Erin Falligant

Not sure where the AG Mysteries go in number order, but this one is definitely not long after Nanea's second book ends. A middle grade take on the suspicions raised and trust learned during wartime stress, things go missing and some people don't give straight answers. While I'm sort of bothered that various threads ultimately didn't end up being tied together, I guess that was the lesson- making assumptions and seeing a large conspiracy makes an ass out of u and me.

The title refers to a story Tutu Kane tells Nanea at some point, not a supernatural being- this isn't a spooky story!… (más)

Joss Kendrick is the 2020 American Girl Doll of the Year. She is the first hearing impaired American Girl doll. She also surfs and is a cheerleader! The book that she comes with, Joss, is about surfing. Touch the Sky, which is sold separately, is about cheerleading.

My nine year old daughter bought Joss and she was excited to read this book. I’d never actually read one of the many, many American Girl books before and I was pleasantly surprised. This wasn’t a hastily dashed off, gimmicky book. It was well written and substantial. Joss is dealing with some serious stuff, like fear of failure. Also, she and her friends compete in a talent show and through a serious of missteps, end up winning first prize. Joss struggles with the fact that they won, even though they didn’t really deserve to.

My favorite thing about this book is the Joss’s hearing loss is totally normalized and I think hearing impaired little girls will be appreciate that too. This is not a book about Joss struggling to overcome her hearing loss. She is well-adjusted, her friends know how to adapt their actions when around her (making sure they are facing her when talking to her, etc.) and it’s basically a nonissue. This is book is about Joss having normal problems that all little girls have.

My daughter and I both enjoyed this book. It’s made me want to read more American Girl books, especially ones that go with the historical dolls as I’ve heard they are particularly good. Touch the Sky is a great book for any child, whether or not they own the doll or are hearing impaired.… (más)

I'm glad I got this book reduced, because for an "ultimate guide", it sure skimps out on the details. The book does not spend as much time on the vintage parts of the company as it does on the modern era. (AG fans will know what I mean when I say that it focuses more on the Mattel days than the pre-purchase PC days.) Whenever possible, the book uses modern stock pictures of dolls instead of previous ones, even in the older sections of the book. The part that really bums me out though is that there are very few pictures of the retired American Girl of Today/Just Like You dolls. One of my favorite dolls has zero stock images on the internet due to being one of the first ever retired, so I was hoping she'd get one in here. Nope. :(… (más)