Manners and Mischief: A Samantha Classic Volume 1

American Girl: Samantha #1-3

by Susan S. Adler, Maxine Rose Schur, Juliana Kolesova (Illustrator)

Living with her rich grandmother, Samantha has the best of everything. But when she becomes friends with Nellie, she learns that life isn’t so easy for everyone. Samantha is determined to help her new friend--but Nellie ends up helping her, too! Then Samantha tries to help decorate for Christmas, but is disappointed when her plans are being changed. What will happen to help make this Christmas even better than Samantha planned?

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

158 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is for the 2014 Beforever relaunch of the Samantha Parkington series (Manners and Mischief: A Samantha Classic)

This is the first volume in the relaunch and contains (almost) the entirety of books 1, 2 and 3 from the original Samantha main series (Meet Samantha, Samantha Learns a Lesson, & Samantha's Surprise) with only a few edits to the text.

And if you're thrifty, you might be thinking that you have scored a great deal - 3-in-1! But let me tell you - it is so worth going for the originals.

Why? Because of the missing illustrations, the shortened historical content, and the lack of cohesion for the stories.

The Illustrations

Part of the reason I fell in love with the original series was how extra the books were - they had full-page illustrations, they had miniature drawings, and even real historical pictures at the back of the book.

It added so much charm to the books and made them stand out from other historical fiction books.

And when it's left out in Manners and Mischief, the books felt emptier and less magical.

The Historical Content

Additionally, the original three books had these wonderful 'peek into the past' sections that would expand upon Samantha's world.

Book 1 talked about manners and proper behavior. Book 2 covered private and public schooling. And Book 3 focused on what Christmas celebrations were like.

Each section had multiple photographs of people, objects, and places of that time. You got to see real children in real schools from 1904. You could look at the fashions and traditions of that era.

Manners and Mischief has "Inside Samantha's World" which kind of summarizes all the peek-into-the-past sections into one conglomerate that jumps from subject to subject disconcertingly fast and it doesn't have those photographs.

Lack of Cohesion

Now, I did read the original three books a few months ago before picking up this one, but I do feel like most of the story is unchanged. And when I checked the Wikipedia page, there seems to be only relatively minor changes made - a few transitional paragraphs added, moving around chapter titles, etc.

BUT even though much of the content is unchanged between this version and the original books, I still did not enjoy the reading experience (and this goes beyond the missing pictures).

With the original three books, each one covers a few days to a week in Samantha's life. When each book ends, the next one starts with a time jump. Book 1 starts (roughly) at the end of summer, book 2 is during the school year, and book 3 is Christmas time.

New characters are added with each new book, and the concerns of the previous books are sometimes lessened or forgotten. (i.e. Jessie, the black seamstress for Grandmary plays a big role in book 1 but shows up as a line or two in book 3).

But when you bundle the three books into one and do not signify when one book ends and the other begins, then there's this expectation that the audience should read all three books like a single, cohesive story.

Which makes the sudden, unexplained time jumps rather confusing. Why does Samantha care so much about Jessie at the beginning of the book but stops mentioning her halfway through? Where do all these school people come from and why doesn't Samantha seem to mention them in the last third of the book?

Technically, there is a transitional paragraph added between each "book" to ease the change but it really wasn't enough to make the shift from one book to another feel smooth. It still felt disjointed (in part because the content of the books do not flow super well as a singular story).

If you are going to bundle the books in this way, I do think they needed to add a bridge chapter to link the stories so they'd run more cohesively OR add a page that signifies the end of one book and the start of the next one.

Overall

If it is within your means, I would highly recommend just purchasing the original books. Why mess with perfection?

More Reviews in the Samantha-verse

Main Series:
Meet Samantha - ★★★★☆
Samantha Learns a Lesson - ★★★★★
Samantha's Surprise - ★★★★☆
Happy Birthday, Samantha - ★★★★☆
Samantha Saves the Day - ★★★★★
Changes for Samantha - ★★★★☆
Samantha's Boxed Set - ★★★★☆

Best Friend Book:
Nellie's Promise - ★★★★★

Short Stories:
Samantha's Winter Party - ★★★★★
Samantha Saves the Wedding - ★★★★☆
Samantha and the Missing Pearls - ★★★★☆
Samantha's Blue Bicycle - ★★★★★
Samantha's Special Talent - ★★★☆☆
Samantha's Short Story Collection - ★★★★☆

Mystery Books (My Order):
The Curse of Ravenscourt - ★★★★★
The Stolen Sapphire - ★★★★☆
Clue in the Castle Tower - ★★★★☆
Danger in Paris - ★★★☆☆
The Cry of the Loon - ★★★★☆

Additional Historical and Activity Books:
The American Girls Cookbook - ★★★★★
The American Girls Party Book - ★★★★★
Samantha's Cookbook - ★★★★★
Samantha's Cooking Studio - ★★★★★
Samantha's Craft Book - ★★★★★
Samantha's Friendship Fun - ★★★☆☆
Samantha's Ocean Liner Adventure - ★★★★★
Samantha's Theater Kit - ★★★★☆
Samantha's Valentine Crafts - ★★☆☆☆
Samantha's Wedding Memories - ★★☆☆☆
Samantha's World: A Girl's-eye View of the Turn of the Century - ★★★★★
The Titanic (American Girl: Real Stories From My Time) - ★★★☆☆
Welcome to Samantha's World · 1904 - ★★★★★

Beforever (Re-Release of Main Series in mid 2010s):
Manners & Mischief - ★★☆☆☆
Lost and Found - ★★★☆☆

Abridged Version (Re-Release of Main Series in 2020s):
Samantha: The Gift - ★★☆☆☆
Samantha: Lost and Found - ★★★★☆

Beginner Reader & Picture Books:
Samantha Helps a Friend (Step Into Reading) - ★★★☆☆
Happy Birthday! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★☆
Happy Holidays! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★★
Making a Difference (Little Golden Book) - ★★★☆☆
Time for School! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★☆

[Bailey Marissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's just Meet Samantha: An American Girl, Samantha Learns a Lesson: A School Story, and Samantha's Surprise: A Christmas Story mixed into one weird edition. Don't bother with it.

[Sarah Orton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved the Samantha books as a kid. They're still entertaining. My favorite part was always the "Peek Into the Past" section, which included interesting photos, facts and illustrations from the time period. And the illustrations throughout the books were beautiful! I loved seeing Samantha wearing her various outfits from the doll collection. I would spend hours reading these books!

Well, this new edition is a travesty. They've poorly spliced together three of the books, and have removed ALL ILLUSTRATIONS. Basically the books have been gutted with the price remaining the same. Why are they cheating girls out of the bulk of the stories and illustrations? Shame!

I'm so disappointed, but I'm happy that I still have my old books. Don't bother buying these. Look for the older copies instead.

[Celina Weersinghe]

This book is really good. I love her story and loved most of the characters!! My favorite part is when Samantha and her family exchange gifts and Samantha gets the nutcraker doll she always wanted. I would highly recomend this book!!

[Tammy Landgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samantha was my very first AG doll that I got circa 1990. I had read her stories back in the day, but I recently unpacked my old dolls and wanted to revisit their stories. I love Samantha as a character. She has a sassy streak but such a good heart. And the way she stands up for her friends is admirable in any kid her age.

I will say that I don't like the Beforever versions of the books. I don't like how they took out the pictures and greatly reduced the nonfiction section at the back of the books. This really takes away from the educational aspect of the books. I know they have corrected this in the books they have published more recently, but I wish they would remake the older books to put those aspects back in.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is garbage. I didn't realize how much I learned from the original books until I read this whitewashed version. The original story is telling of compassion, activism, and real American struggles. We can all use those lessons today. What I got from these stories was white saviors, a resentment for Cornelia, and seeing how two-faced Grandmary could be. But then again, I couldn't understand much of the story because there were NO PICTURES.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with other books in this collection, I enjoyed the story and feel it has some valuable lessons for young girls. My critique of this book as it's companion, however, is that there are plot holes. Samantha makes a Christmas gift for Nellie, but we never see what Nellie thinks of that gift or if Nellie is able to give Samantha anything.

[Bryn Salamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and lovely of course!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book it all began when a girl named Samantha was climbing a tree. Her naughty and annoying next door neighbor Eddie Ryland, started teasing her and she fell off the tree. She wasn’t hurt much only her knee was a little bloody. However, her stocking was ripped. Her grandmother would definitely not approve of that. Her rich grandmother wants Samantha to be a lady. She is very loving but stern. She would very stern if she saw that Samantha had ripped her stockings. Samantha knee what to do. She went over to Jessie, the seamstress. Jessie is very kind and Samantha likes her a lot. She gave Samantha a little scolding about her stocking but fixed it and smoothed her hair. They talked about Samantha’s parents. They died when she was five. Samantha misses them terribly. She also told Samantha a story in New Orleans. Soon, it was time for Samantha to have some time with her grandmother. She entered the room and curtsied. Her grandmother was always looking very elegant. Her back was always straight and she looks like a queen. Then, Samantha sat down and began her sewing. She was sewing a pretty sampler. Samantha asked her grandmother about a doll in a shop she wanted. Her grandmother didn’t really want to buy it. She thought it was too expensive. Samantha then said she would name it Lydia because it looked like her mother. Samantha’s mom was named Lydia. That seemed to change her grandmother’s mind. She said if Samantha worked hard, she could have it. Suddenly, a black car arrived. Samantha realized it was her funny and brave Uncle Gard and his friend Cornelia. Cornelia is fighting for the right for women to vote. Samantha’s grandmother highly disagrees with her decisions. Samantha greeted them happily. Soon, Uncle Gard and Samantha went driving in his black car. It was super fun. Eddie called after them and said that a new girl named Nellie was coming to his house. However, Samantha assumed he was lying. However, Eddie was telling the truth. Connecting Samantha and Eddie’s was a tunnel. Through the tunnel, Samantha caught sight of Nellie working. She decided Nellie could be her new friend. She then walked over to Nellie. When Nellie finished working, she gave her some food. Then, they talked about Nellie’s life. Samantha was stunned. Life was easy for her but not for Nellie. She couldn’t even go to school and she had to work everyday! She told Nellie she would teach her. On Tuesday, Jessie came into the room while Samantha and her grandmother were sewing. She said she was leaving. With that, she left. LEAVING! Samantha couldn’t believe it. Jessie couldn’t leave! Soon, her grandmother decided to reward Samantha. She found the doll she always wanted on her bed! What a delight! Soon, she told Nellie about Jessie’s departure while Nellie played with the doll. One day, she said Jessie is probably going to have a baby and I know where she lives. Samantha was stunned. She needed to see Jessie! Perfect! She and Nellie planned a night trip to Jessie’s house. On that night trip, they went to Jessie’s house and indeed she was there with a baby! They even got to see the baby boy! Soon, they went home and fell asleep. The next day, Samantha figured out Nellie was leaving because she was getting sick! Nellie was her friend though! Samantha was very sad about Nellie’s departure. What would she do without her best friend?

[Priscilla Herrington · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is nothing wrong with this American Girl book. Beforever is billed as "A classic featuring Samantha." It takes place in 1904; Samantha is an orphan living with her rich grandmother who is raising her to be a lady. She befriends Nellie, a servant girl about her own age in the house next door.

The American Girl dolls are accompanied by books about them, introducing young readers to particular times in American history. Each of the first few dolls had a series of six books, covering similar aspects of her life; this made it possible to contrast life in different times and places. Each of these books also had a wealth of information following the story, to further add to readers' understanding.

The more recent books, such as this one, seem to be written for much younger or less curious children. While there is nothing offensive, there is nothing to challenge a young reader.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Samantha was the American Girl I wanted to be as a child and re reading the books now kind of makes me see why. She got to wear fancy clothes, and have fancy dolls and she was a sweet girl. Now as an adult I see a little more of the darkness of the time and feel pretty icky about how even Grandmary looks down on the servants/lower class. I will be interested to see how the girls at bookclub discuss this one.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Samantha is one of the American Girls I remember reading about when I was little. But after reading this, I clearly didn't remember anything other than that she lived in Victorian America with her Grandmother. This was fine but very simplistically written. The only indication that the lives of servants weren't amazing was a little note at the end. I think a little more nuance couldn't have hurt here.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this book is supposed to be set in 1904, there is not a great deal of feel of the time. It felt to me more like modern characters in fancy dress. Obviously the target audience is young children, but they should never be written down to, instead they need to have their minds stretched and their curiosity piqued.

[Amanda Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate the new look for her she looks so girly which she isn’t. I feel like she would dress more boyish but still wear things that girls her age would have wore. Her new look isn’t even historical correct.

[C.A. Craven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always loved the American Girl stories, but I'm kinda bummed they took out all the illustrations. They were all so beautiful!

[Opal Km · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why did i think it was a good idea

[Emily Huff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this with my daughter and she loved it. We would read it with her Samantha doll together. 😍

[Jelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cutesy

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

All I remembered from reading this book as a child was that Samantha was the spoiled one, but that couldn't be farther from the truth! Samantha, despite living with her wealthy grandmother, shows compassion, empathy, and generosity to the people around her, especially her new friend, Nellie. I'm happy to look at Samantha with new appreciation.

[Rawdha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember this being one of my favourite books when I was 10 lol I was obsessed. A few months ago I saw someone on tiktok say those stories were fake and my 10 year old selfs heart was shattered when I found out these are not real stories about actual people😭😭

[Jada · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is called

[Maribeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it because it's old fashioned and I bought Samantha in November in 2018, and I haven't read that book at all when I had the time to.

[Maggie]

Good for a very light read

[queen victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

i thought Grandmary would be pretty strict but she’s not really

[Addi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My childhood <33333

[Alia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3

[Charlie - disableddaydreamer | itsbarbieparis (looking for mutuals) · Rating 4 out of 5]

i fear i am becoming the most annoying samantha stan.

i just love samantha’s stories and settings, this was a fun read and i would like to get the rest.

[sa mz · Rating 5 out of 5]

this my bbg right here

[Grace]

i read this 8 times!