Molly's Surprise: A Christmas Story

ISBN 0937295256 - The American Girl books are quickly becoming favorites of mine, mostly for sentimental reasons. I'm not sure that that reason translates for young girls, but their little consumer-driven hearts will enjoy the "real" stories of their dolls anyway. With a war going on now, this book seemed very appropriate, so I bumped it up the to-be-read list. The McIntires, like most of America, faced the Christmas of 1944 with a combination of hope and worry. Molly's older sister, Jill, was encouraging everyone to be "realistic", and not waste time hoping for fun presents because they'd be disappointed when everything they got was practical. Their father was off in Europe, in danger every day, but it was still hard to believe that the magic of Christmas would wane this year. No gifts had arrived from Dad and Molly, for one, was certain they would show up soon. In the meantime, the McIntires will have to learn to make do and create their own special surprises for one another. There are some spectacular moments in this story, including the conversation between Molly and Jill, where the girls reveal their real concern about the lack of gifts from their father: if he hasn't sent anything, not even a card, how can they know he's okay? The current wars don't really equate to WWII, and the level of patriotism and sacrifice are not exactly the same, but the belief in Santa, the joy of Christmas, the love of family and the worries for the people serving our country... those are always the same. Molly's Surprise captures them very well - I think adults will even find themselves enjoying this one. The educational material at the end of the book is a nice bonus. - AnnaLovesBooks

This is another in the American Girls series about Molly McIntire, a ten-year-old girl living on the home front during World War 2. With Christmas coming on, Molly begins to feel a bit depressed. Her father won't be there, the factories are making armaments rather than toys, and her father's special surprise gifts won't be there. But, Molly remembers that her father told her that Christmas is a time for surprises, and as she and her family begin to make their own merry Christmas, she finds that her father was quite right!This is another great Molly story! Valarie Tripp does an excellent job of telling a story that is realistic, and yet uplifting and fun. Nick Backes' illustrations are wonderful, and add a lot to an already great story. My twelve-year-old daughter loved this Molly story, and so did I. We both highly recommend this book.

In this book Molly McIntire's Dad is in the war so she thinks he won't send presents for Christmas. Of coarse the famly sent him presents but Molly isn't sure her dad will. Then she and her sister Jill find a package from their dad saying not to tell any one about until Christmas. To find out more read the book.

I got this book for Christmas and it is very good.Molly is my favorite character. In this book she almost gave up all hope on her christmas gift from her dad but still had a little flame of hope that kept that gift from getting lost or stollen. But all through still she kept the Christmas spirit which is very important. I would recomend this book to any one. Thank you.

Molly's upset because Christmas cannot be the same because of the war. She tries to salvage whatever part of Christmas she can and when she and her sister Jill find a package from her father they hide it so they can be the ones to surprise their family. My favorite of all the American girl novels.