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Donna Parker #7
Donna Parker Takes a Giant Step
Donna's family enjoy the last week of their summer vacation by heading to Canada. They plan to stay for a few days to catch up with some old family friends, the Stackhouses.
Celebration ensues when the Stackhouses announce they will be moving to Summerfield. Their son Jeff travels back with the Parkers to commence school at the start of the term.
Living with her brother and Jeff makes Donna's life complicated. She tries to immerse herself at her new school, tries out for the cheerleading squad, and deals with a friend moving away.
Life is problematic for many in Summerfield with teenage parties getting out of control, but it appears that Jeff may hold the answer.
Celebration ensues when the Stackhouses announce they will be moving to Summerfield. Their son Jeff travels back with the Parkers to commence school at the start of the term.
Living with her brother and Jeff makes Donna's life complicated. She tries to immerse herself at her new school, tries out for the cheerleading squad, and deals with a friend moving away.
Life is problematic for many in Summerfield with teenage parties getting out of control, but it appears that Jeff may hold the answer.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1964
2 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Marcia Martin
62 books12 followersPen name of Marcia Lauter Obrasky Levin.
A popular children's book author, creator of the Donna Parker series, 22 books for beginning readers, and some of the first enrichment text books in the "New Mathematics". She was born and raised in Philadelphia, and lived in Rye, New York for 56 years.
A popular children's book author, creator of the Donna Parker series, 22 books for beginning readers, and some of the first enrichment text books in the "New Mathematics". She was born and raised in Philadelphia, and lived in Rye, New York for 56 years.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 3, 2020
To take a break from serious reading, the pandemic, and now the murder of George Floyd and its aftermath, I decided to revisit the Donna Parker series of my late girlhood, hoping for a little comfort, and to see how the books held up, after buying a complete set of them from a member of my book society.
It's interesting to take another look at books that portray a particular middle-class teenaged world of the early 1960s. The series is set in a small town two hours from New York City, and everyone is white and has non-ethnic names. In this, the final book of seven, Donna Parker is fourteen going on fifteen and making the transition from junior high to high school. Her mother is a stay-at-home mom, her dad brings home the bacon, and there is a younger brother, Jimmy, who appears to be at play with his pals much of the time. A twist at the end brings him more into focus…
Looking past those clichés, the book is written with sensitivity and addresses what remain the concerns of teenagers: the ups and downs of friendships, conflicts with parents and the search for self-knowledge and the establishment of personal values in the advance toward maturity.
Fifty years or more later, things are very different. It’s not likely that books for tween girls would be so narrow in terms of showing ethnicities, races, religions and sexual preference, but like many older works, we must view the Donna Parker books in the context of their time, rather than judging them by current standards. As such, they are clear windows into the past, and something to learn from.
What I really wonder about is the backstory of the author, Marcia Martin. Goodreads has this information about her:
"Pen name of Marcia Lauter Obrasky Levin.
A popular children's book author, creator of the Donna Parker series, 22 books for beginning readers, and some of the first enrichment textbooks in the "New Mathematics". She was born and raised in Philadelphia, and lived in Rye, New York for 56 years."
Martin was Jewish. Did she feel she couldn’t write books under her more ethnic-sounding name? Did someone suggest she change it so she would be more successful? Perhaps she merely wanted to maintain her privacy. We will most likely never know. Here are her obituaries from the Jewish Exponent, Philadelphia’s venerable Jewish newspaper, https://www.jewishexponent.com/2013/0... and the New York Times https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nyt....
It's interesting to take another look at books that portray a particular middle-class teenaged world of the early 1960s. The series is set in a small town two hours from New York City, and everyone is white and has non-ethnic names. In this, the final book of seven, Donna Parker is fourteen going on fifteen and making the transition from junior high to high school. Her mother is a stay-at-home mom, her dad brings home the bacon, and there is a younger brother, Jimmy, who appears to be at play with his pals much of the time. A twist at the end brings him more into focus…
Looking past those clichés, the book is written with sensitivity and addresses what remain the concerns of teenagers: the ups and downs of friendships, conflicts with parents and the search for self-knowledge and the establishment of personal values in the advance toward maturity.
Fifty years or more later, things are very different. It’s not likely that books for tween girls would be so narrow in terms of showing ethnicities, races, religions and sexual preference, but like many older works, we must view the Donna Parker books in the context of their time, rather than judging them by current standards. As such, they are clear windows into the past, and something to learn from.
What I really wonder about is the backstory of the author, Marcia Martin. Goodreads has this information about her:
"Pen name of Marcia Lauter Obrasky Levin.
A popular children's book author, creator of the Donna Parker series, 22 books for beginning readers, and some of the first enrichment textbooks in the "New Mathematics". She was born and raised in Philadelphia, and lived in Rye, New York for 56 years."
Martin was Jewish. Did she feel she couldn’t write books under her more ethnic-sounding name? Did someone suggest she change it so she would be more successful? Perhaps she merely wanted to maintain her privacy. We will most likely never know. Here are her obituaries from the Jewish Exponent, Philadelphia’s venerable Jewish newspaper, https://www.jewishexponent.com/2013/0... and the New York Times https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nyt....
December 5, 2024
I found this book on my shelves, not knowing how it got there. Probably I picked it up somewhere for free. I hadn’t read this series as a girl, but would have liked them. It is very dated in that there is a significant paucity of awareness of issues outside of the white world. Nevertheless I really enjoyed reading this book and now will give it away so that someone else can.
June 22, 2010
I did so love these books when I was a kid!! I remember buying them for $.59 at Kresge's when I had money or asking for them for Christmas. Man, were things a LOT simpler then! Another series favorite as Donna starts high school.
June 1, 2023
Bought at the thrift store
It's 1964, and Donna's famiy has decided to use the last few days before senior high (tenth grade) begins to go visit old friends in Quebec. Donna's friend Ricky is along, as is younger brother Jimmy. When Donna finds out that the Stackhouses are going to move near them, she suggests that their son, Jeff, comes back home with the Parkers so he can start the new school year at the beginning. Since mid century parents were rather nonchalant about keeping their children near them, the Stackhouses send him off. Jimmy is thrilled, especially when Jeff mentions that, oh yes, he'll need to bring Benjie the Basenji with him. Tenth grade starts pretty well, although Ricky forgets to turn in Donna's application to try out for the cheerleading squad. Thanks to the machinations of a classmate who is moving, she gets involved in other groups, and Jeff jumps into the social scene with both feet, even going to a house party for which invitations aren't even issued. People just show up! But there's trouble right here in River City when one of these parties gets really wild and leaves one of the homes with *Gasp* dity fingerprints all over the hallway and cookie crumbs in the kitchen! Something must be done! The parents get together to solve this problem, and even ask the teens to come. Donna has ben talking to friends about a club for teens, maybe using a vacant store front in town, but another opportunity presents itself. Janine, who is dating football star Rudy and hopes to get married as soon as they graduate, is disenchanted with her rich parents because they don't like her boyfriend. To win her over, they offer to donate a disused gatehouse on their property for the teen hang out, and soon the town is pitching in to fix it up and have a rummage sale to earn money. Of course, with this social whirl, Jimmy feels neglected, and builds himself a clubhouse in the woods. Never fear! Donna soon has everything in order.
This book is older than I am! There's a lot of casual sexism (the boys might think something is sissified and won't want to do it, etc.), but the teens are taken rather seriously by the adults. The book seems a little silly today, but was probably quite popular at the time. The paper is highly acidic and very yellowed and brittle, although the copy I have doesn't smell too bad.
Ah, Donna. You're now in your 70s. I hope life treated you well.
It's 1964, and Donna's famiy has decided to use the last few days before senior high (tenth grade) begins to go visit old friends in Quebec. Donna's friend Ricky is along, as is younger brother Jimmy. When Donna finds out that the Stackhouses are going to move near them, she suggests that their son, Jeff, comes back home with the Parkers so he can start the new school year at the beginning. Since mid century parents were rather nonchalant about keeping their children near them, the Stackhouses send him off. Jimmy is thrilled, especially when Jeff mentions that, oh yes, he'll need to bring Benjie the Basenji with him. Tenth grade starts pretty well, although Ricky forgets to turn in Donna's application to try out for the cheerleading squad. Thanks to the machinations of a classmate who is moving, she gets involved in other groups, and Jeff jumps into the social scene with both feet, even going to a house party for which invitations aren't even issued. People just show up! But there's trouble right here in River City when one of these parties gets really wild and leaves one of the homes with *Gasp* dity fingerprints all over the hallway and cookie crumbs in the kitchen! Something must be done! The parents get together to solve this problem, and even ask the teens to come. Donna has ben talking to friends about a club for teens, maybe using a vacant store front in town, but another opportunity presents itself. Janine, who is dating football star Rudy and hopes to get married as soon as they graduate, is disenchanted with her rich parents because they don't like her boyfriend. To win her over, they offer to donate a disused gatehouse on their property for the teen hang out, and soon the town is pitching in to fix it up and have a rummage sale to earn money. Of course, with this social whirl, Jimmy feels neglected, and builds himself a clubhouse in the woods. Never fear! Donna soon has everything in order.
This book is older than I am! There's a lot of casual sexism (the boys might think something is sissified and won't want to do it, etc.), but the teens are taken rather seriously by the adults. The book seems a little silly today, but was probably quite popular at the time. The paper is highly acidic and very yellowed and brittle, although the copy I have doesn't smell too bad.
Ah, Donna. You're now in your 70s. I hope life treated you well.
January 16, 2023
I've finished my revisit with Donna. This one was a worthy end to the series. Looking back at all seven now I'd say this one is probably my favourite. Donna finally, after 7 books, develops a little empathy for poor little Jimmy - she's spent 6 books despairing of him. She also learns a few life lessons of course but it's not too heavy handed. What I really liked was I had thought the series was ended by the publisher and not the author but you really don't get that feeling. The ending seems to be the ending. As if Marcia Martin wanted to have a little conclusion to our journey with Donna.
My key takeaway though from my walk down nostalgia lane was that the covers of these books are what really stayed with me. They were all familiar friends even when I barely (if at all) recalled the actual story.
My key takeaway though from my walk down nostalgia lane was that the covers of these books are what really stayed with me. They were all familiar friends even when I barely (if at all) recalled the actual story.
June 1, 2023
Finally finished the series! I have been in a major reading slump so I set the goal of two books this week and tackled this one. My opinion on the series is that it is an all over 3.75 star. Nothing super impressive but slightly reminiscent of Trixie beldon and I know I would have enjoyed it when I was younger. It just doesn’t age as well though as adult reading and loses some of its glow.
July 24, 2025
This isn't a good story nor is it a bad story. It is, tho, a lovely story of growing up. Donna realizes that there are two ways of looking at situations and two different perspectives of any given situation. Everything is not necessarily always right/wrong or black/white. Difference is what makes the world very unique and fun. This remarkable revelation will carry Donna far in life.
July 18, 2021
My only lament is that this is the last book. I wish it would have at least continued until she graduated high school. This was a wonderful series to read during the pandemic. Such an uncomplicated world.
October 2, 2017
Another fun story of the woes of a teen-age girl ... and learning about responsibility and taking responsibility for your own actions.
December 2, 2024
Fun vintage high school experience, but the mystery was very obvious, and the life lessons handled a little too obviously too.
June 1, 2009
One thing that really got on my nerves in this book is how many times Donna says, "Yeeks!" Seriously, shouldn't it be "Yikes!"
Aside from that, it was a pretty good Donna Parker book. Donna and her gang start high school an get involved in new social situtations. Donna learns that not everything is black and white, sometimes things are a little gray.
So, I've fulfilled my dream of rereading the Donna Parker series. I defintely remember why I liked them so much as a girl.
Aside from that, it was a pretty good Donna Parker book. Donna and her gang start high school an get involved in new social situtations. Donna learns that not everything is black and white, sometimes things are a little gray.
So, I've fulfilled my dream of rereading the Donna Parker series. I defintely remember why I liked them so much as a girl.
August 4, 2012
Read this whole series as a young girl. My daddy brought home the first one for me to read when I was in about 4th grade and home sick from school. It was the first "big" book I remember reading and I was hooked on reading from that point on!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews