Sydney Clair's Season of Change: A Friendship Story is one of the debut titles of the Girls 'n Grace Collection, created by author Pam Davis. Davis originally conceived of this series of inspirational titles for Christian girls when the American Girl franchise aligned itself with organizations that supported a pro-left agenda that included homosexuality and abortion. Davis began to consider how the time our daughter’s spend in play and recreation can be used to lead them into a deeper relationship with Christ, to nurture their faith, to demonstrate what it means to be a girl of grace. Girls 'n Grace was born - a collection of both contemporary historical and internationally based fiction stories for girls.
In Sydney Clair's Season of Change, we are introduced to Sydney Clair, a 10 -year-old girl growing up in Texas during the tumultuous 1960s. Sydney Clair finds herself in the midst of turmoil as her older sisters leaves home for college and she comes to understand the implications of lingering racial segregation in the south. Told from the perspective of this young girl, the radical and often shocking events of the 60s are portrayed in a fairly subdued style - considering the many issues at play during the decade. Due to this style of storytelling, children will be gently introduced to the injustices the Civil Rights movement sought to correct.
Sydney Clair finds herself needing to make difficult choices, and realizes that she has made some wrong decisions. Turning to her parents for advice, they help her see the situation in light of God’s word. Watching Sydney Clair learning to walk Christ’s way despite the social fallout and implications is a powerful example to young girls of following Jesus without reservation and despite personal cost.
Our family read this title aloud together. While the book is recommended for age 6 and older, I would recommend this particular title for age 10 and older if they are reading without adult commentary. My 5-year-old found some of the social concepts difficult to understand at her age, and required thorough discussion to understand the issues.
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