Real American Girls Tell Their Own Stories: Messages from the Heart and Heartland

From Publishers Weekly This haphazard volume collects diaries, letters and memoirs of American girls from 1756 to the early 1950s into thematic chapters ("Best Friends," "School Days," "Becoming a Woman," etc.). Erratic, brief essays preceding each entry give spotty biographical information about the girls who wrote them, and in a few cases, whom they became. However, these introductions do not clarify practices that may seem foreign, such as the custom of receiving callers and gifts on New Year's Day in the 1850s, or potentially even disturbing to readers, such as an unexplained Winnebago custom that a menstruating girl must sequester herself from the rest of the tribe because she is considered "unclean." Readers will likely enjoy discovering the excerpt of Louisa May Alcott's childhood diary as she confides her ambitions and Clara Barton's memory of a skating accident that may have inspired her career in nursing. While there are some real gems buried here, including the hilarious mouse dissection and "experiments" of Martha Carey Thomas (later a founder of Bryn Mawr College), readers may not take the time to pluck them from among the hodgepodge of entries. Contemporaneous photographs place many of the excerpts in a historical context but seem to bear little relation to the subjects themselves. Ages 10-up. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Grade 4-6-A slim, inviting book with six first-person accounts (diary entries, one letter, autobiographies) from various American girls between the years 1756-1950. Excerpts are carefully chosen to reveal what life was like for an interesting assortment of young people across the country, wealthy and poor, across the decades. Words are misspelled, sentences are incomplete, and personalities shine through. Black-and-white photos and reproductions of the various periods are included, but individuals are not identified. The themes are on target for today's readers: friendships, boys, school, home life. Above all, this reveals how universal girls' emotions can be and also how much times can change. An excellent introduction to American social history, particularly for readers who enjoy first-person accounts.