Welcome to Molly's World, 1944: Growing Up in World War Two America (American Girl) [Hardcover]

Catherine Gourley (Author), Susan McAliley (Illustrator), Jean-Paul Tibbles (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Series: American Girl

The story of a 9 year old girls who learned how to make do with less and how to care for others during WWII

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Coming on the heels of Welcome to Felicity's World, 1774 (1999), are these volumes showing the background of other American Girls. Molly's World introduces children to the social history of the early 1940s. A map of "Hometown, USA" shows such details as a rubber drive, a USO canteen, and a line outside the grocery store. Other double-page spreads focus on such topics as the Women's Army Corps, blackouts in the U.S. and air raids in England, and V-E Day. Kirsten's World follows a family of Swedish immigrants as they make their way to the frontier in the Minnesota Territory in the 1840s. Among the subjects introduced in the colorful double-page spreads are log cabin construction, Native American dress, and a trip to town. There are hundreds of illustrations, including period photographs and paintings, photographs of artifacts, and modern paintings of nineteenth-century scenes. Informative introductions preface the periods covered by the series. Other volumes are listed in Series Roundup, this issue. Carolyn Phelan

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 58 pages
• Publisher: American Girl (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1562477730
• ISBN-13: 978-1562477738
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 10.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #322,124 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Visit Cathy at www.catherinegourley.com!!

I write social histories--stories about ordinary people who find themselves, usually by choice, in extraordinary circumstances. My latest book explores a grim chapter in American history--the Andersonville Civil War Prison Camp. More often, however, I write about women's history through the lens of media and popular culture. When I'm not writing nonfiction books for young adults, I am managing Letters About Literature, a reading and writing promotion program of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress or watching old movies. I am the principal curriculum writer for The Story of Movies, an educaitonal outreach program of Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation. I grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, but I have lived along the Gulf Coast of Texas, Chicago, a tiny town in Western Pennsylvania on the edge of Elk Forest, Connecticut . . . well, in short, I move around a lot. Right now home is Woodbridge, Virginia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to Molly's World - 1944, June 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Welcome to Molly's World, 1944: Growing Up in World War Two America (American Girl) (Hardcover)

This book is simply a marvel.It talks about how life was in 1944 using first hand sources, like real snapshots, posters, helmets. It's the must have book for any girl studying WW2 and, of course, for any Molly's fan. I would recommend it for girls age 10 and above, but even a younger child might appreciate it with the help of a parent, or, better, of a grandmother that can add information on how her life was in those days.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Good, March 29, 2006

By 

Notnadia (Currently upstairs.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Welcome to Molly's World, 1944: Growing Up in World War Two America (American Girl) (Hardcover)

This book does a good job of recreating life, the hardships, deprivations and overall changes required of society on the American homefront during the years of the Second World War. It also shows the lives lived by Red Cross Volunteers, troops as they were transported overseas, nurses, WAV's and WAC's, factory laborers and children. It uses great illustrations and descriptions to personalize the age and show what our forebears endured. I especially liked the effort invested by the author(s) in pointing out how virtually everyone contributed something toward winning the war. This book leaves few stones unturned and I think a brilliant job is done in demonstrating a 360-degree view of what life during this time of struggle was like for millions of Americans.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classroom Helper, October 17, 2004

By 

B. Perkins (Greenville, SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Welcome to Molly's World, 1944: Growing Up in World War Two America (American Girl) (Hardcover)

This is a great book to use in the classroom while teaching children about WWII. The children learned much more from this book than their text book. It shows how children and adults lived during the war. There is a lot of useful information to get the childrens attention for future lessons. I recommend that all children read this book if they are studying WWII. It's not really a story just a lot of information about clothes, toys, sports, food, etc....
It is by far the best resource I have found.