Making a Difference (American Girl)

by Rebecca Mallary, Zhen Liu (Illustrator)

Find out how Samantha, Kit™, Melody™, and other American Girl ® characters made a difference in their own way and in their own time with this Little Golden Book.


Melody, Kit, Samantha, and other American Girl characters from different time periods show why it's important to stand up for what you believe in and to fight for fairness. Celebrate an introduction to empowerment in this Little Golden Book that's just right for children ages 2 to 5. It features full-color illustrations and a diverse group of spirited characters from a variety of historical settings that are always engaging.
 
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  • Happy Birthday! (American Girl) 9780593381854
  • Happy Holidays! (American Girl) 9780593381946
 
Introduced in 1986, American Girl's flagship line of historical characters features 18-inch dolls, books, and accessories that give girls a dramatic understanding of the role women and girls played in shaping our country.
 
Little Golden Books enjoy nearly 100% consumer recognition. They feature beloved classics, hot licenses, and new original stories . . . the classics of tomorrow.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 18, 2022

About the author

Rebecca Mallary is a baker, a musician, an artist, and an auntie to a whole pack of small humans. In her spare time, she sometimes manages to write. She lives in Vermont where she caters to some extremely demanding cats and listens to an inordinate amount of Taylor Swift.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

"We can all lend a hand to make things better. When people need help, help them."

Truer words, never spoken. In a time where empathy feels like it's in a short supply, I really liked how American Girl released this book about how girls across the decades did what they could to make the world a better place.

In this Little Golden Book, each American Girl was given four pages in which a bit of their story was explained, then they were shown doing good in a few different ways. The girls mentioned in this book are Samantha, Kit, Nanea, Melody, and Julie.

Of those girls mentioned, I've only read Samantha's story in its entirety so I can't truly evaluate if what the girls are shown doing in this book is accurate to their lore BUT I do like how this book shows the girls sticking up for what is right.

For example:

"When a bank wouldn't hire Melody's older sister Yvonne because she was Black, Melody went to the bank and closed her account."

It's such a small way to show your support but it also has a big impact. I really liked seeing that side of Melody!

And there's this one as well:

"Some people didn't believe that poor people deserved help! So Kit wrote a letter to the newspaper to explain that hard times can happen to anyone, and sometimes people need a helping hand to get back on their feet."

(Honestly, there's people who need to read that letter in 2026!)

That being said, I was a bit annoyed at Samantha's story.

"Samantha became friends with Nellie...When Nellie's mother got sick, Nellie was sad. To cheer her up, Samantha gave Nellie her favorite doll, Lydia."

I just read the Samantha books, and unless the company has severely retconned the Samantha-verse, this is just blatantly untrue.

Nellie was given the doll because she was moving away at the end of book 1 - NOT because Nellie's mom was sick. Samantha knew that Nellie never had a doll of her own and she was sad at the move.

Additionally, Lydia was Samantha's ONLY doll mentioned in the series (in book 3, Samantha debates long and hard about whether to ask for a doll for Christmas considering she gave away her doll to Nellie.)

And yes, Nellie's mother does eventually get sick, but that's not until the sixth book (and both of Nellie's parents pass away from the flu.). So, I don't understand where the picture book came up with that storyline.

So, reading how much was made up in the book about Samantha makes me side-eye the rest of the girls' stories -- maybe I'll check back in once I've read those ones as well!

But at the end of the day, if you aren't a stickler for keeping the lore consistent in the American Girl-verse, this is a really cute book.

The illustrations are spot-on, great color palette, and fabulous expressions on the girls' faces.

And the messaging (at its core) is really solid. It shows the small (but realistic) ways that girls have made the world a better place.

UPDATE

So I just read the 2020s relaunch of Samantha Parkington's story and turns out... they changed a LOT. So I guess they wrote this book accurate to the cannon changes from the main series. I still feel annoyed.... though this time at the changes they made to Samantha's story.

More Reviews of American Girl Children's Books

Step Into Reading
Freedom for Addy - ★★★☆☆
Molly's Christmas Surprise - ★★★☆☆
Samantha Helps a Friend - ★★★☆☆

Little Golden Books
Grandmas are the Best! - ★★★★☆
Happy Birthday! - ★★★★☆
Happy Holidays! - ★★★★★
Making a Difference - ★★★☆☆
Time for School! - ★★★★☆

[Marian · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for a quick way to show how the American Girl characters have worked to change things, big and small, in their lives and make a difference, this is a pretty good starting place. The art is fantastic and while nothing is expanded on, it's a perfect way to tie their stories together and show that everyone is capable of doing more than they dared dream possible.

But seriously, the art is fantastic.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know this isn't like an "official" American Girl book, but I love seeing the girls drawn in new styles and the emphasis on helping your community.