Lately I have been on a First World War aviation reading kick. I don't know why, but the topic is engaging me more than others. I read a couple of books back in February, and I've been searching for some others that can fill in some of the gaps in my knowledge.

 

That's how I found about Harald Penrose and his five-volume series on British aviation. Penrose was an amazing individual, a test pilot who later in life wrote several books on flight and the history of it. I have no doubt that I've seen his books on shelves before, only now my interests have aligned with his work, and I wouldn't mind trying him out.

 

Only I can't. My usual starting point after a brief confirmation that my local libraries don't have a book is to request it through Inter-Library Loan. Then after a week or so the book shows up for me to peruse, after which I start it, buy my own copy, or pass on it and move on. But I can't do any of those this because — well, you know why.

 

At this point, I'm deciding whether to take a plunge on one of the first two volumes, which are the ones that currently interest me the most. This would be easy if the price were right, but while I'm willing to spend $70-80 on a book that I want, I'm much less willing to do so to decide whether it's a book I want. So I'm bidding on a copy on eBay to get it to a price I can live with. Fingers crossed that the seller is either reasonable or desperate!

This is one of the many American Girl doll books. These are very girly books that I would just love to have in my classroom library. They go with each of the very popular dolls and it's neat to have one of these dolls and then be able to read "their story." They are all educational as well because each one of these books talks about things in history. In this particular book, Kit lives in the 1920's and it talks about the Great Depression. It's a chapter book so I would say it would be on the upper 3rd grade-4th grade level. I have a lot of these dolls and I could possibly bring the actual doll in for the girls to read with while reading these. 

 

Janet Flanner, an American ex-pat, wrote the bi-weekly "Letter from Paris" column for the New Yorker for 50 years; 1925 to 1975. But from 1934-39, the New Yorker asked her to also write the "Letter from London." Apparently she split her time between the two capitals, which can't have been easy. I read her [b:Paris Was Yesterday, 1925-1939|19571|Paris Was Yesterday, 1925-1939|Janet Flanner|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388204585s/19571.jpg|244542] and this book just doesn't have the same passion. The Paris letters focus more on the raucous jazz age shenanigans and some politics, and while a lot of it (especially the name dropping) went over my head, it was clear she loved Paris and Paris loved her. Her London letters, or at least the scant selection here, are almost exclusively about the royal family and the theater crowd, with a little about politics thrown in. I didn't get much feel for what it was like to be an average Londoner living in the city in that era.

Perhaps I'm spoiled by Mollie Panter-Downes who succeeded Flanner and wrote the "Letter from London" column for the next 45 years (The New Yorker must've been really good to its writers!). Her letters, which I read in [b:London War Notes, 1939-1945|1683766|London War Notes, 1939-1945|Mollie Panter-Downes|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1387726325s/1683766.jpg|234232], give a good feel for the time and place and not just what it was like for the wealthy and socially privileged. She was a Londoner and right at home, but able to communicate that particular culture to the American reader.

I give this book three stars for its stellar, although somewhat obsequious, portrait of Queen Elizabeth (mother of the current Queen) and her reports on the love affair and abdication of King Edward VIII (Duke of Windsor). She paints a sympathetic portrait of Wallis Simpson.

I have 2 American Girl dolls, Kit and Ruthie. When I received the dolls for Christmas a few years ago, I also got this book and another American girl book, I think.

Kit is a nine or ten year old girl growing up during the Great Depression. She loves writing and wants to be a reporter when she grows up. When her dad loses his job, Kit has to find a way to cope. Her family also takes in boarders to make ends meet.

I think that this book is perfect for young girls, especially those who have American Girl dolls, but anyone else will find themselves bored.