Ann's Story, 1747

Colonial Williamsburg: Young Americans #1

by Joan Lowery Nixon

Nine-year-old Ann McKenzie is learning how to knit, cook, manage a household, and behave like a proper young woman. She would rather assist her father, Dr. Kenneth McKenzie, with his patients and work in his apothecary. Ann knows it's unheard of for a woman to be a doctor. But there must be some way for her to care for people as her father does

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Juvenile, Historical

152 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Author of more than one hundred books, Joan Lowery Nixon is the only writer to have won four Edgar Allan Poe Awards for Juvenile Mysteries (and been nominated several other times) from the Mystery Writers of America. Creating contemporary teenage characters who have both a personal problem and a mystery to solve, Nixon captured the attention of legions of teenage readers since the publication of her first YA novel more than twenty years ago. In addition to mystery/suspense novels, she wrote nonfiction and fiction for children and middle graders, as well as several short stories. Nixon was the first person to write novels for teens about the orphan trains of the nineteenth century. She followed those with historical novels about Ellis Island and, more recently for younger readers, Colonial Williamsburg. Joan Lowery Nixon died on June 28, 2003—a great loss for all of us.

Reviews

[Mamiko · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you liked the Magic Tree House stories, you'll probably like this, too. The book leads you into the story through a couple of present-day teenagers visiting the Colonial Williamsburg. I thought it was a good choice to start this series with a white girl who faces sex discrimination despite her wish to become a doctor like her father, and the bigots include her father (which I believe was probably very realistic of the time). I look forward to reading other volumes of this series. Makes me want to visit Colonial Williamsburg.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute little book based on the lives of Williamsburg's resident children. Ann wants nothing more than to learn to be like her father, helping people overcome illness. However, she's bound by the social rules of 18th century Virginia. She learns that helping people is not limited to the doctors, apothecaries, and midwives of the time, but is also the primary job of wives and mothers.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ann is the nine-year-old daughter of Dr. Kenneth McKenzie, and dreams of becoming a doctor herself, but in Colonial Virginia that was not an option. This short book provides a glimpse into what life may have been like in Williamsburg in 1747, though I found it a little unbelievable that a nine-year-old could accomplish what Ann did.

[Kaitlin Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely wonderful! The descriptions were great made me really visualize the story can't wait to read others in this series!

[Terry Filkohazi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor Ann wanted to become a doctor but society did not allow a woman doctor in those days. Instead she married a doctor and her brother became a doctor.
First book completed for 2026!!

[Johanna Florez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a satisfactorily written story, intended for children, about a child. What stuck with me most when I read it was the strong feminist messages, which could get preachy at times. The author pointed out a time in American history when women definitely needed liberation from the strict cultural codes that kept them from pursuing careers they could have been passionate about, had they been given the chance. I just think a nine-year-old has other things on her mind than how much she wants to be a doctor and how unfair it is that society won't let her. Yes, she thinks about that, but she also plays games and thinks about her friends and does, you know, CHILD things. Ann's age also made these messages less compelling than they would have been with an older character. Oh no, a third grader can't be a doctor. What does a nine-year-old really know about her adult passion anyway? I think when I was nine I still wanted to be a "famous person".

The last problem was that the ending pretty much nullifies all these messages that the whole book is structured to grind into your head. The epilogue reveals that Ann doesn't end up becoming a doctor, or even a midwife. She takes care of her husband and son, just the way her parents said she would. It seems to say that they were right: women aren't meant to pursue careers. "When you're older you'll realize that women are really meant to be housewives. It's the only place they find fulfillment." We got a hundred-page crash course on Why Women in the Eighteenth Century Need Feminism (To Meet Their Pre-pubescent Hearts' Goals) and then the ending was like, Nah, never mind.

Now that all sounds bad. I did enjoy reading this book. I admire Ann's tenacity and the way she took such good care of her family when they all got sick. But I left with the feeling that the author really wanted to right a book about feminism, not about a little girl. And then the author shot herself in the foot with the ending. So that was nice.

[Miss Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

gr 4-6 117 pgs


1747, Williamsburg, VA. 9 year old Ann is always getting into trouble. Her mother is always telling her that she must act like a lady, but Ann helping her father, a doctor. While her father sometimes lets her help, he reminds Ann that only men can be doctors. When smallpox comes to Williamsburg, it is up to Ann to help when her family becomes ill.

Great story. The very beginning and ending of the story are set in present day with two girls visiting Williamsburg on a school trip, but the majority of the story is set during 1700s.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was pretty good it helped me understand what the interpreters were doing after I visited williamsburg.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was a good historical fiction book for elementary aged readers. It depicted Williamsburg in a very realistic way.

[Laura]

1/20/2014