Denise Lewis Patrick (1)

I really liked this- addressed a LOT of the things going on in 1964, but written for a middle-grade reader. It resonates a lot with today's times because unfortunately, we STILL have the same issues about discrimination against Black people in the United States. The project to restore the park shows actions that kids can take, including how to do a group project by dividing into strength, when to ask for adult help, etc.

Unfortunately, American Girl wikia doesn't have information on changes in the abridged books for either Melody novel, but I don't feel like I lost anything (and again, really appreciated having illustrations like the classic AG historical novels.)… (mer)

I really liked this- while Melody also has a loving family and happy life like Maryellen, there's realistic historical strife, like facing discrimination in a department store or being shocked to her core by the bombing of a church in Birmingham. A grounded and necessary addition to the American Girl historical canon (though, as mentioned on twitter, I do think it's limiting to confine Black historical characters to civil war slavery and the civil rights movement- BIPOC have existed in all eras and it's not like they pop out of the ground for those two topics specifically?)

But yeah- as a non-black person of color who grew up in a predominantly white environment, I didn't learn about Lift Every Voice and Sing as the "Black national anthem" until the Beychella performance in 2018, so I'm happy to see its inclusion here. Advisory board, and an #ownvoices author were good decisions here, which really makes me question why Kirby Larson was picked for authoring the Nanea books (sure, she writes about WWII dogs but like... eeeeh).… (mer)

Weird, I thought I marked this on Goodreads. Anyway, yellow fever has hit New Orleans pretty hard including within Cecile's own household. An age-appropriate way to discuss mortality of the past, with discussion points on immunity (many NOLA citizens have the assumption that only newcomers are susceptible, which has a partial truth in immunity-by-having-it-as-a-youth thing).

3.5/5 for me- I do really like this one so far out of the series, but maaaaan the illustrations are still not impressing me much.… (mer)

I don't have too many thoughts on this, the shortest of the six (partially because there's no next-book preview). The epidemic is slowing, but there's still a lot of orphans so it's benefit celebration time~

I still think it's pretty great to have Cecile as the character of privilege in these books rather than Marie-Grace, but it still gives me pause for "how will reciting a poem help orphans??" (Cecile's decision to write her own that they'll understand rather than a metaphor-laden entry makes sense, though).

Overall, I think the co-lead experiment was interesting, and an indication of shaking up the format- I haven't read Rebecca's books yet but will do so soon, because based on titles she seems to be the last of the core-six format (Julie's definitely pushed them a bit, but still followed thematic beats).… (mer)