225 years of baking bread, brought to you by a few of my historical American Girl characters! Whether they enjoyed it or not, making bread was a nearly daily chore for many girls in the past.
Melissa loves camping and exploring the outdoors with her dad, but that all changes one day in March, when the sky goes dark, and ash falls from the sky. Melissa's dad, who works for the U.S. Forest Service, warned her about an expected eruption of a volcano named Mount St. Helens, but Melissa had no idea it would be so terrifying! While the other kids play in the ash, Melissa can only sit and wait to hear if her dad is alright.
Even when her dad safely returns, Melissa has nightmares about hiking out in the woods and getting swallowed up by lava! She spends all summer helping her mom out at the family diner as an excuse to not go into the forest. But when the day of their annual end-of-the-summer camping trip arrives, Melissa promises herself that she will be brave and go hiking with her dad like she always has. Will Melissa be able to face her fears and regain her love of the outdoors? Are the woods of Washington really as safe as Melissa once believed?
Francesca Vitale, one of my original characters, is an Italian girl in 1920s Pittsburgh. Having lost her mother in the 1918 flu pandemic and as the daughter of a hardworking steelworker, Francesca finds her voice and comfort in her close-knit Italian community.
For Christmas Eve she can’t wait to help Tia Zita cook up a surprise for her family and friends.
Francesca is a Ruthie doll but I’m planning to curl and bob her hair eventually. Her dress is from Donna’s Dollhouse on Etsy.
(When I first heard about Lila, I was excited— since I was a kid I always wanted an Italian-American doll though I hoped she’d be a historical. Of all my OCs, Francesca’s (and Karine’s) concept is most inspired by my family history.)
Catalina’s series! I used this dollmaker to make her portrait. Below the cut are summaries that would be each of Catalina’s 6-book series if she were a real AG Historical.
Meet Catalina: June-July 1846
Catalina’s father returns from his most recent trip across the world, bringing luxury fabrics and exotic goods to sell in Yerba Buena. Cati’s mamá is thrilled to see baba again, but her abuelos are less than happy. Cati, with the help of her pet guinea pig Gordito, comes up with a plan to make her abuelos and her baba get along, but it doesn’t go exactly as planned…Cati gets into quite a bit of trouble for her antics, but, in the end, Baba and her abuelos can sit at the dinner table together and be civil, so she considers her plan a success overall.
Catalina Learns a Lesson: September 1846
Catalina has been learning to play the violin since she was little, and this year she’s finally going to get private lessons from a very prestigious teacher. Don Herrerra plays all over the world, and Cati wants to be just like him when she grows up. Her new lessons are difficult, but she works hard and practices often. Don Herrerra invites Cati and her mamá to see an orchestra that’s touring California, but Mamá doesn’t want to go. Cati is angry at first, but then overhears Mamá telling Abuela that Don Herrerra asked to marry her, and would not listen when she explained she was already married, since Baba was away again. Mamá says he makes her uncomfortable to be around, but she knows that Cati so badly wants to go to the concert. Catalina has to make a very grown-up decision: is the concert more important to her than Mamá’s feelings?
Catalina’s Surprise: December 1846
Yerba Buena is doing a Christmas concert this year, and Catalina is determined to learn “La Primera Navidad” to perform at the concert. Everyone performing at the concert must attend rehearsals for weeks before the event, to make sure everything goes smoothly on Christmas Day. At the first rehearsal, Cati meets 10 year old Ana María and her twin brother, Ignacio. For the concert, Ignacio will play piano and Ana María will sing “Noche de Paz.” Cati thinks their double act sounds so grown-up and glamorous. The three of them decide to team up and make it a triple act performing both songs, but learning each other’s songs and working together is harder than they thought…
Happy Birthday, Catalina: May 1847
Catalina is turning 11 this year! She and Abuela are working together to plan a big fiesta, where there will be music and dancing and all of Cati’s favorite people will be there, including her new friends Ana María and Ignacio, her Tía Consuelo and her little cousins visiting from the south, and Baba, who planned his trip perfectly so that he wouldn’t miss Catalina’s birthday. Cati is very busy sending invitations and learning dances with Abuela, but when a storm delays Baba’s ship, she’s heartbroken and wants to cancel the party. Abuela doesn’t understand why Cati is so upset, but Abuelito does. He teaches Cati how to deal with sadness and disappointment, explaining how he felt when his own father missed events for work, and helps her plan a special dinner for when her father returns.
Catalina Saves the Day: July 1847
Catalina has been teaching her guinea pig, Gordito, tricks. She wants him to sit and roll over and stand up like the animals in the circus. Unfortunately, all this excitement means that, sometimes, Cati forgets to close to cage properly. When Gordito goes missing, Catalina is inconsolable. Abuela says he’s lost for good, but Cati is convinced she can get him back. She ropes Ana María and Ignacio into helping her look, but they can’t find him anywhere in the huge house. Cati has the bright idea too look in the cellar, thinking that Gordito went looking for some of Abuela’s fancy cheeses. She isn’t normally allowed in the cellar, but decides that this is a special circumstance….but maybe should still be a secret. When a small earthquake hits while they’re down below, Ignacio is knocked unconscious and a shelf falls over, blocking the door. Cati and Ana María have to work together to figure out how to take care of Ignacio and get help from the adults, who don’t know where they are, or that they’re trapped!
Changes for Catalina: March 1848
It’s been a strange year for Catalina and her family. Alta California became a US territory on February 2nd, which Cati’s Abeulos weren’t happy about at all. The whole family has been learning English, including Cati. Baba, being a merchant, can already speak English and is helping the rest of the family learn. In the midst of this change, the California Star has just reported that gold was found in Coloma, and all of San Francisco has gone wild! The publisher, an American named Samuel Brannan, even walked through the streets with a vial of gold as evidence of his claims! Many people, Californios and Americans alike, are abandoning the coast in the hopes that they can get rich in the gold mines. Stores and houses everywhere lie empty; even Cati’s friends Ana María and Ignacio have to leave when their papá decides to go prospecting. Cati doesn’t know this just yet, but in the next few years, the town will grow rapidly as the gold fever spreads even to San Francisco, and miners and merchants from all over come in droves. In 1849, people start coming from Asia, mostly China, to search for gold; many of them settle in San Francisco. Cati is living in a time and place that changes a lot throughout her lifetime, but she knows she can put on a brave face and get through anything with family by her side.
