Emily Makes a Difference: A Time of Progress and Problems (1893) (Sisters in Time #16) by Joann A. Grote

• 12/19/2013
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Emily Makes a Difference: A Time of Progress and Problems (1893) (Sisters in Time #16)
Joann A. Grote
Barbour Publishing (2004)
ISBN 9781593102067
Reviewed by Genna Chatel (age 8) for Reader Views (9/08)

“Emily Makes a Difference” is about a girl who is trying to learn to be a young lady, but Emily makes mistakes. Emily is a good-spirited person and she wants to help the poor. She learns that being a lady can be as hard as helping others. This was a fun book because Emily always gets in trouble and falls over things. There are also some sad parts in the book. I learned some things too. In the 1890s, there were a lot of new things like: trains and railways, cars, electricity, the Pledge of Allegiance and World’s Fair, banks and bank runs, stock markets and investing. I also learned about some people in history like Thomas Edison and Houdini. My favorite part in this book was learning about scientists in 1893.

My mom and I read it together and we talked about all these things and people. I would recommend this book to artists, scientists and people who are interested in the old days.

Mom’s note: This book is recommended for ages 8-12. Genna is only 8. We read it aloud together. I’m not sure, Genna would have been able to read it alone, not because of the language, but because of the difficult concepts such as the stock market. However, reading it together was a wonderful experience because “Emily Makes a Difference” by Joann A. Grote opened up discussions about all these topics.