A very good cultural analysis of the American Girl’s brand. Delves into the complicated creation of the doll’s of color and the legacy of Pleasant Company and Mattel. Overall a great analysis, was hoping for a bit more interview material or a transcript of the interview and questions asked for more in depth understanding of the mothers and daughters interactions with the dolls.

I reread this book for the first time in years. All I remembered was the tragic death of Marta. After reading I love the attention to class distinctions traversed by the author in a way that children can understand. Was disappointed with the peek into the past portion that did not discuss the disease that killed Marta in depth. It also did a poor job discussing immigration at a level it could have, rather it placed focus on the train Kirsten’s family rides on. Overall a good book for children!

This book was pretty well done, especially with traversing the potential language barrier children can identify with in immigrant situations. It doesn’t however, handle relationship with native Americans in a great way. Singing Bird’s portrayal as almost animal like fits into a larger problematic imagery of natives. On the other hand, Kirsten’s relationship with her friend that exists beyond language is a beautiful representation of how children can move beyond inherent differences to make friends. Overall, it was a good book for a child.

This book does a beautiful job showing how family, friends, and even strangers help in a community. Especially displays friendship in a lovely way for children with the creation of the quilt for Kirsten.