Very Funny, Elizabeth! (American Girl) [Paperback]

Valerie Tripp (Author), Tamara England (Editor), Dan Andreasen (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: American Girl

Williamsburg, 1775: Elizabeth Cole and her best friend Felicity Merriman are "the merriest girls in Virginia"--at least, that's what Felicity's father calls them. The girls' favorite form of merriment is teasing Elizabeth's annoying sister Annabelle. When Annabelle Bananabelle becomes engaged, impish Felicity and very funny Elizabeth prove that they are the merriest mischief-makers in Virginia, too! But when their mischief-making heats up, they end up creating big trouble for Elizabeth. Can they find a way to cool things down quickly?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5–Ten-year-old Elizabeth Cole lives in Williamsburg in 1775. She and her friend Felicity Merriman (from the Felicity books in the American Girl series) delight in teasing Elizabeths proper, but boy-crazed, 16-year-old sister, Annabelle. The pranks backfire, leading to the threat that Elizabeth will be taken to England when Annabelle marries Lord Harry Lacey. In protest, she concentrates her mischief on prissy Miss Priscilla, Harrys domineering sister. This inspires mild-mannered Harry to stand up for himself, prompting Annabelle to show a glimpse of spine, too. The book includes six pages of illustrated historical data on Courtship and Marriage in 1775. Elizabeth and Felicity are charming, well drawn, and appealing. Except for Priscilla and Harry, secondary characters are paper-doll thin. Annabelle may rise to pasteboard depth, but before the story concludes, readers find her reverting to her old ways. The book is long on historical contextual detail, and the style is highly accessible without attempting to re-create historical dialogue.–Marlene Johnson, Paradise Education Center, Surprise, AZ
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: American Girl (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593690614
• ISBN-13: 978-1593690618
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,677 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not terrible, but the Felicity books were much better., August 6, 2005

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Very Funny, Elizabeth! (American Girl) (Paperback)

This new book in the American Girls Collection tells a story about Felicity's best friend, Elizabeth Cole. It is set in the winter of 1775, between the Felicity books Felicity Saves the Day and Changes for Felicity.

Elizabeth, with the help of Felicity, loves to play pranks on her snobby older sister, sixteen-year-old Annabelle. When Annabelle becomes betrothed to a rich English nobleman, Elizabeth has a hard time understand why her sister is so happy to marry and move far away to England. Annabelle's betrothed, Lord Harry, turns out to be a clumsy, quiet young man who is ordered around by his older sister, Miss Priscilla. Elizabeth joins Annabelle's etiquette lessons with Miss Priscilla as an opportunity to play pranks on her sister, but her plan backfires. Due to her secret tricks, Annabelle behaves oddly, while Elizabeth appears a proper young lady. Because of this, Miss Priscilla decides she wants to take Elizabeth back to England with her after the wedding, to train her to fit into English society and later find a husband there. Elizabeth now must find a way to convince her parents and Miss Priscilla that she must remain in Virginia.

This wasn't a terrible book, but it was one of the more disappointing ones in the American Girls Collection. It was really different from the Felicity books. The plot was very silly, and Elizabeth seemed rather different from her character in Felicity's stories. And there was much less of the historical detail than in the main Felicity series. I'd recommend reading this book if you want to read the whole collection, otherwise you could probably pass on it. It's not a terrible book, but there's nothing really great about it, either.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not the same Elizabeth as in the Felicity books, July 5, 2007

By 

Kristina - See all my reviews

This review is from: Very Funny, Elizabeth! (American Girl) (Paperback)

When you meet Elizabeth in the Felicity books, she is shy and very afraid of her big sister. However, in this book, she acts like a totally different person from the way she seems to dare her sister, something she would never do in the Felicity books. In fact, Elizabeth's pranks seem more up Felicity's alley and yet Felicity wouldn't even dare go so far. It's as if American Girl forgot who they were writing about and just decided to change Elizabeth's character. Very odd. And why did they change her hair color from the original Felicity stories? (Not that it really matters in the grand scheme of things; I'm just curious.)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It was GREAT!!!, July 5, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Very Funny, Elizabeth! (American Girl) (Paperback)

I read this whole book yesterday while I was waiting for the fireworks to start. I LOVED it! Elizabeth was very, very, very funny. Felicity and Elizabeth love to play tricks on Annabelle. The last trick they played in the book on the very annoying lady, Miss. Priscilla, was soooooooooo funny! You have to read this book!