Julie tells her story

The American Girl franchise adds a new character to its list. In'70s California, Julie Albright and best friend Ivy navigate the pitfalls of growing up as well as the major social changes of the era in seven books, all penned by Megan McDonald and illusrated by Robert Hunt. Meet Julie introduces the new American Girl; Julie Tells Her Story finds Julie dealing with the repercussions of her parents' divorce; in Happy New Year, Julie, Ivy's family invites the Albrights over for the Chinese New Year; Julie and the Eagles centers around the best friends' efforts to raise money to care for two injured bald eagles; Julie's Journey centers on the celebration surrounding America's Bicentennial; and Changes for Julie sees the fifth-grade girl running for class president. A seventh title, Good Luck, Ivy, focuses on Julie's best friend, who uses gymnastics to cope with stress. (American Girl, $6.95 each paper ages 8-up Meet 104p ISBN 9781-59369-257-5; Her Story 104p ISBN 9781-59369-288-9; New Year 88p ISBN 9781-59369-291-9; Eagles 88p ISBN 9781-59369-350-3; Journey 88p ISBN 9781-59369-352-7; Changes 104p ISBN 9781-59369-354-1; Ivy 96p ISBN 9781-59369-356-5; Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Gr 2-5-Julie's parents have recently divorced and the girl and her sister have moved into an apartment with their mom across town in San Francisco. She starts fourth grade at a new school and visits her father on the weekends. In Meet Julie, she learns that the coach is less than thrilled about a girl trying out for the basketball team. Julie hopes that a petition and hard work will get her on the team. In Julie Tells Her Story, the protagonist has to interview her family for a school project, and she worries that she won't be able to talk about the worst thing that happened-the divorce. In Happy New Year, the holidays arrive, and she wonders if her family will get along well enough for the Chinese New Year celebration with her friend Ivy Ling's family. Each book shows how difficult change can be. Following the traditional "American Girl" style with short chapters and a "looking back" section at the end, the stories are easy to read, have likable characters, and feature situations many kids will relate to. The full-color illustrations and memorabilia in the end sections enhance the realistic feel. Fans of the series will empathize with Julie's desire to create a new family dynamic.-Krista Tokarz, Cuyahoga County Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.