Gilford's Victory Garden that didn't do as well as hoped because of the excessively hot summer Mom's job that takes her away from home so much of the time missing Dad and wondering whether he is alright and of course, wanting things to be the way they used to be. In this nicely done chapter book, Valerie Tripp has managed to get much of life on the home front onto Molly's Halloween story. There are, of course, lessons to learn in Meet Molly about fighting, peace and sharing - good lessons in general but here also very apropos of the time. And after he ruins their costumes and their treats when he douses them with water, the girls decide to declare war on Ricky and to get their revenge on him. The only problem is Ricky, who has planned his revenge on the girls for having teased him about his crush on Jill's friend Dolores earlier. All three girls are very happy with this costume, and go off trick or treating after school, and collecting lots of goodies by the end of the day. McIntire saves the day when she suggests the girls go as Hawaiian hula dancers and shows them how to make a costume using crepe paper, paint and strips of newspaper. This dream, however, quickly hits reality the next day when her best friends are less then enthusiastic about being the ugly stepsisters to Molly's Cinderella.īut Mrs. Molly spent her table time dreaming of the beautiful Cinderella costume she was planning to wear for Halloween, IF her mother would buy the yards of fancy material needed and IF she agrees to sew it for Molly. Gilford, just as headstrong, refused to excuse her until they were gone. Molly, a rather headstrong girl, had refused to eat the turnips and Mrs. As the story opens, Molly has been sitting at the dinner table for over 2 hours with a plate of cold turnips in front of her. The country is feeling the effects of rationing and shortages, so people really have to be clever and economical about coming up with Halloween costumes and treats. It is 1944 and the war is still raging in Europe and the Pacific. Molly's two best friends are Linda and Susan. Molly has a sister Jill, 14, a brother Ricky, 12, and a brother Brad, 5. Molly's mother is doing her bit working for the Red Cross. McIntire, had joined the Army when war was declared and is stationed in England, where he is caring for wounded soldiers.

Molly is 9 year old and living on the American home front during World War II. Meet Molly is the first novel of the six Molly McIntire series books from American Girl.

Meet Molly by Valerie Tripp