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Nine-year-old Grace Thomas is always thinking up big ideas, like starting a business with her friends over the summer! When her mom announces a trip to Paris instead, Grace gets on board, but it quickly seems as if none of her plans are working out the way she'd hoped. She and her French cousin aren't getting along, and Grace's friends back home have started a business without her. Can she find the courage to stay open to new ideas and turn the summer around?
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
102 people are currently reading
672 people want to read
About the author
Mary Casanova
49 books204 followersMary Casanova is an award-winning children's author of novels and picture books. Many of her books stem from her life on the Minnesota-Canadian border; yet some of her stories have taken her as far away as France, Norway, and Belize for research. Whatever the setting for her books, Casanova writes stories that matter--and stories that kids can't put down.
Her book awards include: American Library Association "Notable," Aesop Accolades by the American Folklore Society, Parents' Choice "Gold" Award, Booklist Editor Choice, and two Minnesota Book Awards. Her books frequently land on state children's choice book master lists across the country. "The greatest reward for me," Casanova states, "is when a young reader tells me she or he loves one of my books. For me, it's all about communicating writer-to-reader through a character and story."
Casanova grew up in a family of ten children in St. Paul, Minnesota. In a bustling camp-like atmosphere, Casanova found that writing became her voice. "Words are my paintbrush," she explains, "my way of exploring the world around me."
Now, with 19 books published and many more under contract and forthcoming, she divides her time between writing and traveling. Nationally and internationally, at schools and conferences, Casanova shares her love of writing and reading with children and adults.
Her newest novel, The Klipfish Code, makes use of Mary's on-site research in Norway. The story explores an important facet of Norwegian history through the experiences of Marit, a 12-year-old Norwegian girl who finds a way to fight against the 5-year Nazi occupation of Norway. Marit and her brother Lars are separated from their parents (who are working for the Resistance) and sent to live on an island with their gruff grandfather and school teacher aunt. During the course of the story, Marit's aunt is one of the Norwegian school teachers that gets sent to a concentration camp for refusing to integrate Nazi propaganda into her classroom. With potential danger waiting every turn, Marit finds a way to help the Resistance and eventually reunite her family.
Mary's series, Dog Watch (Simon and Schuster) is based on her northern Minnesota village where dogs are allowed to roam free—as long as they don't get in trouble. If they get in trouble, they earn a sticker on their page at the village clerk's office; too many stickers and a trouble-making dog must remain at home. "I never know where the next story will come from. It’s a delight when the stories come right from this corner of the world I call home." She makes her home in a 100-year old house on Rainy Lake with her husband, Charles, and their three "above average" dogs and spends free time with their horses, Jay and Midnight.
Her book awards include: American Library Association "Notable," Aesop Accolades by the American Folklore Society, Parents' Choice "Gold" Award, Booklist Editor Choice, and two Minnesota Book Awards. Her books frequently land on state children's choice book master lists across the country. "The greatest reward for me," Casanova states, "is when a young reader tells me she or he loves one of my books. For me, it's all about communicating writer-to-reader through a character and story."
Casanova grew up in a family of ten children in St. Paul, Minnesota. In a bustling camp-like atmosphere, Casanova found that writing became her voice. "Words are my paintbrush," she explains, "my way of exploring the world around me."
Now, with 19 books published and many more under contract and forthcoming, she divides her time between writing and traveling. Nationally and internationally, at schools and conferences, Casanova shares her love of writing and reading with children and adults.
Her newest novel, The Klipfish Code, makes use of Mary's on-site research in Norway. The story explores an important facet of Norwegian history through the experiences of Marit, a 12-year-old Norwegian girl who finds a way to fight against the 5-year Nazi occupation of Norway. Marit and her brother Lars are separated from their parents (who are working for the Resistance) and sent to live on an island with their gruff grandfather and school teacher aunt. During the course of the story, Marit's aunt is one of the Norwegian school teachers that gets sent to a concentration camp for refusing to integrate Nazi propaganda into her classroom. With potential danger waiting every turn, Marit finds a way to help the Resistance and eventually reunite her family.
Mary's series, Dog Watch (Simon and Schuster) is based on her northern Minnesota village where dogs are allowed to roam free—as long as they don't get in trouble. If they get in trouble, they earn a sticker on their page at the village clerk's office; too many stickers and a trouble-making dog must remain at home. "I never know where the next story will come from. It’s a delight when the stories come right from this corner of the world I call home." She makes her home in a 100-year old house on Rainy Lake with her husband, Charles, and their three "above average" dogs and spends free time with their horses, Jay and Midnight.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
October 1, 2023
If you have a daughter, you have to at least be aware of the cult-like franchise known as American Girl dolls. Even if you haven't been sucked in to purchasing anything from the company, I'm pretty sure you have at least received the catalogs, the colorful magazine-like quarterly publications that, I have no doubt, contain some highly technologically-advanced subliminal marketing techniques which make it irresistible to young girls.
That said, I have always been impressed with their attempts to marry their toys and products with accompanying book series. There's a lot of books that this company publishes, both fiction and nonfiction, and my daughter, being the reader that she is, has a lot.
Grace was the popular line when my daughter was born in 2013, so we had the doll ready for her when she was old enough to appreciate her. We also bought the book series.
"Grace" by Mary Casanova, introduces the 10-year-old who loves to bake and writes a blog. In this, the first book, Grace and her mother take a two-month summer trip to Paris, France to stay with her Aunt Sophie, who is pregnant. Grace is excited to spend time with her slightly older cousin, Sylvie, and see the sights of Paris.
Things get off to a rough start, though, when Grace learns that Sylvie doesn't speak much English and Grace doesn't speak much French. Plus, Sylvie seems distant and uninterested in hanging out with Grace. What to do? Thankfully, she has almost eight weeks to figure things out.
I think my wife loved this book more than my daughter and me, because my wife has visited Paris several times, and it is her favorite place in the world. My wife broke out her scrapbooks and showed my daughter many of the places that Grace visits, including the Arc di Triomphe, the Pont des Arts, and the Louvre.
Not the most exciting story in the world, but my daughter did seem to enjoy it, especially when a major part of the plot had to do with an adorable stray French bulldog named Bonbon. Dogs are her kryptonite.
There are several more books in this series. I'm pretty sure that if we don't own them all, we will someday...
That said, I have always been impressed with their attempts to marry their toys and products with accompanying book series. There's a lot of books that this company publishes, both fiction and nonfiction, and my daughter, being the reader that she is, has a lot.
Grace was the popular line when my daughter was born in 2013, so we had the doll ready for her when she was old enough to appreciate her. We also bought the book series.
"Grace" by Mary Casanova, introduces the 10-year-old who loves to bake and writes a blog. In this, the first book, Grace and her mother take a two-month summer trip to Paris, France to stay with her Aunt Sophie, who is pregnant. Grace is excited to spend time with her slightly older cousin, Sylvie, and see the sights of Paris.
Things get off to a rough start, though, when Grace learns that Sylvie doesn't speak much English and Grace doesn't speak much French. Plus, Sylvie seems distant and uninterested in hanging out with Grace. What to do? Thankfully, she has almost eight weeks to figure things out.
I think my wife loved this book more than my daughter and me, because my wife has visited Paris several times, and it is her favorite place in the world. My wife broke out her scrapbooks and showed my daughter many of the places that Grace visits, including the Arc di Triomphe, the Pont des Arts, and the Louvre.
Not the most exciting story in the world, but my daughter did seem to enjoy it, especially when a major part of the plot had to do with an adorable stray French bulldog named Bonbon. Dogs are her kryptonite.
There are several more books in this series. I'm pretty sure that if we don't own them all, we will someday...
January 3, 2015
Grace follows young Grace Thomas to Paris one summer. Her aunt is on bed-rest and apparently the summer is the busy season at their bakery, so Grace's mother and Grace both fly to France to help out around the house and the bakery.
Left behind are Grace's best friends Maddy and Ella, who promise to wait for Grace's return in August to start their summer business. Much to Grace's disappointment, they don't wind up waiting and instead start a dog walking service.
In France, Grace finds that the language barrier is harder to cross than she realized, as her cousin doesn't speak much English and her adult family members are busy taking care of the new baby and the bakery.
The only good thing, aside from the city itself, is a stray dog Grace's cousin has found. Grace earns the dog's trust and names her Bonbon. (She's on the cover of the book.) Bonbon will steal the show if you are an animal lover at ALL.
I'm not the target age for this and haven't been for awhile, but I do wonder how many kids will catch on that it's pretty ridiculous for adults to just assume that two children who don't speak the same language (at all) will magically be able to keep each other company for five weeks without a translator. It takes a bit of work to even get them to the point where they can ask, "how do you say...?" so how the adults thought this would work when left to their own devices is madness.
I am curious as to where Book 2 will go, and like I said before, Bonbon is a scene stealer.
Left behind are Grace's best friends Maddy and Ella, who promise to wait for Grace's return in August to start their summer business. Much to Grace's disappointment, they don't wind up waiting and instead start a dog walking service.
In France, Grace finds that the language barrier is harder to cross than she realized, as her cousin doesn't speak much English and her adult family members are busy taking care of the new baby and the bakery.
The only good thing, aside from the city itself, is a stray dog Grace's cousin has found. Grace earns the dog's trust and names her Bonbon. (She's on the cover of the book.) Bonbon will steal the show if you are an animal lover at ALL.
I'm not the target age for this and haven't been for awhile, but I do wonder how many kids will catch on that it's pretty ridiculous for adults to just assume that two children who don't speak the same language (at all) will magically be able to keep each other company for five weeks without a translator. It takes a bit of work to even get them to the point where they can ask, "how do you say...?" so how the adults thought this would work when left to their own devices is madness.
I am curious as to where Book 2 will go, and like I said before, Bonbon is a scene stealer.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2024
I love American girl dolls
October 20, 2017
The book Grace first told an impression on me was the last few pages, a french dictionary. I started to learn some new french words while I was reading. This book tells a story about this girl name, Grace who has to go to Paris to see her aunt and cousin. Grace has two best friends named Maddy and Ella. Grace doesn't want to go to Paris, because of her lack of connections with her cousin. Her cousin is a girl named Sylvie who has a depressing and blue life. I can connect to how sometimes people or even ourselves don’t want to do the things we have to go through during life. There were some parts in the story that Grace felt orange. Jealous has occur, her two best friends Maddy and Ella were spending more time together back home and getting further away from Grace. I can connect to how sometimes friends are spending more happier time together while the other person has to do other things, this is like Grace. Everyone feels orange in some parts of their life. This impacted me how everyone has a orange narrator in their life, but we just have to change and not stay orange all the time. Sometimes in life, it’s better to change your bad habits into good ones.
July 22, 2021
I really enjoyed the book! I loved bonbon. She is cute. I loved when Lilly was born! I was sad when bonbon was lost. I loved this book!
January 15, 2015
Summer vacation has just begun and Grace and her two best friends have big plans to start their own business: dog walking! She loves dogs, but doesn't have one, so this is perfect. She's also super excited to help out as much as possible at her grandparent's bakery. Grace loves experimenting with new recipes.
But her summer plans make a quick change when her Aunt Sophie needs help. Her doctor's put her on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy, so Grace and her mom will need to be with her and help out in her house and her bakery-in Paris! Très chic. She's going to miss her friends and their dog walking, but they've vowed to keep in touch via an online travel blog.
Grace only knows a couple of French words and has only met her Uncle Bernard and cousin Sylvie once a few years ago. Things are very different in Paris, and Sylvie doesn't speak more than a few words of English.
For what it is, this book is good. Hopefully it will inspire some girls to become entrepreneurs. The most unrealistic parts: wearing a shirt with the Eiffel Tower while you're in Paris and getting your passport processed within a week. It's great for a girls book discussion because there's SO much to do: make a recipe box, talk about ways you could start your own business, the importance of saving money, learn basic French phrases, how to train a dog basic commands, and cupcake decorating are some I came up with.
But her summer plans make a quick change when her Aunt Sophie needs help. Her doctor's put her on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy, so Grace and her mom will need to be with her and help out in her house and her bakery-in Paris! Très chic. She's going to miss her friends and their dog walking, but they've vowed to keep in touch via an online travel blog.
Grace only knows a couple of French words and has only met her Uncle Bernard and cousin Sylvie once a few years ago. Things are very different in Paris, and Sylvie doesn't speak more than a few words of English.
For what it is, this book is good. Hopefully it will inspire some girls to become entrepreneurs. The most unrealistic parts: wearing a shirt with the Eiffel Tower while you're in Paris and getting your passport processed within a week. It's great for a girls book discussion because there's SO much to do: make a recipe box, talk about ways you could start your own business, the importance of saving money, learn basic French phrases, how to train a dog basic commands, and cupcake decorating are some I came up with.
June 17, 2023
I understand the appeal of this book, the problem is, it's all SO unrealistic. I want this to be a excellent book for younger girls but the one thing I don't see for Grace Thomas in this book is the actual challenge of running a business. She's set to be tween-aged and by having a mom pay for everything she needs, not many problems with the actual baked good making (batter sticking to pan, cookies being baked too long, etc.), and being able to make so much money so quickly begs the question: Did she really work from the ground up to start her business? And why has she not had a mental breakdown? Don't get me wrong, I love American Girl books and how they set good role models for littler girls but I want those same girls to see what it's actually like to run a business and not just have a fairy-princess-dream-kind-of-deal business. That's why for young entrepreneurs, I don't recommend this book as a reference unless you don't actually have school to do, and you have a French uncle in Paris who spoils you. I would recommend American Girls, Moneymakers: Good Cents for Girls.
January 11, 2016
i think that this is a rally good book that has a lot of description and it teells alot aout the language french. i recommend this book to anyone who likes american girl doll stories. i liked this book a lot and i hope that anyone who likes at this review and reads the book likes it as much as i do.
July 26, 2023
4.75!
This was such a cute and uplifting kids book! Grace was a great character to follow and her story was very well written. I loved that most of this book took place in Paris, and that it included many references to famous sites and the french langage. If you enjoy books in this age range, I would definitely recommend!
This was such a cute and uplifting kids book! Grace was a great character to follow and her story was very well written. I loved that most of this book took place in Paris, and that it included many references to famous sites and the french langage. If you enjoy books in this age range, I would definitely recommend!
June 12, 2016
This is a great book written by Mary Casanova!! This shows us you can make friends even is they don't speak what you speak
March 7, 2018
In this book there is a girl named Grace and she is making plans to start a dog walking business with her friends, but her mom said that they are going to go to Paris, and her friends say they will wait for her to get back from her 5 week trip to start the business. Grace goes to Paris and sees her cousin that she hasn't seen in years and then they cant communicate very much because they didn't know too many words in neither french nor English. Later on in the trip they start to communicate a little better so they have a little more fun and grow closer together. Grace has always loved cooking and now that she is in Paris then she can learn how to cook french deserts and treats and food but when it comes time to go back you the United States then she is really sad!! But has a surprise coming her way!!
How to show you are responsible for a dog, Step 1 find a stray. Step 2 use your money to buy it food. Step 3 feed it breakfast, lunch and dinner. Step 4 feed it every day. In the book, Grace Finds a stray dog and uses her Paris allowance to but the dog food. She also names the stray dog bonbon because it reminded her of a french treat!! At the end the dog finds a home and everyone is happy with the home he gets.
I really loved this book and I loved how it got me engaged to the book so much I didn't want to put it down!! This was a good book and I hope all you get the chance to read it. The only thing I didn't love so much about the book is all the french words I cant pronounce but that is my fault so go read this book it is so exciting all the things Grace sees is amazing!!!
How to show you are responsible for a dog, Step 1 find a stray. Step 2 use your money to buy it food. Step 3 feed it breakfast, lunch and dinner. Step 4 feed it every day. In the book, Grace Finds a stray dog and uses her Paris allowance to but the dog food. She also names the stray dog bonbon because it reminded her of a french treat!! At the end the dog finds a home and everyone is happy with the home he gets.
I really loved this book and I loved how it got me engaged to the book so much I didn't want to put it down!! This was a good book and I hope all you get the chance to read it. The only thing I didn't love so much about the book is all the french words I cant pronounce but that is my fault so go read this book it is so exciting all the things Grace sees is amazing!!!
January 25, 2019
I loved this book! Grace was a wonderful heroine, as is usually the case with American Girls. She was smart, hard-working, optimistic, caring, and mature for her age, while still being flawed and a realistic portrayal of a child. A good role model, to be sure!! I thought that the character and story development was well done. Grace's transition from feeling like a shy, awkward tourist on her vacation to blending into her French family and stepping outside of her comfort zone felt very genuine and organic. By the time she was sad to go back home, I was feeling sad right along with her. This book is educational as well as fun. It's loaded with French words (I study languages as a hobby, so I already knew many of them, but I still learned some things!), and intriguing information on France's history and culture. Clearly, the author visited the country and did her homework! I'd definitely conclude that this is one of the best and better American Girl of the Year stories. It might even make you eager to plan a trip to Paris! I highly recommend "Grace."
June 5, 2018
It was a little hard to start, but once I got in it was good. I have my doubts about the plausibility of some things, and it was almost as "sweet" as the pastries they talked about. But over all it was good, it flowed nice. The story moved along well, and I couldn't always tell where it would take me (a detail that makes a story successful to me). I do believe I would have enjoyed it more had I read this when I was a bit younger.
I'm giving it a 3 out of 5, because while it was good, I can see where it could have been better in places. 4 seemed like it would be too high with that. I actually wish I could give it 3.5, but until Goodreads allows that, 3 it is.
I'm giving it a 3 out of 5, because while it was good, I can see where it could have been better in places. 4 seemed like it would be too high with that. I actually wish I could give it 3.5, but until Goodreads allows that, 3 it is.
February 1, 2018
The title of my book is Grace American Girl. The main characterś name is Grace and she wanted to work with her grandma. She asked her grandma if she could work with her. She stuck up for herself and. she explained what she like and disliked about how she felt. She gave her reasons on what she enjoyed.
I liked this book because she worked very hard with her grandma and she liked working in the
Bakery.
I recommend this book to kids ten and up because it is really good and itś an interesting book. There is also a movie about her so it would be neat to connect them.
I liked this book because she worked very hard with her grandma and she liked working in the
Bakery.
I recommend this book to kids ten and up because it is really good and itś an interesting book. There is also a movie about her so it would be neat to connect them.
April 14, 2018
With more depth than I expected, Grace not only travels to Paris and learns about running a bakery, but she struggles with the separation from her friends as well as not feeling included by her Parisian cousin. She makes mistakes and overcomes them, she learns about not giving up, and even though things are perhaps overly sweetly and tidily resolved in the end, I found this entertaining and full of good messages.
December 23, 2020
So while this is an extremely realistic book, it is rather boring. I love the French atmosphere and Grace's relationship progression with Sylvie, but other than that, nothing much. Grace herself is very normal and doesn't seem to have anything spectacular about her but no real negatives either. I was a little annoyed about her worrying about her friends at home, but that's normal. I felt this entire story had no big issue.
December 30, 2020
Cute book for the intended audience. I must be out of touch with what almost fourth graders can do because I can't imagine them baking on their own or running a dog walking service. Having been to Paris, I found it interesting that they walked or biked but rarely used the Paris Métro. I have both walked and taken the funicular to Sacré-Cœur, and recommend taking the funicular up and walking down. I also thought it was an omission to not mention the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles.
January 30, 2024
A cute story that I read with my 8-year-old. I think it falls into a bit of the same trap that a lot of these Girl of the Year books fall into, where maybe the kids are given a little too much freedom and responsibility than is appropriate for their age (my daughter was shocked Grace was allowed to ride her bike all over Paris without an adult present), but she was a sweet character and learned some things about herself. And of course we loved Bonbon the dog!
December 15, 2017
Grace by Mary Casanova is a good book, it is related to Grace stirs it up. Grace wants to start a business but her mom tells her she is going to Paris to go visit family and that she cant stay and start her business. When she gets to Paris she gets close to her French cousin and her french uncle because her uncle has a dessert shop and together they make deserts.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2018
Great book for young girls to read as Grace is admirable character and it contains a lot of French language and history as well.
My only problems were that the charm bracelet wasn't incorporated as much as it should have been and that they didn't correct Sylvie when she made mistakes grammatical mistakes in English.
My only problems were that the charm bracelet wasn't incorporated as much as it should have been and that they didn't correct Sylvie when she made mistakes grammatical mistakes in English.
September 12, 2018
Grace Thomas goes to Paris with her mom to visit her cousin (Sylvie) and her Aunt Sophie. It was really interesting, the only character that made me read till the end was Sylvie (and Colette), they are really kind and have an amazing personality. It has a lot of French words so I recommend this to anyone who wants to learn French.
February 8, 2022
I read this book, because we were given a copy by someone who knows I’m a fan of the old American Girl historical characters. My oldest daughter is just starting chapter books. So I read it to see if it was worth keeping for her. This book was wholesome, fun, and age appropriate. And I even learned some things about Paris myself!
January 16, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. I thought this was gonna be a for sure DNF but I actually really liked this book. It makes me want to go to a French bakery now. Lol. But the relationship between Grace and Sylvie was really sweet as they struggled to understand each other. And I loved the ending where Grace’s mom actually adopted Bonbon.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2017
Review by M.T.: "This is about a girl who wants to have a business that she controls but she has to go to Paris, which starts out bad, and she actually ends up realizing what she loves to do: bake. She grows closer to her Paris family and is excited for the new adventure she's discovered."
April 14, 2020
I read this to my 6 year old thinking it was going to be so lame as it was an American Girl book...but I actually think it is really well-written and we both enjoyed it very much. Makes me anxious to get back to Paris!
August 16, 2022
these american girl doll books ate tf up and i won't accept any other opinion. read these when i was younger and i would still read them. i loved the grace one the most ngl cause of the whole french cafe bulldog energy it gave.
March 8, 2025
9/10- This was also one of the books that got me into reading. It was the og Emily in Paris before there even was Emily in Paris. Obsessed w the vibe and w the aesthetics of this book. Unironically would read it again. Literally one time pretended to be sick from 5th grade to stay home and re-read this book.
July 15, 2025
3.5 stars. i remember grace being one of my favorite american girl dolls growing up. grace was the doll that started by obsession with france. this was a cute book and i unexpectedly learned a lot of new french words.
January 1, 2026
This book is very creative and fun. I loved reading it because they use so many French words! I love baking and that’s why I also love this book. Grace loves to bake and goes to Paris because her aunt needs help with her new baby. You should definitely read it.
September 4, 2017
I really like grace adventure
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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