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{{Infobox_book
|name = ''Making a Difference! American Girl''
|image = MakingADifferenceAmericanGirl.jpg
|imagewidth = 300px
|caption = The cover of ''Making a Difference! American Girl''
|published = 2022
|author = [[Rebecca Mallary]]
|illustrator = [[Zhen Liu]]
|isbn = 0593431677
}}
'''''Making a Difference! American Girl''''' is a [[Random House Books]] American Girl publication and Little Golden Book focused on various [[Historical Characters]] and their actions of empowerment, social justice, and social change messages (often as seen in the [[Central Series]]).

==Contents==

The book starts with talking about how anyone can lend a hand and make things better for the world and speaking up for others treated unfairly, and that there are many ways for people to make a difference. It then focuses briefly on the various social justice actions of five historical characters.

* [[Samantha Parkington]], who is an orphan living with her [[Mary Edwards|grandmother]], has plenty of money--other children's families do not, and have to work and don't have nice toys and clothes. Samantha becomes friends with [[Nellie O'Malley|Nellie]], a servant next door and when her mother is sick and Nellie is sad, Samantha gives Nellie her favorite doll, [[Nellie's Doll|Lydia]]. Since Nellie worked in a factory and hasn't gone to school, she is teased in her classes; Samantha also tutors her to help her move up to third grade quicker.
* [[Kit Kittredge]] is growing up during the Great Depression when many people are struggling financially. When [[Jack Kittredge|her father]] loses his job, she knows she has to help the family. She grows vegetables and raises chickens in the backyard, sells eggs, and does tasks for her [[Hendrick Frosbythe|Uncle Hendrick]] to help pay bills. When she sees that other children are worse off and don't have coats and shoes, she holds a drive to collect clothes for needy families. When she hears that some people don't think the poor need help, Kit writes a letter to the newspaper about how anyone can fall on hard times and people need help to get back on their feet--and the letter is printed in the newspaper!
* [[Nanea Mitchell]] lives in Honolulu during World War II and, when the naval base in Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese, her life changes dramatically--the fear of future attacks leads to schools, stores, and restaurants closing. With police and firefighters busy, Nanea and her [[May Mitchell|mother]] help by making sandwiches for the workers. One of her favorite things to do is dance hula, and Nanea teaches some tricks to her dog [[Mele (Dog)|Mele]] and they together perform to cheer up wounded soldiers; additionally, Mele greets the men and her presence cheers them.
* [[Melody Ellison]] lives in Detroit during the Civil Rights movement and when she sees people speaking out against discrimination, she wants to join the fight. When a bank refuses to hire her sister [[Yvonne Ellison|Yvonne]] because she's Black, Melody goes to the bank and closes her account, saying she doesn't want to keep one at a bank that treats Black people unfairly. Melody also attends the Walk to Freedom in Detroit with a sign reading ''Stand up for Justice'' and hears a speech by [[Wikipedia:Martin Luther King Jr|Dr. King]] about his dream of equality.
* [[Julie Albright]] lives in the 1970s, a time where various people fought for equality--including her. When [[Coach Manley|the coach]] tells Julie she can't join the basketball team, she starts a petition for girls to play too and gets a hundred and fifty signatures; she then takes it to the principal, who agrees that girls have the right to play on the team. Julie then runs for student body president and chooses [[Joy Jenner|Joy]] to be her vice president. Joy is deaf and other girls have been mean to her because of it and said that Julie should have a different running mate. Julie instead teaches the girls sign language to let them know Joy and talk to her--and she and Joy win the election!

The book ends saying that every girl can change the world in her own unique way and asks the reader how they want to make a difference.

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==Trivia==

* Only five characters are highlighted; there are more details for each character as each has four pages instead of only two. This is also true in ''[[Grandmas Are the Best! American Girl]]''.
* Samantha and Nellie's story is changed from the original in ''[[Meet Samantha]]'', where it is Nellie's being sent back to the city for not being a hard worker that prompts Samantha to gift her her doll. (This is later the change of reason in ''[[Samantha: The Gift]]''.) Like ''[[Samantha Helps a Friend]]'', her leaving and returning some time later is not seen; it is implied she doesn't leave at all.
* The characters are discussed in chronological order.
* All of the characters are in the 20th century; none of the older chronological characters are seen.

==See Also==

* ''[[Happy Birthday! American Girl]]''
* ''[[Happy Holidays! American Girl]]''
* ''[[Time for School! American Girl]]''
* ''[[Grandmas Are the Best! American Girl]]''

==References==
{{Refs}}
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[[Category:Historical Books]]
[[Category:Books]]
[[Category:Historical Characters]]
[[Category:Items Released in 2022]]

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''This page incorporates text from [https://americangirl.fandom.com/wiki/Making_a_Difference%21_American_Girl the source wiki] ([https://americangirl.fandom.com/index.php?oldid=113369 exported version], [https://americangirl.fandom.com/index.php?title=Making+a+Difference%21+American+Girl&action=history contributor history]), under [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ the original text license].''

Making a Difference! American Girl - Revision history

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