Samantha Parkington, respresents an America Girl who  lived with her rich grandmother in 1904.  Her parents died in a boating accident when she was five years old.

Samantha’s grandmother was very proper and had definite ideas on how little girls should act.  Practicing sewing and piano and sitting proper, staying clean and neat were some of Grandmary’s requirements. Samantha had other ideas. She was interested in bugs, in the new invention of the car, in crawling in the bushes, and getting dirty.

One day a new girl name Nellie came to live in the house next door. Samantha tried to become friends but Nellie explained she had moved into the home to be a servant.  Nellie’s folks could not afford to feed their family.  Nellie worked all week and visited her family on Sunday.  Nellie and Samantha made plans to meet every night.  Nellie had never been to school, Samantha would teach her every night at their secret meetings. The two girls led very different lives. Samantha was rich, Nellie was poor. Yet in their hearts and minds, the two girls were the same. Many people were poor in 1904 and they worked hard for very little money. Samantha was not only rich in money but also in generosity.

Samantha’s story is one of a kind heart and good spirit.