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American Girl History Mysteries #11
The Minstrel's Melody
In 1904, twelve-year-old Orphelia follows her dream by running away from home to join an all-black minstrel show headed for the Saint Louis World's Fair, and learns about her family's troubled past in the process.
163 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
October 31, 2024
Definitely not impressed with this book. Good historical setting. The family dynamic is unfair, but later in the book the reasons for that are disclosed, and there is closure. However, the main character lies, disobeys, and deceives all throughout the book, and there is no real consequence besides an angry mom (as referenced above). The character seems to mildly regret her decisions at times, and has a broader perspective on life, but there is no real character development. Everything turns out the way she wanted it, as a result of her headstrong behavior.
I enjoyed the historical aspect, learning how black people sought to overcome prejudice, yet still dealt with it in serious ways at the turn of the 20th century.
I enjoyed the historical aspect, learning how black people sought to overcome prejudice, yet still dealt with it in serious ways at the turn of the 20th century.
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April 10, 2023Orphelia's mom frustrated me to no end, and her dad was no better in letting her mom treat her the way she did. While the reasoning why was explained at the end, it still didn't sit right with me. However, the history about minstrels and blackface was informative and interesting (but also disturbing).
October 4, 2020
For some reason, I never read any of the American Girl History Mysteries. They were shelved right with the other books, but I never read them, and that seems strange in retrospect. Granted, they aren't about any of the classic American Girl characters, but since I loved historical fiction and mysteries and was often desperate for something to read, I don't understand why I always passed these by. Recently, I decided to read the few remaining titles that the library still has, and I read this one first. I did not like it at all, and felt like I hadn't missed out on anything.
This book isn't much of a mystery, and the one mysterious element of the story is extremely obvious long before the main character manages to piece together the clues that stared her in the face. This book's primary value isn't in the mystery, but in the education about black history, minstrel shows, and lynching. However, even though I thought it was interesting how the woman that the main character admires runs a minstrel show while rejecting the stereotypes expected by white audiences, the book itself was not engaging to me.
The conflict between the main character and her mother drives the entire plot, since it leads her to run away from home to try to join the minstrel show. However, even though the book resolves and explains this at the end, her mother's behavior at the beginning and blatant favoritism for her other daughter were downright abusive, and the book ends by making excuses for her without fully resolving how problematic the family dynamics were. Ultimately, this is an educational book that I found both mediocre and frustrating, and I would not recommend it unless someone was extremely interested in the specific time period and topic.
This book isn't much of a mystery, and the one mysterious element of the story is extremely obvious long before the main character manages to piece together the clues that stared her in the face. This book's primary value isn't in the mystery, but in the education about black history, minstrel shows, and lynching. However, even though I thought it was interesting how the woman that the main character admires runs a minstrel show while rejecting the stereotypes expected by white audiences, the book itself was not engaging to me.
The conflict between the main character and her mother drives the entire plot, since it leads her to run away from home to try to join the minstrel show. However, even though the book resolves and explains this at the end, her mother's behavior at the beginning and blatant favoritism for her other daughter were downright abusive, and the book ends by making excuses for her without fully resolving how problematic the family dynamics were. Ultimately, this is an educational book that I found both mediocre and frustrating, and I would not recommend it unless someone was extremely interested in the specific time period and topic.
March 26, 2022
I don’t know why, but the books in this series have had a habit lately of not really being mysteries lol.
The ONLY mysterious thing that happened in this book is Orphelia finding out what happened to her Uncle Winston, and that’s more of a subplot than anything else. The main gist of the story is about traveling minstrel shows. Orphelia runs away after her crazy mother bans her from playing piano ever again, for stupid, nonexistent reasons.
Just like Mystery of the Dark Tower, the parents in this book are absolutely insane under the guise of protecting their children. The mother is flat out abusive, clearly favoring one daughter over the other and taking away her child’s one passion in life with no explanation. I didn’t blame Orphelia at all for running away, and I kind of wished we’d seen more comeuppance for her family at the end.
The setting and educational aspect of the book are done pretty well, with many interesting details about minstrel shows. It reminded me a lot of Kit Saves the Day, with the protagonist learning that life on the road is not as glamorous or exciting as it seems. Unfortunately the plot could also be too convenient at times. It is all too obvious that Orphelia is going to get held up over and over again so she can finally play at the World’s Fair (I also want to point out that it’s kind of ridiculous she’s able to perform flawlessly every time with no piano to rehearse on.)
If the author had actually managed to incorporate a mystery into the story, I would’ve given this a higher rating, but the Uncle Winston subplot was extremely predictable and barely present in the story to begin with. I don’t mind non-mystery historical fiction, but I feel like in a series called History Mysteries, this one missed the mark a little bit.
The ONLY mysterious thing that happened in this book is Orphelia finding out what happened to her Uncle Winston, and that’s more of a subplot than anything else. The main gist of the story is about traveling minstrel shows. Orphelia runs away after her crazy mother bans her from playing piano ever again, for stupid, nonexistent reasons.
Just like Mystery of the Dark Tower, the parents in this book are absolutely insane under the guise of protecting their children. The mother is flat out abusive, clearly favoring one daughter over the other and taking away her child’s one passion in life with no explanation. I didn’t blame Orphelia at all for running away, and I kind of wished we’d seen more comeuppance for her family at the end.
The setting and educational aspect of the book are done pretty well, with many interesting details about minstrel shows. It reminded me a lot of Kit Saves the Day, with the protagonist learning that life on the road is not as glamorous or exciting as it seems. Unfortunately the plot could also be too convenient at times. It is all too obvious that Orphelia is going to get held up over and over again so she can finally play at the World’s Fair (I also want to point out that it’s kind of ridiculous she’s able to perform flawlessly every time with no piano to rehearse on.)
If the author had actually managed to incorporate a mystery into the story, I would’ve given this a higher rating, but the Uncle Winston subplot was extremely predictable and barely present in the story to begin with. I don’t mind non-mystery historical fiction, but I feel like in a series called History Mysteries, this one missed the mark a little bit.
January 1, 2016
This book is about this girl named Orphelia ran away from her parents because her mother wouldn't let her play the piano. Orphelia ran away to her star Madame Meritta a famous star and stayed with her in tour. Orphelia tries to uncover a secret in her family in the year 1904.
I would recommend this to girls 10 years and up. I would rate this a 5 star and there are really good mysteries to find out yourself. This book is mystery and fiction.
I would recommend this to girls 10 years and up. I would rate this a 5 star and there are really good mysteries to find out yourself. This book is mystery and fiction.
May 26, 2015
The Minstrel's Melody is a book about a young girl that runs away to join a minstrel's show, only she does stay with them for long. She plays a couple shows and learns what life in a minstrel's show is like.
The Minstrel's Melody is an exciting book, with many ups and downs. It is pretty good, but I would not give five stars.
The Minstrel's Melody is an exciting book, with many ups and downs. It is pretty good, but I would not give five stars.
February 20, 2016
Read this aloud to my third and fourth grade students. They were riveted until the end. Asked for another book in the series.
January 2, 2024
This book isn't much of a mystery (I don't think it's a mystery at all), and the only mysterious element of the story is extremely obvious and I knew the answer long before the main character did.
I do appreciate learning about minstrel shows since it was never taught to me in school or in university. However, it was not really engaging to me. For a book that focuses on minstrel shows, it really wasn't shown that much in the book. You only see the backstage stuff.
Orphelia's sister and mother drove me nuts, especially her mother. You can tell she has favoritism for her first daughter, and her explanation at the end for the reason is not justified.
⚠️ Spoiler alert ⚠️
The mother (Otisteen) was not excited when she found and reunited with her daughter Orphelia. In fact, the first thing she told her daughter was when she learned a particular song (very important for the story).
⚠️ Spoiler ends ⚠️
I was really disappointed with the mother and I know some parents are not affectionate towards their kid but sometimes that's all that they want.
In the end, this is a book that I found slow, frustrating, and not a mystery to which I would not recommend this book.
I do appreciate learning about minstrel shows since it was never taught to me in school or in university. However, it was not really engaging to me. For a book that focuses on minstrel shows, it really wasn't shown that much in the book. You only see the backstage stuff.
Orphelia's sister and mother drove me nuts, especially her mother. You can tell she has favoritism for her first daughter, and her explanation at the end for the reason is not justified.
⚠️ Spoiler alert ⚠️
The mother (Otisteen) was not excited when she found and reunited with her daughter Orphelia. In fact, the first thing she told her daughter was when she learned a particular song (very important for the story).
⚠️ Spoiler ends ⚠️
I was really disappointed with the mother and I know some parents are not affectionate towards their kid but sometimes that's all that they want.
In the end, this is a book that I found slow, frustrating, and not a mystery to which I would not recommend this book.
June 27, 2022
Out of all the mysteries, this is the only one I kept from childhood, which should clue you in on why it’s five stars.
Pearl is as annoying as I remembered her from childhood. The absolute worst. Orphelia is so relatable and lovable. You root for her the whole way through.
It’s 1904, so this book does tackle racism as it’s main focus, but it is greatly balanced with plot development. Orphelia has a whole character arc with substantial progression.
The mystery feels very personal compared to some of the other books in the series and is poignant. This book has always given me so many emotions. I love this one! Will recommend to anyone.
Pearl is as annoying as I remembered her from childhood. The absolute worst. Orphelia is so relatable and lovable. You root for her the whole way through.
It’s 1904, so this book does tackle racism as it’s main focus, but it is greatly balanced with plot development. Orphelia has a whole character arc with substantial progression.
The mystery feels very personal compared to some of the other books in the series and is poignant. This book has always given me so many emotions. I love this one! Will recommend to anyone.
February 21, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. Although it made me sad at the same ! I learned a lot - that I feel I should have known!! So horrible, the things our people had to tolerate just to live, survive and what do we love!
July 29, 2023
Have mixed feelings. While it's great to encourage people to follow their dreams, I don't think children should be encouraged to be willfully disobedient and selfish, which seem to be how several of these American girls are represented.
March 12, 2025
This book was a weird blend of simplistic vocab and easy to figure out mystery that made me think the audience was grades 2-4 blended with very heavy subject material like lynching, racism, and violence that should be heated more towards grades 5-8. So it's a no for me.
May 21, 2020
Fun mystery and great read!
August 26, 2021
This book was really good book I always seem to find out the mysteries before the people in the book do this book was a little different the book almost beat me to finding out what the mystery was
February 17, 2016
This is the 11th book in the History Mysteries series. The year is 1904 and a 12-year-old black girl named Orphelia has an excellent talent both for singing and for playing the piano. She loves to do both but her mother wants to restrict her totally to doing things only for the church and is very strongly against Orphelia playing any of the jazz or ragtime music that is popular. She's very rough on Orphelia, always treating her younger sister Pearl much better.
Orphelia's mother gets mad at her very easily and one day bans Orphelia from playing for a visiting minstrel show. Orphelia, in turn, ends up running away to join the show and manages to stay with them for a while. Madame Meritta, the star of the show, does try to get Orphelia reunited with her parents but one thing after another happens. Orphelia does get a chance to perform and is very well received by the audience.
At the same time there is a man named Reuben who has serious mental problems. Orphelia is scared of him but then, as things develop, it seems that she may have an idea who Reuben really is. She needs to figure that out before her parents show up to take her away from the traveling show.
The early part of this book was not something I liked since the mother is a totally unsympathetic character at that point and the way she treats Orphelia is not good. She's also too focused on confining Orphelia's talents to things in the church, ignoring everything outside as far as music goes.
The book gets going when Orphelia runs away, ties up with the traveling show and tries to figure out who this Reuben person is. It turns out the mother had her own reasons for the way she acted towards Orphelia, these being revealed late in the book.
Overall the book is fairly good, but getting past the nasty mother in the first part of the story may take some doing on the reader's part. It's a book that some people would simply give up on after the first few chapters.
Orphelia's mother gets mad at her very easily and one day bans Orphelia from playing for a visiting minstrel show. Orphelia, in turn, ends up running away to join the show and manages to stay with them for a while. Madame Meritta, the star of the show, does try to get Orphelia reunited with her parents but one thing after another happens. Orphelia does get a chance to perform and is very well received by the audience.
At the same time there is a man named Reuben who has serious mental problems. Orphelia is scared of him but then, as things develop, it seems that she may have an idea who Reuben really is. She needs to figure that out before her parents show up to take her away from the traveling show.
The early part of this book was not something I liked since the mother is a totally unsympathetic character at that point and the way she treats Orphelia is not good. She's also too focused on confining Orphelia's talents to things in the church, ignoring everything outside as far as music goes.
The book gets going when Orphelia runs away, ties up with the traveling show and tries to figure out who this Reuben person is. It turns out the mother had her own reasons for the way she acted towards Orphelia, these being revealed late in the book.
Overall the book is fairly good, but getting past the nasty mother in the first part of the story may take some doing on the reader's part. It's a book that some people would simply give up on after the first few chapters.
December 5, 2008
The Minstrel’s Melody
By: Eleanora E. Tate
Melissa White
The Minstrel’s Melody is a story about a girl named Orphelia Bruce in 1904. She is twelve years old and wants to perform like the famous Madame Merrita, a famous lady with a traveling troupe, but, for some reason, her mom will not let her perform. So, Orphelia runs away and ends up with Madame Merrita and her troupe. She then goes to the World’s Fair and performs. While with her, she discovers many secrets about her family.
“The Minstrel’s Melody” was written by Eleanora E. Tate. Eleanora wrote the book to give a good flashback on racism of 1904. The author wrote many other books such as African American Musicians, A Blessing in Disguise, Thank You Dr. Martin Luther King Jr !, and Front Porch Stories. The book was well written, describing how hard it was if you were an African American living in the US. The book makes you really think about how lucky you are to know that you don’t have to live like that. I recommend this book to girls 9 and up .
By: Eleanora E. Tate
Melissa White
The Minstrel’s Melody is a story about a girl named Orphelia Bruce in 1904. She is twelve years old and wants to perform like the famous Madame Merrita, a famous lady with a traveling troupe, but, for some reason, her mom will not let her perform. So, Orphelia runs away and ends up with Madame Merrita and her troupe. She then goes to the World’s Fair and performs. While with her, she discovers many secrets about her family.
“The Minstrel’s Melody” was written by Eleanora E. Tate. Eleanora wrote the book to give a good flashback on racism of 1904. The author wrote many other books such as African American Musicians, A Blessing in Disguise, Thank You Dr. Martin Luther King Jr !, and Front Porch Stories. The book was well written, describing how hard it was if you were an African American living in the US. The book makes you really think about how lucky you are to know that you don’t have to live like that. I recommend this book to girls 9 and up .
August 21, 2012
'The Minstrel's Melody' is about a girl named Orphelia who wants to have a singing career, but her mother forbids her to sing anywhere other than their church. So when Madame Meritta comes with her traveling minstrel show, Orphelia runs away to join them. Madame Meritta very reluctantly lets her stay. Orphelia discovers stories about her family that weren't meant for her to discover (like the fact that Orphelia's parents and uncle once had their very own minstrel show)! Madame Meritta sends a telegraph to Orphelia's parents to let them know where she is and that they should come for her. When Ophelia returns home, she asks her mother about her past. Her mother is shocked, but she tells Orphelia everything.
I really enjoyed this book and I could identify with Orphelia. I especially related to her because we both play the piano.
I really enjoyed this book and I could identify with Orphelia. I especially related to her because we both play the piano.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2013
Orphelia has a passion for singing and playing the piano, but she doesn't understand why her Momma doesn't want her to become a famous musician. In this historical mystery, Orphelia runs away when her musical idol Madame Meritta comes into town. She starts performing with Madame Meritta's troupe while they try to get her home. While Orphelia is with them she starts to uncover her Momma's past and realizes why she is so against Orphelia becoming a star. I really enjoyed this story and the characters in it. It was fun trying to figure out what Orphelia was uncovering. Orphelia thought becoming a musician was glamorous, but after being with Madame Meritta, she realized how difficult it was and that not all stars became rich. Orphelia is a talented girl and a loveable character who just wants to perform her passion - music. Great story for young girls.
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November 26, 2024I picked up and put this book back down years ago because it didn't interest me. I recently picked it up again and enjoyed it. It has some slow parts and others that happen too fast but the book is not long itself. Orpheilia is a young girl who wan't to star in a traveling show, singing dancing and playing music. She is the blacksheep of the family and feels no one understands her dreams however she will go to extraordinary measured to chase them.
I really liked Orphelia as a character and Othello but that was about it. Everyone else was either okay or I hated them. The mother for example didn't seem protective but insane to me. However it is a good read.
I really liked Orphelia as a character and Othello but that was about it. Everyone else was either okay or I hated them. The mother for example didn't seem protective but insane to me. However it is a good read.
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March 10, 2010Raina Stitt 163 pg
A girl wants to become famous, but her mom thinks singing certain songs is a sin and she will go to hell. But Orphelia runs to her school yard and jumps in a famouse womans food carrage and sets on an adventure. This book is very interesting so far personally i thought it was boring at the beginging but its gets better its a book that keeps you interested
A girl wants to become famous, but her mom thinks singing certain songs is a sin and she will go to hell. But Orphelia runs to her school yard and jumps in a famouse womans food carrage and sets on an adventure. This book is very interesting so far personally i thought it was boring at the beginging but its gets better its a book that keeps you interested
June 18, 2012
this book is about a 12 year old girl that loves music so much that she decides to do a talent show. when her parents don't understand and take her out of it as a punishment it's not to hard for her to run away.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2021
The mystery aspect wasn't strong and I was able to solve it right away. Orphelia mostly gave off "annoying groupie" vibes.
TW: Significant discussion of the history of minstrel shows and hate crimes.
TW: Significant discussion of the history of minstrel shows and hate crimes.
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February 3, 2017 A young girl with a talent of singing has a chance to finally become famous, see Saint Louis, and travel with her all time favorite singer. But at the last second her hopes are dashed. Or are they?
If someone opposes something more then anything - it doesn't mean they always did.
If someone opposes something more then anything - it doesn't mean they always did.
March 11, 2009
This book was awesome! I loved it. There were mysteries and twists and suprises. It was unbeleivably amazing!
June 12, 2016
Good story, but not as "mystery" as a mystery should be. The story starts off incredibly slow.
I do like seeing about the World's Fair, wish there would have been more of that.
I do like seeing about the World's Fair, wish there would have been more of that.
June 22, 2022
A good story but not so much a mystery.
June 23, 2014
It was a good book, but very predictable.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews