Nicki

American Girl: Nicki #1

by Ann Howard Creel, Doron Ben-Ami (Illustrator)

Nicki Fleming is a 10-year-old girl who is a natural with animals. She lives on a working Colorado ranch with her parents and younger brother. She is optimistic, generous, and compassionate, and she loves skiing almost as much as she loves animals.
Nicki has a hard time saying "no" to people. Whenever anyone asks for her help, she's ready to lend a hand. When Nicki says "yes" to becoming the main trainer of a service dog that she and her mother had planned to train together, Nicki ends up in over her head, and struggles to juggle multiple to her parents, her best friend, her teacher--and to the dog.
But in the process of training the lively and spirited Sprocket, Nicki's affection for him grows--even while she keeps reminding herself that she has to give him up to someone who needs him more than she does. Equally important, Nicki learns some important lessons for herself.
Book One ends with the with big test--and success!--of Sprocket's potential as a service dog, and Nicki's deep pride in their joint accomplishment.

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Juvenile

136 pages, Paperback

First published December 20, 2006

About the author

Ann Howard Creel writes guaranteed heart-wrenching historical fiction. In her novels, strong female characters face unforeseen obstacles and then have to make life-changing decisions.

After first writing for children, she turned her attention to Historical Fiction. Her first novel for adults, THE MAGIC OF ORDINARY DAYS, was made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie on CBS. Her recent titles have been Kindle bestsellers and include WHILE YOU WERE MINE, THE WHISKEY SEA, THE UNCERTAIN SEASON, THE RIVER WIDOW, and MERCY ROAD.

She now writes full-time. Ann's main characters are always strong women facing high-stakes situations and having to make life-changing decisions. Her historical settings have ranged from Victorian-era Galveston to World War II in New York City. Her latest novel, A LIFE CAME CALLING, coming in August 2025, takes readers to the Smoky Mountains near the end of World War II.

WHY I WRITE ABOUT WORLD WAR II
My biggest inspiration has been my parents, who lived the war. Due to the courage and unity of their time, they have been called "the greatest generation," and WWII has also been called "the last good war."

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You know the little brother or sister we're expecting this fall? ...Well, it's going to be two instead of just one."

Nicki, being the older sister, is used to having more responsability than her younger brother...but it really is getting to be too much and no matter how hard she tries, she can't seem to say "NO" to anything.

"Sometimes I wish I lived in a regular house with a small yard, like some of the homes in town. Kids who live there don't have so much to do."

Her mom is pregnant, the regular farm chores, tutoring her rounger brother...and now she finds out that her mom agreed to train a service dog too? And she wants Nicki to take over?!

"Mom was waiting. Adam was waiting. What would happen if I actually said 'No'?"

But Nicki says yes - she always does - that is, until the straw that broke the camel's back.

I was impressed by this one! I've read a few of the Girl of the Year books and for the most part they felt like interesting stories - but this is the first one where I really felt for the character.

It's hard not to be a people pleaser when you are the oldest sibling AND you are expected to do what you can to help the family.

I didn't nearly have as much as she had going on in this book but I definitely remember a time in my life where saying 'no' to more responsibility felt impossible. It's just one more thing to do, how hard can it be?

I really liked watching Nicki grow in this story and it was SO close to being five stars - but it was just missing that extra sparkle, if you know what I mean? But overall, it was quite good!

[Amy Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicki Fleming can not say no. So of course when her pregnant mother, asks her for help with a dog named Sprocket, who she promised to train to become a service dog, she says yes.
Through the book, Nicki is tested to say no, many times but, can not. In the end when she truly needed to say no to protect Sprocket, she does. In the beginning Sprocket is a wild puppy, but by the end he is a calm, obedient
Dog.

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Am I the only one who finds these contemporary American Girl books painfully boring? Sorry, but "I lack the self-confidence to say no!" doesn't really seem all that exciting when compared to Addy's escape from slavery and saving her mom from drowning, for example.

I think the spotlight on service dogs was admirable, but was otherwise irritated and disappointed. Nicki lives on a pig farm. I noticed that how the animals are treated and how they are ultimately killed for food was largely skated past, if it was even addressed at all. I'm quite in favor of representing a diversity of girls and experiences for the contemporary American Girl books, but did we really need to be giving the stamp of approval to factory farming/mechanized mass murder/environmental destruction/propelling the national obesity crisis? Was this a demographic that desperately needed attention? Really?

[Kyndall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book can show you how to train a dog. This can also show you the real strength of true friendship. You know the line True friends always stick by each other in hard times well that's exactly what these two friends do.

[Historical Dolls Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicki always having the worst of luck. Poor girl but at least she stood up for herself in the end.

[Tammy Landgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about a girl who has trouble saying no and therefore takes on too much responsibility. In addition, the book tackles issues with friendships and struggling to be liked by "popular" kids. I like reading the American Girl books to see what my daughter is reading about, and Nicki was a sweet girl. That said, I've read several of these books now where I've thought to myself, what are the parents thinking? What woman pregnant and on bed rest would think it was fine to pawn off her job of training a service job to a 10-year-0ld with no experience? I don't even let my 10-year-old walk my (older, trained) large dog independently, because there is no way she would be able to control the dog if there was some sort of emergency. I can't imagine thinking it's OK to let your child take a strong, untrained puppy all over town alone. But aside from the totally unrealistic premise, I enjoyed some of the relatable struggles that Nicki went through in this book.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a girl who has to train a service dog. But when her mom goes on bed rest she has to take over. Will she do it? Read this book to find out.

This book is amazing.

I recommend this book to girls who loves dogs.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicki's mom is going to have twins and is bed ridden. Her job is to train dogs to be serves dogs. Nicki's mom ask her to train her next dog. This dog is a challenge and a lot of work can Nicki do it

[Denise Kettering · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter gave this a 4/5 rating. I would say more 3/5, in large part because I think that there is a basic flaw in the premise. Namely, I find the expectations of the parents, particularly the mom here to be a little bit much. She had committed to training a service dog, then finds out she is having twins and basically turns the task over to her daughter who has no experience with service dogs. Beyond that problem in the general premise, the story is about Nicki who is feeling overwhelmed and has a hard time saying "no" even as she has to balance family obligations, dog training, friendships, and a new school project with girls that she are not exactly friendly. Overall, there are some good lessons in this book and Nicki is a sweet character who expresses what I think a lot of young people might feel regarding responsibilities.

[Addie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicki is 2007 American girl of the year. She was my first American girl doll, so her story is very special to me. My dream dog has always been a Bernese mountain dog because of sprocket. I just found out that sprocket is actually mixed breed and just looks like a Bernese mountain dog lol. The story was sweet, but honestly pretty boring. The historical books are better constructed and more interesting. The whole lesson that Nicki learns is how to say no.

[Rowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh this is definitely one of my top ag goty girls - she feels like a very realistic character. in a sad way. her people pleasing tendencies, her parents not seeing how much this poor kid has on her plate, troubles with friends. i was really hoping the end of this book would be her learning to say no to her family and maybe have a bit of a talk with them about how much pressure they're putting on her but no, its saying no to the mean kids. which is also a good message ig. hopefully in book 2

[amanda luke ✡︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably one of the better GOTY books I’ve read so far. I relate to how overwhelmed this 10 year old gets with the amount of stuff she has to do, because I am also overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I have to do as a 25 year old.

[Shayla Salazar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok I get the idea that it was about Nicki trying to learn boundaries, but as a parent I can’t image taking advantage of my kid like that. I just felt like her parent were very selfish in not helping their daughter but overwhelming her.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great book!

[Shani · Rating 5 out of 5]

*review to come*

[•Amelia• · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like Nicki was kind of complaining. There was a lot of her and Becca fighting. I wish she could have described Sprocket more.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually love AG books and this is no exception. This book is about dogs. What more could I ask for? I suggest this read for anyone who is into AG books.

[Rhoda]

Nicki's parents didn't impress me, especially her mom. She's asking way too much of her ten-year-old daughter. It's realistic, but I certainly don't think it's right.

Sprocket was cool.

[Dalaina Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a cute story but it would have been nice to know if Sprocket got adopted or if she kept him.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.9

[Holly Trowbridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute story about a girl helping her mom train a service dog, Sprocket while her mom needs bed rest.

[jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

so cute I wanna cry

[Harper Grsr · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first American girl book LOVED it

[Magen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicki’s parents need to get it together, they work their daughter like she doesn’t need to sleep!

[Amanda Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

No thoughts, just dogs.

[Holly Vanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

People ask me what is the one book I can't get enough of. Well, let me think... Oh, that's right it's “Nicki” by Ann Howard Creel. This book is fiction, but provides a lot of factual information about service dogs and how to become a "puppy-raiser". The main character in this book is Nicki Flemming. Nicki needs to learn how to say “no”. First off, every night she gets asked to do a bunch of chores she doesn't have time to do, but you know Nicki she says, "Yes". Then her mom finds out that she (her mom, not Nicki) is having twins. Her mom also signed up to raise a service puppy, but when she is put on bed rest due to the twins, Nicki just can't say "no" to training the service puppy. On top of all of that she agreed to do the gala planning for school with the new, rich girls Heather and Chris. When Chris doesn't turn out to be so bad Nicki befriends her, but Nicki other best friend, Becca, feels she has been replaced. Will Nicki ever have any time of her own? Will Becca understand? Find out when you read Nicki. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes dogs. However, it would probably be better if the maximum age of someone reading should probably be 12 years old. Ann Howard Creel’s writing is very easy to understand. If I were to read this book to my 5 year old sister she probably would not have any questions about what certain words mean. If you like the first book you could also try reading the sequel "Thanks to Nicki".

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicki Fleming has a gift with animals. When she is asked to train a dog to be a service dog she can't say "no," even if it means taking on more responsibility and having to give up some things she LOVES doing. When the puppy sprocket arrives nicki is releaved by his cuteness, but that means nothing when it comes to training. Sprocket is a HUGE handfull, and he uses all of nicki's compassion to keep on with his training. She knows that one day procket will make someone's life a lot better, and that makes all the difference. 5*****!!! amazing book, espcially for animal loves like me!

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not being able to say "no" can get you into all kinds of commitments - as Nicki has learned. Wow, could I relate to this girl. The emotions she feels and the situations she finds herself in all really ring true in this story about a girl raising a service dog - one of those projects she just couldn't say 'no' to.

I like how she grew and changed in this book, and think every girl who has trouble saying 'no' would benefit from reading this story.

[Gnoua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicki is qa natural with animals. when the chance to train an animal she never ever says No.
i think she can`t say no to anything even if it will be harder! when Sprocket the puppy turns out to be a handful, it takes all Nicki`s compassion to keep on the training.
she knows that one day, his dog will leave her but she wants to take the risk/

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a girl who can't say no. Many adults have the same problem. My issue is her parents can't seem to understand her lack of saying no and that they, actually, end up piling more on the poor thing. Beyond that, I didn't much care about training a service dog, but I suppose I learned something new through reading this one.