Felicity Takes a Dare (American Girl: Short Stories) by Valerie Tripp

 

Summary (from the publisher): In Felicity Takes a Dare, it's the day of Williamsburg's town fair. Felicity has waited all winter to enjoy the music and dancing, to watch the races and contests, and, most of all, to see the racehorses. Felicity is sure it will be a day that she will never forget. Unfortunately, she's right.

After you read Felicity's story, learn how to play quoits, a game Felicity might have played at the town fair.

Review: It's an exciting day in Williamsburg because it's time for the town fair. Felicity can't wait to see the music, dancing, races, and contests, and is particularly excited to see the racehorses. However, the day becomes memorable in a different way than Felicity had imagined. 

This was a great lesson for young readers about the dangers in taking risks, not listening to guidance from parents, and the way sometimes things just don't go the way you had hoped and planned. Felicity is the biggest risk taker of all the American Girls and usually I just feel frustrated at her foolishness but I really did feel sorry for her in this book. She is so disappointed and sad after the unfortunate dare and accident. Her mother is exceedingly kind to her under the circumstances. 

I particularly liked that this book highlighted entertainment and special events that would have taken place during the time period. My daughters had a lot of questions about the different types of exhibits and races that would have taken place. As always, the final section of the book, the "peek into the past" chapter, gives a great historical overview of what inspired the fictional story. 

Stars: 4

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