Felicity's Short Story Collection

American Girl: Short Stories

by Valerie Tripp, Philip Hood (Illustrator), Dan Andreasen (Illustrator)

Felicity is growing up in Virginia just before the Revolutionary War. As the colonies struggle to break free from England's rule, Felicity has her own struggles for independence. She's learning what it means to be a proper gentlewoman, and she's beginning to form her own beliefs. Through her adventures, Felicity discovers that with independence comes responsibility.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Short Stories, Historical, Middle Grade, Fiction, 18th Century

213 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2002

About the author

Valerie Tripp is a children's book author, best known for her work with the American Girl series.

She grew up in Mount Kisco, New York with three sisters and one brother. A member of the first co-educated class at Yale University, Tripp also has a M.Ed. from Harvard. Since 1985 she has lived in Silver Spring, Maryland. Her husband teaches history at Montgomery College.

Right out of college, Tripp started writing songs, stories, and nonfiction for The Superkids Reading Program, working with Pleasant Rowland, the founder of American Girl. For that series, Tripp wrote all the books about Felicity, Josefina, Kit, Molly, and Maryellen and many of the books about Samantha. She also wrote the "Best Friends" character stories to date, plays, mysteries, and short stories about all her characters.. Film dramatizations of the lives of Samantha, Felicity, Molly, and Kit have been based on her stories. Currently, Tripp is writing a STEM series for National Geographic and adapting Greek Myths for Starry Forest Publishing. A frequent speaker at schools and libraries, Tripp has also spoken at the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, The New York Historical Society, and Williamsburg.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of five short stories centering around Felicity. Honestly, the stories were kinda midling - some were okay but most were ehhhh.

Felicity's Dancing Shoes - ★★★☆☆

"...her feet would not cooperate. They wandered off in wrong directions and tangled themselves up."

Felicity just knows that if she had light, dainty shoes that dancing would be so much earlier...but she ruined her pair ages ago. BUT Nan, her younger sister, has a good pair of shoes and is willing to bargain. Dance lessons at home in exchange for cute shoes. What could go wrong?

This is one of those classic stories where the main character gets "tricked" into practicing a hard skill. Lo and behold, practice makes perfect and she's able to do the difficult task much easier. At the end of the day...it's not a bad message, it's just been done before.

Felicity takes a Dare - ★★★★☆

"You must learn the difference between being brave and being foolhardy, or someday you will do yourself or someone else real harm."

During the spring fair, Felicity manages to visit the pastures with her younger siblings. When some out-of-towners dare Felicity to go into the horse pen, she obliges with dire consequences.

This book holds similar themes to other published books in the Felicity-verse - she goes off and does something dangerous, just because she can. To be honest, I was quite shocked that Felicity was actually injured in this one - the consequences felt much realer than in previous books and the medical scene? I crinnnnnged. No leeches. Please.

Felicity's New Sister - ★★☆☆☆

"Being the eldest sister is a responsibility you can't run away from."

Felicity must take care of her younger siblings to help out her pregnant mother and while she understands the importance of her work...she's also itching for a break and convinces her mother to visit Grandfather's plantation (there's "servants" to help there!). Just as the carriage leaves town, there's a horrendous crash and her mother can feel the baby coming...

This was an action-packed story, but only due to the blatant disregard of safety for Mrs. Merriman. Something that I did not like about this story, and is what ultimately brought down the star rating, was the treatment of race. My full review goes into more detail, but the servants (including Rose) are slaves and I feel like it was disingenuous and disrespectful to pretend otherwise in this short story.

Felicity's Valentine - ★★★☆☆

"If your heart cannot care for me, then please do not reply. But oh! my dear, if you do care, then hurry, hurry, by!"

Felicity Merriman and Elizabeth Cole are up to a bit of nonsense this Valentine's. Together, the two friends write a mushy-gushy Valentine from F.M. to E.C. - making it very, very over-the-top. Their letter goes into the hands of their manners teacher. To their complete shock, they realize that their teacher (Ms. Frances Manderly) has the initials F.M. and the Mr. E. Chelton (the music store owner) has E.C. as his initials. They really REALLY need to fix this fast.

It has cute elements - the way the girls freak out over the "Valentine" they wrote being sent to the wrong person and the way they frantically tried to make the situation better - were both fun moments to watch. But ultimately, it was just okay.

Felicity Discovers a Secret - ★★★★☆

"Fetch wood from the pile, build a fire under the cauldron, and fill the cauldron with water from the well," ordered Mrs. Burnie. "When the water heats up, put the dirty linen in the cauldron, scrub it with soap, and stir it with this paddle."

When Felicity ruins poor Mrs. Burnie's washing work with an inconvenient mud splatter, she decides to help rewash the linens...but it was far more work than Felicity expected! Furthermore, there's something 'off' about Mrs. Burnie - and Felicity begins to wonder if she could find a way to help the lonely neighbor.

This one was an interesting short story - the audience knows from the beginning that things are slightly strange with Mrs. Burnie and I was impressed by the vulnerability expressed by the characters in this book. This was a good (if quick) read.

Something to Consider

If you aren't sure whether to purchase the books individually or as a bound set, here's a bit more information. The fourth story (Felicity's Valentine) wasn't published separately, and while that story wasn't groundbreaking...if you want to read it, you do need the 5-books-in-1 volume version.

But if you purchase the 5-in-1 version, you do miss out on a little. You still get the same historical content from the "Peek into the Past" sections but they don't include the craft/activity that the individual books contain.

Felicity's Dancing Shoes - instructions for how to dance a simple Minuet.
Felicity Takes a Dare - instructions for how to play Quoits (a game using sticks and hoops on the ground)
Felicity's New Sister - instructions on how to make a Colonial Baby Gift

More Reviews in the Felicity-verse

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

Best Friend Book:
Very Funny, Elizabeth - ★★☆☆☆

Short Stories:
Felicity's Dancing Shoes - ★★★★☆
Felicity Takes a Dare - ★★★★☆
Felicity's New Sister - ★★☆☆☆
Felicity's Valentine - ★★★☆☆
Felicity Discovers a Secret - ★★★★☆
Felicity's Short Story Collection - ★★★☆☆

Mystery Books:
Peril at King's Creek - ★★★☆☆
Traitor in Williamsburg - ★★★☆☆
Lady Margaret's Ghost - ★★★★☆

Additional Historical and Activity Books:
American Girl Cross-Stitch - ★★☆☆☆
The American Girls Party Book - ★★★★★
The Boston Tea Party (American Girl: Real Stories From My Time) - ★★★★☆
Felicity's Cookbook - ★★★★★
Felicity's Cooking Studio - ★★★★★
Felicity's Craft Book - ★★★★★
Felicity's Theater Kit - ★★★★☆
Introduction to Williamsburg - ★★★★★
The Making of American Girl - ★★★★★
The Official American Girl Cookbook - ★★★★☆
Welcome to Felicity's World · 1904 - ★★★★★

Beforever (Re-Release of Main Series in 2017):
Love and Loyalty - ★★★☆☆
A Stand for Independence - ★★★☆☆

Beginner Reader & Picture Books:
Happy Birthday! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★☆
Happy Holidays! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★★
Time for School! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★☆

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited to snag an affordable used copy of this book, and enjoyed it very much, especially since I am now old enough to feel less acute vicarious embarrassment over Felicity's scrapes. These short stories are all fun and educational, and the collection also includes one about Valentine's Day that was never published as a stand-alone. I had no idea that this collection would include something new, and enjoyed that story tremendously. It is so sweet and creative, and I'm glad that I got to read it.

My only complaint about this book is that the story and historical notes never differentiate very clearly between servants and slaves, and don't share enough information to condemn the institution of slavery. I didn't notice this very much as a child, since I already knew plenty about slavery and could read between the lines, but if a young reader isn't well-educated in that area, some aspects of these stories could romanticize Colonial life without clearly explaining the moral issues entrenched in that culture.

[Karol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Felicity. Her short story collection is a gem. I most enjoyed Felicity’s Dancing Shoes, Felicity’s Valentine and Felicity Discovers a Secret. The “Looking Back” sections at the end of each story provide great information from Felicity’s time.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The American Girl marathon continues. I remember most of the stories from reading American Girl magazine as a kid, but this edition is new to me as an adult.

It's really such a shame these short story collections were available for such a relatively short time, because this is just a lovely edition. The size and shape are just so satisfying to hold in your hand, the illustrations are lovely, there's even a little ribbon bookmark. Just, A+ production.

Notes on the stories:
Felicity Takes a Dare
Felicity’s Dancing Shoes
Felicity’s New Sister
Felicity Discovers a Secret

“Felicity’s Valentine” which is original to this collection is fun, even if it gets hard to follow – which paper went where?? Which FM and EC? It’s a little contrived, but it’s clever and I like the way it turns out. It’s set shortly after Changes, around Valentine’s Day of course.


More Felicity babble

Meet Felicity | Felicity Learns a Lesson | Felicity’s Surprise | Happy Birthday, Felicity | Felicity Saves the Day | Changes for Felicity

Very Funny, Elizabeth

Felicity’s New Sister | Felicity’s Dancing Shoes | Felicity Takes a Dare | Felicity Discovers a Secret | Felicity’s Short Story Collection

Peril at King’s Creek | Traitor in Williamsburg | Lady Margaret’s Ghost

[Joey-Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felicity’s dancing shoes 4*

This was cute, Felicity struggles to learn the dances and as Annabelle picks on her again due to her clumsy shoes so she starts hurting herself by using Nan’s small shoes which was honestly funny.

With Nan being so excited to learn the dances of a gentlewoman it was so sweet that she and Felicity got some time alone together and it was really helping Felicity learn what she was doing by teaching her sister.

I really enjoyed this story it was so cute and so funny too a 10 year old wearing a 6 years old shoes that would really be painful. But it was a cute idea and it made a great little story.

Felicity takes a dare 3*

This wasn’t the most exciting with the fair in town Felicity starts showing off to her siblings that she can walk the fence like a tightrope walker but her mother gives her a harsh warning of how dangerous it can be. Then at the fair whilst admiring the horses a group of rude young boys dare her to go in and feed one which results in her getting injured.

Felicity wasn’t really thinking much in this story at all, she took weeks getting Penny to trust her but then forced these strange horses to approach her instantly all to prove a point to these mean boys. It didn’t really seem like Felicity’s logic to me within this one.

Felicity’s new sister 3*

Felicity is feeling very restless at having to be indoors all winter due to her mother’s pregnancy, so jumps at the opportunity to go to the plantation for some fresh air and freedom.

This was interesting, I wasn’t expecting such a dramatic event to happen on the journey to the plantation, but Felicity stepped up and took such great care of her siblings and was helpful to Rose whilst her mom had the new baby.

This wasn’t really what I was thinking it would be like at all but it wasn’t too bad a read. It was nice seeing how her sister came to be and the events that entailed during her delivery. It was much harder back then with no real knowledge or way of knowledge of when the baby was coming or going to come, and the space condition’s that woman ended up having them in. This book showcased all of that which I appreciated that it actually depicted the era so well.

Felicity’s valentine 3*

It’s Valentine’s Day and Felicity and Elizabeth think they are playing Cupid for Mr. Chelton and Miss. Manderly. This was so funny, Elizabeth during handwriting class sent Felicity a valentines poem but Felicity drops it on the floor. The two girls think Miss. Manderly found their Valentine and asks them to send her reply to Mr. Chelton.

The girls got so invested in their teachers relationship and the fact the initials of their names were the same was so funny, the girls couldn’t help but think that it was their note that the teacher had found. I really enjoyed this story it was nice seeing the valentines celebrations during this era, you don’t really get story’s about it in historical books so it was really great to read it.

Felicity discovers a secret 4*

This was a sweet one, Felicity was finally being a kid and playing with her hoop but it ruins the white linens a lady was drying. In paying back her debt for destroying them Felicity goes round to help her fix the mess she made and the two become friends but Felicity figures out her secret whilst working with her.

This was really lovely Felicity and this woman were so different but Felicity was lovely and learnt so much from her and this woman finally had some company which it seems she never had. I really liked seeing how Felicity started to soften her up a bit and get her to be a bit nicer than she had been.

In discovering the secret Felicity found such a great way to help her and it made the woman’s life so much better which was really nice, it was really interesting seeing and learning the history of glasses within the era, something I didn’t know about from this early on in time.

[Rubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this collection! The educational value, life lessons, and good plots *chef's kiss* haha
I wrote my reviews for each individual story in their own listings, so the following review is for the Valentine's story.

The Valentine's story was cute. Felicity got creative with a Valentine not for Elizabeth but they feared it got mixed up with two adults notes. Do they tell Mrs. Manderly that the Valentine was a joke and not meant for her? Or.....do they play cupid and try to get to people they respect together? That was the shenanigans the girls were up to 😂
It was a short and fun read and I learned new things about card making and our postal service 😃

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this for lovers of the American Girl stories! I read Felicity's series as a child/tween and loved them, but never got around to reading these short stories until I revisited the series as an adult. I really enjoyed each story in this collection and loved that they had the same quality of illustrations as the core Felicity books. This Short Story Collection also includes the story Felicity's Valentine, which was never published individually and was one of my favorites out of all of Felicity's short stories.

[Danae · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*

I'm writing this review too long after reading the book to remember details, but I do generally think the stories were cute.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the fact that they kept the "Looking Back" part when they put all the short stories together. I love history so I enjoy reading those as much as the stories.

[Lex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why, but I feel like the AG short stories are sometimes better than the main collection and this is no exception

[Bryn Salamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know I love my girl Felicity!!

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked these sweet and short stories. Felicity still felt like she was acting in character for these, which I liked.

I don’t know how I feel about Polly’s name origin though lol!

[Sarah K · Rating 4 out of 5]

super cute! felicity is so spunky. i always wanted to be like her as a kid. loved the felicity's valentine story!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has five separate short stories from the Felicity: An American Girl series that I’ve been reading for the “American Girls” podcast that I’ve been listening to by Allison Horrocks and Mary Mahoney. I will be reviewing all the stories individually, on their own book pages (because they are individual books... this was just a nice collection I got for cheap). As a collective whole, however, I did like the stories. Some of them were a little ridiculous (but it is Felicity, of course), but I did like them overall. The only negative thing I can say (as a whole) about this collection is that I did feel like, after having read one through six of the original book series, Felicity had taken a step back in developmental growth in this series. HOWEVER, I do believe some of these stories take place in the middle of some of the books in the main series... So, maybe that’s why some of her growth had become terrible again.

On another note, I sadly cannot rate separately my favorite story from the whole collection, which was “Felicity’s Valentine”, so I am going to do that here. This was my favorite story from the entirety of the collection. I would give it five stars (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) because it was a cute story of Felicity and Elizabeth being regular friends and although they did land themselves into the typical shenanigans that they always do, I felt like in this story it really was not there fault. Everything that had happened was purely accidental and nothing to where they should really be terribly held accountable (except for the fact that they should do their homework) and in the end, everything wasn’t really what it seemed. It actually made me gush with what happened between F.M. and E.C., which I loved. Probably one of my favorites out of the entirety of the series, to be honest.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading for a second time in 2013, I think I liked this collection a bit more than I had originally. The stories are nice and fit neatly into Felicity's timeline. And giving each story its own historical context section meant that a lot of detailed information could be shared about relatively minor things, like Valentine's Day.

[Jenni Lithgow]

This was a gift from my friend Sarah, and it was a fun little read! I read all the regular Felicity stories when I was a kid, but had never read the short stories. It was a real treat to get to read new-to-me Felicity stories that I'd never read before! :)

[Amanda Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

These little editions are so great for the short stories. I acquired all of them this summer, and it's nice to have the stories that were added just to make complete sets. These build on the Felicity character, but are a bit lacking in depth.

[Ale · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book has 5 books in it and is really intrested!!

[CC]

Met the author in NYC and got a signed copy at American Girl Place. She loved hearing how I was from Williamsburg! :)

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good collection of stories. Sweet and simple and make one feel warm and fuzzy inside.