American Girl series addictive History mysteries’ heroines, wholesome format, engage young readers

About fifth grade, many children, even good readers, begin to lose interest in books. Literature that holds their attention can be hard to find.

Fortunately, American Girl’s History Mysteries are real page turners with heroines young women can identify with easily. A good balance between background information about the time period of each story, character development, plot and dialogue leaves the stories informative, but never dull or preachy. Parents concerned about the mature content and provocative language of some young-adult novels will find these offerings refreshingly wholesome. And the reasonable cost of each makes the series a fine investment.

Orphelia Bruce, protagonist of Eleanora E. Tate’s “The Minstrel’s Melody,” thinks her mother, Otisteen, is hopelessly old-fashioned. Sound familiar? Orphelia is a gifted musician. Otisteen, who believes that dancing and sassy music are sinful, allows her to sing and play piano at church, but has declared that no daughter of hers will ever perform on stage. Orphelia can’t understand that. It’s 1904 and she yearns to play ragtime, sing show tunes, do the cakewalk, and see the world.

Orphelia’s idol, Madame Meritta, in town to judge a talent show, discovers her and invites her to perform at the St. Louis World’s Fair. When Otisteen forbids her to accept the invitation, Orphelia sneaks into a coach to run away with Madam Meritta’s traveling minstrel show. She does not suspect that her journey will bring her face-to-face with troubling secrets from her family’s past.

As Kathryn Reiss’ “Riddle of the Prairie Bride” opens, Ida Kate and her widowed father are waiting at a small Kansas train station. A prospective bride, Caroline, a Civil War widow located through a newspaper ad, is due to arrive from Boston with her toddler son, Hanky.

At first, all is well. Caroline brings much joy to the household. But, to Ida Kate’s dismay, she does not bear much resemblance to the Caroline she and her dad have come to know through a series of letters. Could she be an imposter? Could she have murdered the real Caroline and kidnapped Hanky? Could the lives of Ida Kate and her beloved father be in danger?

Innocenza “Innie” Moretti, heroine of Katherine Ayres’ “Under Copp’s Hill,” is irate when an older cousin tells her that she will be part of a girls’ club. But she quickly falls in love with the settlement house where it is held and the women who run it. There she is listened to rather than bossed around. And she can borrow books. What a contrast to her home life in a turn-of-the-century Boston Italian family!

Sadly, soon Innie is in danger of losing her refuge. When items begin to disappear from the settlement house, she becomes the prime suspect. Can she find the real culprit and prove her innocence before it’s too late?

In Katherine Ayres’ “Voices at Whisper Bend,” Charlotte yearns to do something important to

help America and her allies win World War II. Her brother, Jim, is overseas in the Navy. Buying

War Stamps doesn’t seem like doing enough to bring him safely home.

When Charlotte and her best friend, Betsy, suggest a scrap drive, her school pitches in enthusiastically. Twice someone breaks into the basement and steals the metal the students have collected. Accusations begin to fly. Bullies harass Betsy, whose ancestors had come from Germany. Charlotte takes it upon herself to catch the real thief.

There are 12 History Mysteries published and more on the way. Warning: They’re highly addictive and not just for children.