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Books like Welcome to Felicity's World · 1774: Growing Up in Colonial America

Welcome to Felicity's World · 1774: Growing Up in Colonial America

1999, Pleasant Company

4.6/5

Ooh, this was a fun book! It is rather like those Eyewitness books in format, but with a narrower focus in time. I found myself handing it over to my husband, my mother, and my sister in between reading it myself and then showing my daughter the parts I thought she would be able to handle and understand. I used to be a history major but I can honestly say there was a lot of information in this slender volume that I have never encountered before, not even on my own trip to Colonial Williamsburg! I thought that many difficult subjects were tackled in a refreshingly straight-forward way. For instance, readers will learn about child mortality and public executions (there is actually a photo and explanation of a gibbet!) along with slave ships and the devastating pain of being sold away from one's family. You might want to read through this book a little before handing it over to a sensitive, recently bereaved, or younger child. It says 8 and up and that really is about right. The only things I found disappointing were the general lack of information about Native Americans during this time and their participation in the War of Independence (they are mentioned but it is pretty brief), and that the focus is on middle and upper class white people. I guess that makes sense, as this is about what Felicity's life would be like, but with the book claiming to give a broader view of the times it does seem a bit...narrow is the nicest word I can come up with. At several points I found myself thinking in annoyance, "Yes, but what did the poor people eat/wear/do for entertainment/etc? Why aren't you telling more about the loyalist colonists and their fates? etc" There is a definite pro-American bias in some of the objects and stories told, which as a believer in the neutrality of history, I did not care for. Finally, I loved that women who participated in the war were discussed, but was sad to see that one of my favourite figures, Deborah Sampson, was not mentioned at all. So, I must reluctantly knock one star from my rating. But I still recommend that you read it, even if you are an adult.
Picture of a book: Welcome to Felicity's World · 1774: Growing Up in Colonial America

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