Happy Birthday Samantha!: A Springtime Story

American Girl: Samantha #4

by Valerie Tripp, Robert Grace, Nancy Niles

When Samantha's tenth birthday party is spoiled by the boy next door, Aunt Cornelia and her young twin sisters try to ease Samantha's disappointment by inviting her and Grandmary to visit them in New York City.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Historical, Middle Grade, Chapter Books, Juvenile

62 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Valerie Tripp is a children's book author, best known for her work with the American Girl series.

She grew up in Mount Kisco, New York with three sisters and one brother. A member of the first co-educated class at Yale University, Tripp also has a M.Ed. from Harvard. Since 1985 she has lived in Silver Spring, Maryland. Her husband teaches history at Montgomery College.

Right out of college, Tripp started writing songs, stories, and nonfiction for The Superkids Reading Program, working with Pleasant Rowland, the founder of American Girl. For that series, Tripp wrote all the books about Felicity, Josefina, Kit, Molly, and Maryellen and many of the books about Samantha. She also wrote the "Best Friends" character stories to date, plays, mysteries, and short stories about all her characters.. Film dramatizations of the lives of Samantha, Felicity, Molly, and Kit have been based on her stories. Currently, Tripp is writing a STEM series for National Geographic and adapting Greek Myths for Starry Forest Publishing. A frequent speaker at schools and libraries, Tripp has also spoken at the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, The New York Historical Society, and Williamsburg.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Samantha felt fluttery with excitement as she stood in front of the house..."

Samantha Parkington's birthday party is today and she is so excited. She's awoken by Aunt Cornelia's twin sisters (Agnes and Agatha) - they're sweet but mischievous (they stole Mrs. Hawkins's roses for a birthday bouquet!).

Grandmary allowed Samantha to invite a group of girls for her tenth birthday party, and as part of the party, Samantha got to make an extra special dessert.

"This ice cream is going to be the best ice cream anyone ever ate,"

Soon the rest of the girls arrive but the party doesn't quite go as Samatha hoped.

The girls felt all shy and nervous, as they pretended to be grown up, and then just when the party got better, her awful neighbor (Eddie) plays a mean prank on her and the party is ruined.

Agnes and Agatha invite her to New York to help make up for the horrible party and Samantha is eager to accept. Once she gets to New York, there's a whirlwind of adventure that awaits.

This book seemed a bit. ..fluffier. ..than the others - not quite as serious in tone and while they did throw in the suffrage movement, this book just didn't feel quite as focused on historical and social justice issues of the times.

I liked how they wove in the Woman's Suffragist movement into this one. I felt like this book did a decent job of explaining why this was such a pivotal moment in American history and how it affected women.

I also appreciated that the book even showed some of the backlash - not every woman was excited about the right to vote - and it is important to understand both sides of the story. But these bits felt liner they were tacked on at the end rather than the focus of the story.

That being said, even though this one felt lighter, I did think this was a rather sweet addition to the Samantha books. I'm always impressed by how well-written these books are.

Samantha is a wonderful protagonist and I really enjoy seeing her learn and grow with every book.

My biggest criticism is that Agnes and Agatha feel like they could be one character. Yes, they are twins but honestly, they act and talk like the same person. I wish they had stronger and more distinct personalities.

Overall - I'm excited to continue the story!

[Abigail McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I relate to Cornelia Pitt because a) wants women to vote, b) adopts a tiny puppy just because, and c) would marry Uncle Gard in a heartbeat.

[Amara · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I wanted in life was to have Samantha's life. And all I wanted for my 10th birthday was to have the same birthday party as Samantha's pink lemonade and petit four party. The book single-handedly started my obsession with the following:

pink stripes
pink lemonade
petit fours
pinafores
peppermint ice cream

Those are lots of "p" things. And I still love them today.

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one of my least favorite American Girl books, mostly because the story is a discordant package of mini-stories that are rather boring. Samantha has a princess birthday party rather, almost, sort of, kind of ruined by sabotaged ice cream. Samantha the rich Victorian beauty gets to go to the rich and beautiful side of New York. Samantha's mischevious cousins lose her puppy, and in the end learn not to be so mischevious. Samantha finally gets non-sabotaged ice cream.

The clashing of Aunt Cornelia and Grandmary over women's suffrage is the book's saving grace, and could have been expanded into a much more central thread. Grandmary's quick conversion from a crotchety, Aunt-Polly-like traditionalist into one of Cornelia's supporters is significant but not very convincing or well divulged.

[Morgan's Endless Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I missed Nellie in this one.

[Olde American Spirit · Rating 3 out of 5]

“There are some things that are too good to change.” 📚☕

Samantha is turning ten and she has no idea all the good times, challenging times, and learning moments to come.

I liked some of the themes in this one:

1) It's great to grow up and make decisions, but choices always have consequences.
2) It’s wise to listen with an open mind to both sides of an argument for change.
3) It’s best to think long and hard about important decisions.
4) It’s ok to change your mind after learning the facts.

Friendship, growing up, following rules, and the women’s suffrage movement were just a few of the fun topics addressed in this adorable story.

But where was Samantha's friend, Nellie, in this one? It seems odd that her friend - right next door - would not be around for any of the birthday festivities.

✨📚☕💙☕📚✨More in-depth reviews on my weekly Youtube videos.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love revisiting these childhood favorite books. Samantha is my favorite American Girl!

[Rachel Moyes]

I really don't think Grandmary would have supported women's suffrage that quickly.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samantha receiving a teddy bear for her birthday is exactly the sort of content I want in my life. On a more serious note, I appreciated that this book introduces the reader to suffragettes, that some changes/ideas are good and some are not, and that it's possible to change your mind no matter how set in your ways you appear. I did, however, feel sorry for Uncle Gard, who probably spent a good bit of money on that pram.

[Renn · Rating 3 out of 5]

So... Samantha doesn’t even notice or make a passing comment that Nellie isn’t at her birthday party? That’s a missed opportunity to highlight the divisions of class in 1904. Also, I’m disappointed that the historical note didn’t devote more space to women’s suffrage.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because on a rainy, dreary evening, who wouldn't want to take in a little springtime nostalgia?!?
And can I just tell you- I totally remember reading this as a child and ordering peppermint ice cream the next time Dad took me to Baskin Robbins after a good report card.

[Marian · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a reason I tend to think of this as the book where Samantha gets a teddy bear and then promptly forget everything else.

[Samantha Fondriest]

Came for nostalgia, stayed for woke Grandmary 😂

[Nickie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Agatha and Agnes couldn’t be more obnoxious if they tried.

[Iwi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Get this old lady outta here! Jk I guess she changes her mind that woman should vote but 🙄

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like this one as much. Lots of racing around chasing the dog. Here's what I notice re-reading it as an adult:

- Nellie's still gone, but this time in her place we get Agnes and Agatha, Cornelia's interchangeable twin sisters. They're basically chaos Muppets. For all that we first Meet Samantha as she falls out of a tree, she tends to be a Do The Right Thing person. Still, she enjoys their energy. I find it kind of stressful.

- Cornelia, Agnes, and Agatha don't interact like sisters. Cornelia is established as much more of an authority figure than I think a sister would be, even with a ten-year age difference.

- We always HEAR about how firm Grandmary's rules are, but in the moment, she always seems to be lenient and forgiving.

-Eddie Ryland is just the worst.


More Samantha babble:
Meet Samantha | Samantha Learns a Lesson | Samantha's Surprise | Happy Birthday, Samantha | Samantha Saves the Day | Changes for Samantha

Nellie's Promise

Samantha's Winter Party | Samantha and the Missing Pearls | Samantha Saves the Wedding | Samantha's Blue Bicycle | Samantha's Special Talent | Samantha's Short Story Collection

The Curse of Ravenscourt | The Stolen Sapphire | The Cry of the Loon | Clue in the Castle Tower

The Lilac Tunnel: My Journey with Samantha

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s Samantha’s birthday! She plans to have a lovely tea party, complete with all sorts of sophisticated big city treats. When a prank ruins her party, an even bigger big city treat is in store. It’s out with the old and in with the new, as Samantha turns 10.
This book was a little better than the first three Samantha books, but not much. The characters were all either rude or annoying. Samantha’s neighbor Eddie Ryland is supposed to be the pest in the story, but honestly I felt more empathy with him than with the girls. They could’ve offered Eddie a bowl of ice cream and still had their all girls party. The twins were just over the top with their immediate physical threats of violence on Eddie as soon as he popped into the story. Sure, he was annoying in the first couple of books, but the girls were just unnecessarily mean. I didn’t like the whole girls vs. boy theme with the children although it was interesting that this was the story where the suffrage historical aspect was introduced. However the girl vs. boy childish antics were never related to the women’s suffrage movement directly within the storyline.
Grandmary’s constant disdain toward anything “new” was a bit tiresome as well. Did we really need so many instances of her frowning upon progress in order to get that she’s stuck in her traditional mindset? I think even young readers could figure that out without it being painted with such an obvious brush. Also found it unrealistic that Grandmary had such a sudden change of heart about the new ways vs. old ways from the pretty nondescript speech offered by Cornelia.
My final complaint is pretty consistent with all of the books. The Peek into the Past section tends to portray Samantha’s life as a wealthy child as the “ordinary” in America, when it definitely was not. The casual mentions of servants or immigrants is just in the background in this privileged view on history.

[L · Rating 2 out of 5]

None of the AG books are exactly literary masterpieces, though they're pretty solid as far as kid chapter books go, and if you're a kid who's a history nerd, the historical detail is great. HOWEVER. This is by far the weakest of Sam's books. What's that you say, show my work? Okay, here's my non-comprehensive list of everything wrong with this book:

- It's choppy. It feels more like a collection of short stories than a novel, though it does gain some consistency in the latter two-thirds. I think it would be vastly improved if Sam's fancy party were skipped altogether and her birthday celebrations began with the trip to NYC. The party could happen there instead, and there would be more time to develop the tradition vs change theme and the conflict between Grandmary and Cornelia's beliefs.
- Not a single mention of Nellie? Yet "all" of Samantha's friends came to her party. 😒😒😒 Without Nellie, Sam's story is just rich kid shenanigans with no heart at all. Also, Agnes and Agatha can't hold a candle to Nellie.
- Grandmary's 'conversion' to feminism happened way too fast and Cornelia's speech wasn't nearly profound enough to warrant her change of heart. I know it's a kids' book but come on.

[Shelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I am glad to read about an American girl that did not have to struggle in life, reading about Samantha a 10 year old girl of privilege is just not as compelling. One of the great things about these American Girl Series is the history of events that is going on in our nation during that time. This book literally added the women's suffrage movement in during the last few pages as though it was an after thought.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

We’re getting back to addressing social issues at the turn of the century in this one, but it feels like it’s quickly shoved in at the end.
Samantha learns her new aunt is a suffragette who is able to show her old fashioned grandmother that things for women should change.

Also, this book introduced me to petit fours when I was a kid and I’ve been obsessed with them since.

[Duke2026 · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favorite part of this book was when samantha and her two twin cusens
were chaseing thar dog and that was really funny to me so that is why
my favorit part of the book!i thought the book is really good!

[Olivia]

no because the way that the salty ice cream was such a big deal as a kid. did I process much of anything about the women's suffrage bits? not that I recall; all I knew was that THAT LITTLE PEST EDDIE RYLAND RUINED THE PRETTY ICE CREAM

[RaspberryRoses]

i hate you agnes and agatha why are you acting like you've always been here. vile. vile! you will never be nellie.

and a plot thats largely driven by a misbehaving dog and poorly behaved dog owners... it gives me the ick. not fun. not a happy samday bertha.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book alot. Little girls 8 and up will enjoy this book a ton. I would read it again.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Votes for women!

[Samara Evans]

It is a good book and I wish it did not end.

[Katie Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um, Samantha's best dress, peppermint ice cream, an adorable puppy, all the modernism that NYC can afford, and a suffrage rally? No wonder this one was always my favorite! #Corneliagetsit #likewhoa

[Suz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Samantha has all of her friends over for her birthday?? But where’s NELLIE??

[Hannah Showalter · Rating 4 out of 5]

didn’t love this one as much as the others, but still a banger!

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doesn't really hold up relative to what I remember. Maybe if I stumble across the Christmas one...