Meet Samantha

Meet Samantha: An American Girl by Susan Adler

Historical Fiction

In this book we are introduced to Samantha Parkington, a young girl growing up in America in the early 20th century. Samantha lives with her grandmother (who is very wealthy) because her parents died in an accident when she was a baby. We also meet Jessie, the black seamstress; Uncle Gard, Samantha's eccentric uncle; Cornelia, Uncle Gard's suffragist friend; and Nellie, the young girl working as a maid in the house next door whom Samantha befriends. Samantha learns valuable life lessons about the changing world around her and takes us along for the ride with her!

I would use this book to help show students how much the United States has changed. There is a whole line of American Girl books ranging from the colonial period to the mid-20th century. In each book there is a section at the back called "Looking Back," which gives a brief glimpse into life at that time in history. I think that having students read the book and the "Looking Back" section and compare and contrast life in America then and now. You could also go deeper into the book and discuss the topic of women's rights, which is something that the character Cornelia is very passionate about.