or in small groups. Afterwards the questions could be developed into an essay or used in a group discussion. Questions include:

1. Which character dies in the story you are reading and what is the cause of death?
2. Did the character say anything about how they felt about dying? If not, how do you think the character would feel about their death? Would there be feelings of anger or acceptance? Would the character wish things had gone differently at all?
3. How did the character’s friends, family, or allies feel about the death? What did they do afterwards? Did the death of their loved one cause any of them to change?
4. Were any characters happy about the character who died? What did these characters say or do afterward?
5. If you were the character who died, how would you have felt about your fate? Would you have done things differently or tried to change what happened?

Download the worksheet “How Do Characters Deal with Death?”

Music

“He That is Down Needs Fear No Fall” by John Bunyan. Referenced in Little Women.

Sources

Roser, M. (2019, June 11). Mortality in the past – around half died as children. Our World in Data. Retrieved May 22, 2022, from https://ourworldindata.org/child-mortality-in-the-past