A wonderful picture book story of Charles Dickens' childhood, working hard all day in a shoe polish factory while his father (and with him, Dickens' mother and siblings) stayed in debtor's prison, and how that in particular and his poverty in general shaped what he wrote as an adult. And why he c...
I received this book via the Goodreads' drawing. It was a delightful surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Delicious and her family on the Oregon Trail. As a children's book the facts that seem a bit preposterous to an adult would be perfectly okay to a child (father seems more concerned...
I rarely write reviews here but this book was such a wonderful surprise I'm planing on buying it for a few knitter friends who have sons. Additionally I'll be sharing this with my own son as we are always looking for ways to keep our hearts and minds busy when my husband deploys. And since I home...
A picture book biography about Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan. The art is average, not really anything that made me sit up and notice. Some nice writing, though, such as this passage describing how Annie felt while repeatedly fingerspelling words and hoping Helen would catch on to wh...
Danger Close To Home Papa is in danger for helping to rescue a free-state settler who was unjustly arrested by Kansas's proslavery sheriff. He has gone into hiding, and Momma and the Keller children are alone in their remote cabin while marauding border ruffians are roaming the countryside, look...
“I believe I can just see you on the streets of that bright city.”Gran’s gone now, but her words live on with Nicholas Dray, almost twelve, as he makes his way from the hot cotton fields to that Queen of Cities: San Francisco. Nick’s on his own for the first time, with nowhere to turn. Then he me...
Nick called. “Shake. Here, boy!” Jackson Street was empty and suddenly still. Nick looked up and down. He couldn’t see anyone, not a dog or another person. Nick had a terrible thought: What if everyone else in the city got swallowed up? He shivered and stuck his hands in his pockets. Yes, the coi...
It had come for Mr. Griggs. Betsy and Bernie were with their mother. Dilly lay inside the shop, curled up in the shadows, almost as if she were waiting for Mr. Griggs to appear and take up his scissors and needle again. When she heard the horse and cart, she rushed to the doorway to bark at the m...
. . the boat we were in started to take in water. . . . We had to bail. I was standing in ice cold water up to the top of my boots all the time, rowing continuously for nearly five hours. . . .”— Marian Thayer (Jack Thayer’s mother)At 3 a.m. in the North Atlantic it was dark and terribly lonely. ...
Charlie thought Papa seemed worried. He went to the cabin door again and again, looking out. “Lion keeps watch outside now,” Charlie told him. “He’ll bark if anyone comes.” But even with Lion as a watchdog, no one slept much. Charlie heard Momma and Papa talking late into the night. “James, I fea...