Girls of Many Lands
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The American Girl Co. introduced the Girls of Many Lands series in 2002. Each story is about a 12 year old girl living in a different time period in different parts of the world. The books, written by award-winning authors, originally came with a matching doll. Not toys to be played with, the dolls are delicately sculpted and exquisitely beautiful and meant to be displayed in a special place. The series was discontinued in 2005 and the dolls have become a very collectible item.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Spring Pearl (The Last Flower) China, 1857
Called boyish by her new family for being able to read and write, twelve-year-old orphan Spring Pearl realized that her "odd ways" will help save the family during the 1857 Opium War in Canton, China. She decides to do things for herself and needed to help her mother.
[edit] Saba (Under the Hyena's Foot) Ethiopia, 1846
After being kidnapped and brought to the emperor's palace in Gondar, Ethiopia, twelve-year-old Saba discovers that she and her brother are part of the emperor's desperate attempt to consolidate political power in the mid-1840's.
[edit] Cécile (Gates of Gold) France, 1711
The story takes place in 1711, in France. Cecile is the daughter of a poor doctor, although she has learned to read and write and is an independent young lady. After helping a woman who had fallen from a horse, she ends up serving in the Versailles court of King Louis XIV. In the complicated world of court life, Cecilé gradually discovers that her heart and spirit are more noble than she thinks. When the time comes, she is inspired to save a life and unravel the secrets of her own past.
[edit] Neela (Victory Song) India, 1939
Is an Indian girl who is hoping for peace when preparing for her sister's wedding, dealing with her mother wanting her to marry. Her father is away on "business", or so her mother believes, but he is really fighting in the war. Neela finds out that he might be hurt and goes to search for him, which ultimately ruins her sister's wedding and her mother's health. along the way she is helped by a rich woman with a lavish lifestyle. Neela finally finds her father and brings him home. Her mother is overjoyed.
[edit] Leyla (The Black Tulip) Turkey, 1720
While trying to help her financially destitute family, twelve-year-old Leyla ends up on a slave ship bound for Istanbul. Finding herself in the beautiful Topkapi Palace, she discovers that life in the sheltered world of the palace harem follows its own rigid rules, although it offers Leyla an unexpected opportunity during Turkey's brief Tulip Period of the 1720's.GREAT BOOK
[edit] Minuk (Ashes in the Pathway) Yup'ik Alaska, 1890
Is a young, somewhat troublesome Yup'ik girl in the banks of Alaska must endure the realization that the traditional Eskimo way of life is changed forever with the arrival of Christian missionaries.
[edit] Isabel (Taking Wing) England, 1592
A young girl named Isabel living in London, England in 1592 struggles with fitting her father's image of a "proper" girl, her tomboyish ways often cause her problem in Tudor society. After making friends with a servant and having the audacity to watch a play at the theater, her father sends Isabel away to stay with her aunt in an attempt to have her learned in proper etiquette. Along the way she ends up in a situation with robbers, is rescued, and then has to disguise herself as a boy to join a group of theatrical performers.
[edit] Kathleen (The Celtic Knot) Ireland, 1937
Twelve-year-old Kathleen Delaney from Ireland comes from a poor family. However, after being given the chance to take an Irish dancing lesson, Kathleen discovers she has a hidden talent.
[edit] References
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