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Dog Journeys: Books About Dogs

Roverandom by JRR Tolkien.

One Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith.

I have often heard people say that they avoid dog books because the dog always dies. And indeed, many beloved dog books do turn out that way: Old Yeller, Sounder, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Art of Racing in the Rain, Stone Fox, White Fang, and many more. (Sorry for the spoilers. Or maybe, you’re welcome to the warning.)

Anyway, I read a couple of books recently in which the doggy plot heads in a different direction. The dogs in these two books are endangered and face obstacles and go on a difficult and challenging journey, but the dogs do not die. Roverandum by JRR Tolkien, of hobbit fame, began as a bedtime story for Tolkien’s sons to explain and console them for the loss of a toy dog on the beach. In the story Roverandom was once a real live dog, turned into a small toy by an irascible wizard. When Roverandom is lost on the beach, another, more benevolent wizard can’t undo the first wizard’s curse, but he can send Roverandom on a journey, first to the moon where he has many adventures, and then to the depths of the ocean where Roverandom, after many more adventures, finally manages to get permission to be returned to his normal doggy state. The stories in this short 148 page book would be fun as a read aloud for elementary age children and might even engage the interest of those a little older than that.

I have also heard some people opine that the adventures of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins become somewhat repetitious and even tedious after a while. Those same readers would find Roverandom even more dull. On the other hand, those of us who enjoy imaginative flights of fancy and dueling wizards and journeys full of unusual adventures are primed for reading about a toy dog who visits the dark side of the moon as well as hobbits who visit dragons and gigantic spiders.

The other book I read was 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith. I saw the Disney movie long ago, and of course, I thought I knew the story. But also of course, the book is much more engaging and humorous than the movie ever could have been. It’s a Christmas story, beginning just before Christmas, in which a pair of Dalmatians, mother and father, Pongo and Missus, go on a perilous and difficult journey to rescue their kidnapped puppies–all fifteen of them. Cruella de Vil is both cruel and devilish, but she eventually gets her just deserts. There are no wizards or magic spells in this book, but it is full of fun as the dogs, who think they own their humans, the Dearlys, exhibit humor and personality and independence and courage in the face of danger.

I highly recommend both Roverandom and 101 Dalmatians as stories in which the dog does NOT die, but instead goes on a brave journey of self-discovery and also exploration of the world and its wonders.

More good dog journey stories in which the dog does not die (I don’t think):

  • The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford.
  • Silver Chief, Dog of the North by Jack O’Brien
  • Lassie, Come-Home by Eric Knight
  • Big Red (and sequels) by Jim Kjelgaard
  • Kavik the Wolf Dog by Walt Morey
  • Red Dog by Bill Wallace
  • Hurry Home, Candy by Meindert DeJong
  • Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

Any other suggestions?

High Lonesome by Louis L’Amour

I read this book partly to see if it would be appropriate for the young adults who patronize my library and partly just to see if I liked L’Amour’s fiction as much as I did his autobiography, The Education of a Wandering Man. I found two instances of mildly bad language (h— and d–n), not that I’m into counting. And there was a romance, but rather chaste even though the guy is an outlaw gunslinger and the girl is the daughter of an outlaw. I think it would be perfectly good for anyone fourteen or fifteen and up.

I don’t read many Westerns, but I can see how L’Amour’s books became so popular. This story of an attractive outlaw and a young but strong girl who falls for him has more going for it than just the romance. There’s male-bonding, a bit of bromance, and a lots of fighting and honor among thieves and standing up for what’s right even when it looks hopeless.

L’Amour’s characters are flawed, but likable. The peril they find themselves in is partly due to their own bad decisions, but partly just the luck of the draw. The idea is that everybody eventually has to choose to do the right thing or be a self-seeking coward, even those who have chosen the wrong side of the law in the past. And it’s not whether you follow the law that makes you a good man, rather it’s whether or not you follow your own internal compass of right and wrong and make the hard right choice when the crisis comes. I would argue that if you haven’t built up those muscles of choosing right in the minor issues you are unlikely to choose right when a really big choice requiring self denial comes along, but L’Amour’s characters don’t have that much nuance.

Considine, the hero of the novel, is a man who “had a way of getting to where he wanted to be without being seen.” “[T]he big, quiet man was very sure of himself, and was known to be a dangerous man with a gun.’ “Considine did not seem like an outlaw. He had the air of a gentleman and there was something undefined in his manner that set him apart.” “Nor were they free of the images their own minds held of themselves. The man on horseback, the lone-riding man, the lone-thinking man, possessed an image of himself that was in part his own, in part a piece of all the dime novels he had read, for no man is free of the image his literature imposes upon him. And the dime novel made the western hero a knight-errant.”

I’m casting, of course, John Wayne, in my mind’s eye as Considine. If you like that kind of movie or book or if you like dime novel western heroes, High Lonesome should be just the ticket. No irony here, just straight up shootin’ and ridin’ and honor and heroism with a little bit of bank robbing thrown in.

Summer Reading Challenge: Books Set in the Summer

I’m sponsoring a summer reading challenge in my library. The rules are as follows:

Out of the forty categories listed, choose the number your child intends to complete, one book per category from Meriadoc Homeschool Library.Children in grades K-12 can choose to read 10, 20, 30 or 40 books between June 1, 2019 and August 31, 2019. Books must be recorded and responses given on the official record sheet. You do not have to check out your books from Meriadoc Homeschool Library, but many categories may be easier to find in MHSL than in other libraries or at home. Books can be read and recorded in any order you choose.

The fifth category for this challenge is to read “a book about or set in the summer.”

Summer books for primary readers (grades K-3)
The Camping Trip That Changed America by Barb Rosenstock. Naturalist John Muir and President Teddy Roosevelt go on a camping trip to Yosemite.

The Seashore Book by Charlotte Zolotow. A beautiful, poetic picture book story about a trip to the beach.

Roxaboxen by Alice McLarren. A group of children in Arizona or New Mexico, somewhere dry and desert-y, make a play town out of old woden crates, rocks, cacti and desert glass.

Sailor Jack and the Ball Game by Selma Wassermann. An easy reader about submarine sailor Jack and his friend Beanpole and jack’s parrot, Bluebell, and a rather chaotic baseball game.

Betsy’s Busy Summer by Carolyn Haywood. All of Haywood’s Betsy and Eddie books are delightful, but most of them are school stories. This one tells about Betsy and her friends and their neighborhood adventures during one fun summer.

More summer reading for younger children

Summer books for middle grade readers (grades 4-7)
Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright. Summer has a magic all its own, but this summer is different in many ways. Portia Blake and her younger brother Foster are going to the same place they always go in the summer, to visit their cousin Julian. However, this summer they’re going all by themselves while their parents spend the summer in Europe. And this summer Portia and Julian discover a deserted resort town next to a nearly dried up lake. And this summer the children also become friends with the eccentric Minnehaha Cheever and Pindar Payton, elderly sister and brother who are the only inhabitants of the ghost town across the lake. What other “magic” will the children conjure up as they listen to tales of long ago and explore the remains of Gone-Away Lake?

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall.

Henry Reed, Inc. by Keith Robertson. A great old-fashioned book about a boy who spends the summer in a small town with his uncle and aunt. Exciting things happen whenever Henry is around!

Galveston’s Summer of the Storm by Julie Lake. Very lazy Texas summer with Texas foods and hot weather and front porches and grandmother’s house. Then disaster!

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome. Originally published in 1930, this book is the first in a series of books about a group of adventurous children and a sailboat. Swallows and Amazons introduces the Walker children—John, Susan, Titty, and Roger—their camp on Wild Cat island, the able-bodied catboat Swallow, and their frenemies the two intrepid Amazons, Nancy and Peggy Blackett. The children are living the free range kids’ dream as they camp all by themselves on a small island, cook their own meals, sail their boat up and down the lake, and engage in all sorts of mock-battles and adventures.

Ash Road by Ivan Southall. This one takes place in January, summertime in Australia. A small group of children are cut off by a raging wildfire in the wilds of the Australian outback. They have only two elderly adults to help them, or perhaps it is the children who must help each other to get them all out of danger.

More summer reading for middle graders.

Summer books for teen readers (grades 8-12)
Shaking the Nickel Bush by Ralph Moody. “Skinny and suffering from diabetes, Ralph Moody is ordered by a Boston doctor to seek a more healthful climate. Now nineteen years old, he strikes out into new territory hustling odd jobs, facing the problem of getting fresh milk and leafy green vegetables. He scrapes around to survive, risking his neck as a stunt rider for a movie company.” This book is the sixth book in a series of eight autobiographical novels by Ralph Moody, the author and protagonist who had to grow up fast after his father’s death when Ralph was only eleven years old. High schoolers may want to start with the first book in the series, Little Britches, or just begin with this one, a gripping tale of a young man’s adventures and growth.

I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora. Set during the summer between eighth grade and high school, this mystery adventure tells the story of how three Mockingbird fans created a conspiracy to make Harper Lee’s famous novel into the hottest property on the shelves of all of the libraries, bookstores, and other book distributors in the state of Connecticut, maybe the whole U.S.

The War for Independence: The Story of the American Revolution by Albert Marrin.

An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy.

My Hands Came Away Red by Lisa McKay. Eighteen year old Cori decides to spend her summer in Indonesia, building a church, out of mixed motives. Yes, Cori is a Christian, and she wants to do something meaningful in God’s service. She also wants to get away from her confusing relationship with her boyfriend, Scott, and she just wants to experience her own adventure. She gets a lot more “adventure” than she bargained for.

More summer books for young teens

Do you have any favorite books set in the summertime?

Summer Reading Challenge: The 1700’s

I’m sponsoring a summer reading challenge in my library. The rules are as follows:

Out of the forty categories listed, choose the number your child intends to complete, one book per category from Meriadoc Homeschool Library.Children in grades K-12 can choose to read 10, 20, 30 or 40 books between June 1, 2019 and August 31, 2019. Books must be recorded and responses given on the official record sheet. You do not have to check out your books from Meriadoc Homeschool Library, but many categories may be easier to find in MHSL than in other libraries or at home. Books can be read and recorded in any order you choose.

The third category for this challenge is to read a “book set in the eighteenth century (1700’s).”

For preschoolers and primary ages (grades K-3)

Sam the Minuteman and George the Drummer Boy, both by Nathaniel Benchely are easy readers that tell the story of the Battle of Lexington from two different perspectives. Sam and his father refighting the British soldiers at Lexington. George is a drummer boy in the British army that was sent out to capture the weapons that the American patriots were hiding at Lexington and Concord. These are great stories and great for making comparisons and contrasts between the British and the American viewpoints about the War for Independence.

The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh. “An eight-year-old girl finds courage to go alone with her father to build a new home in the Connecticut wilderness, and to stay with the Indians when her father goes back to bring the rest of the family.” This story, based on the true story of a pioneer girl, is rich in its language and inspiring in its themes.

Pirate’s Promise by Clyde Robert Bulla. Young Tom Pippin is sold by his greedy uncle into indentured servanthood, but in a strange turn of events it’s a pirate captain who eventually helps Tom to gain his freedom. Bulla is such a great author, and his books are easy enough for young readers to comprehend, but exciting enough to hold their interest.

George Washington’s Mother by Jean Fritz. Mary Ball Washington, the mother of our first president, sometimes smoked a pipe and hated to get all dressed up. This book shows a very human, down-to-earth founding mother who nevertheless loved little George very much. Don’t read it if all you want is a flattering portrait of an early American, but if you want relatable, this book is great. Several other books by Jean Fritz fall into this time period including Why Don’t You Get a Horse, Sam Adams, Can’t You Make Them Behave, King George?, and And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?.

Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares by Frank Murphy. Benjamin Franklin was such a polymath–politician, inventor, scientist, author, publisher, and diplomat. While he was serving as clerk for the Pennsylvania Assembly, he became bored and came up with a math game to amuse himself. He called the game “magic squares”, and this easy to read book explains the magic square game and also talks about other ingenious ideas and devices that Franklin invented.

For upper elementary ages (grades 4-6) and middle schoolers (grades 7-8)

A Heart Strangely Warmed by Louise A. Vernon. Fiction based on the life and work of Methodist evangelist John Wesley.

Jonathan Edwards (Christian Biographies for Young Readers) by Simonetta Carr. This series of picture books with advanced text for older children has several books that are both beautiful and readable. Jonathan Edwards was a fascinating character and one of the true luminaries of colonial America. This biography serves as a lovely introduction to his life and ministry.

Handel at the Court of Kings by Opal Wheeler. Read about the life and times of composer George Frederic Handel who was court composer to Queen Anne and to George I, her successor. Opal Wheeler tells the story of Handel’s music and his life with such engaging text that the reader can’t help but be interested in listening to Handel’s music.

Stowaway by Karen Hesse. Eleven-year-old Nicholas Young is a stowaway aboard Captain James Cook’s ship Endeavour in 1768 as Cook and his crew voyage around the world.

For adults and young adults:

In Mozart’s Shadow by Carolyn Meyer. A fictional story about Nannerl, Mozart’s sister, who was a musician and composer in her own right but never got the chance to rival her little brother, Wolfgang Amadeus.

Or Give Me Death by Ann Rinaldi. Patriot and Virginia statesman Patrick Henry has a daughter and a family secret. In this fictional account we can read about the American revolution in Virginia from the point of view of Patrick Henry’s daughter and his wife. Ann Rinaldi also wrote several other historical fiction books set during this time period, including Cast Two Shadows, Mutiny’s Daughter, Takng Liberty, The Fifth of March, and The Secret of Sarah Revere.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. A girl slave sold to a master loyal to England during the American Revolution. She must decide whether to become a spy for the American rebels; this book is the first in the Seeds of America trilogy. The other two books, which follow the same characters throughout the American Revolution, are Forge and Ashes.

Since the books in my library that deal with history, both nonfiction and historical fiction, are shelved in chronological order, it’s easy to find a multitude of books set during the 1700’s. Just check the correct shelf and find one that suits your reading interests. Or check out one of the books on this list. What books do you know and love that are set during the eighteenth century?

Summer Reading Challenge: Poets and Poetry

I’m sponsoring a summer reading challenge in my library. The rules are as follows:

Out of the forty categories listed, choose the number your child intends to complete, one book per category from Meriadoc Homeschool Library.Children in grades K-12 can choose to read 10, 20, 30 or 40 books between June 1, 2019 and August 31, 2019. Books must be recorded and responses given on the official record sheet. You do not have to check out your books from Meriadoc Homeschool Library, but many categories may be easier to find in MHSL than in other libraries or at home. Books can be read and recorded in any order you choose.

The second category for this challenge is “a book about poetry or about a poet.”

What Is Poetry? The Essential Guide to Reading and Writing Poems by Michael Rosen. If you’re interested writing your own poetry (or song lyrics), this book is a great guide for getting started. It covers definitions, ways to start a poem, editing, technical points about reading and writing poems, and more. Summer is a great time for daydreaming and brainstorming and writing poetry.

Picture books and picture book biographies of famous poets:
A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jennifer Bryant. Williams was both a doctor and poet, and his life story as told in this picture book is inspirational and absorbing.

Emily by Michael Bedard. This picture book is a fiction story about Emily Dickinson and the little girl who lives across the street from Emily and comes to visit one day. Such a good story.

Custard the Dragon by Ogden Nash. One of my favorite poems just for fun.

Belinda lived in a little white house,
With a little black kitten and a little gray mouse,
And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon,
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.

Biographies for chapter book readers:
Phillis Wheatley : Young Colonial Poet by Helen Ross Speicher. In the Childhood of Famous Americans series, this biography tells about the first African American women to have her poetry published and acclaimed in colonial America.

James Whitcomb Riley: Hoosier Boy (Childhood of Famous Americans) by Minnie Belle Mitchell. Another COFA that you can pair with the picture book version of Riley’s poem, The Gobble-Uns ‘ll Git You Ef You Don’t Watch Out! James Whitcomb Riley’s Little Orphant Annie.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, His Life by Catherine Owens Peare. I love Longfellow, and this is a great biography, easy to read but really informative. I think if you read a couple of Longfellow’s poems together, children will be interested in learning more about the poet. The picture book that goes with this biography is Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Poetry and fiction:
The Mouse of Amherst by Elizabeth Spires. Another fiction book about Emily Dickinson and her friend; this time the friend is a little mouse who lives in Emily’s house.

May B. by Caroline Starr Rose. “When a failed wheat crop nearly bankrupts the Betterly family, Pa pulls twelve-year-old May from school and hires her out to a couple new to the Kansas frontier.” Verse novels are stories written in poetic form, usually free verse. The poems tell the story, and this one is a good tribute to perseverance and determination. Two other verse novels that I can recommend are Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate and Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech.

I have lots of other poetry books in my library. I didn’t even get to the regular poetry collections like Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends and others and the subject-related collections of poems, for example Beat the Drum, Independence Day Has Come and Marvelous Math: A Book of Poems, both by Lee Bennett Hopkins.

What are your favorite poetry-related books?

Summer Reading Challenge: Nature Study

I’m sponsoring a summer reading challenge in my library. The rules are as follows:

Out of the forty categories listed, choose the number your child intends to complete, one book per category from Meriadoc Homeschool Library. Children in grades K-12 can choose to read 10, 20, 30 or 40 books between June 1, 2019 and August 31, 2019. Books must be recorded and responses given on the official record sheet. You do not have to check out your books from Meriadoc Homeschool Library, but many categories may be easier to find in MHSL than in other libraries or at home. Books can be read and recorded in any order you choose.

The first category is “books about nature study.” Here are a few suggestions from my library:

Out of School and Into Nature: The Anna Comstock Story by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Jessica Lanon. A picture book biography of the well-known educator and naturalist. Here’s a link to my review of this lovely story of a girl who was in love with nature.

The Boy Who Drew Birds by Jacqueline Davies is another picture book biography, this one about John James Audubon.

Jim Arnosky has a plethora of wonderful nature books. I have the following books in my library:
Sketching Outdoors in Summer
Secrets of a Wildlife Watcher
Turtle in the Sea
Raccoons and Ripe Corn
Crinkleroot’s Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats
Come Out, Muskrats
All About Turkeys
All About Frogs
All About Owls
Thunder Birds: Nature’s Flying Predators
Hook, Line, And Seeker: A Beginner’s Guide To Fishing, Boating, and Watching Water Wildlife

Read more about Mr. Arnosky and his fabulous books. You can find more of them at the bookstore or at the public library.

The Adventure Book of Nature Craft by Richard F. Dempewolff. This book is from an old series that used to be sold in hobby shops and craft stores. Other books in the series that would qualify as “nature study” are The Adventure Book of Birds, The Adventure Book of Insects, The Adventure Book of Leaves, and The Adventure Book of Growing Plants. These are for the child (or adult) who wants to start a new hobby or collection: a leaf collection, a garden or terrarium, bird-watching, or an insect collection. Good reading and lots of good fun to go with it.

Right in Your Own Backyard: Nature Math by Anne Miranda. From the I Love Math series, published by Time-Life Education. Discover patterns in nature, study animals tracks with Professor Guesser, and learn about the geometry of a spider’s web.

In Woods and Fields by Margaret Waring Buck. “This book is for boys and girls and other beginning naturalists. Every effort has been made to make it as accurate as if it were written and illustrated for scientists.It is the result of years of firsthand observation and study.” Ms. Buck describes the birds, insects, and plants that a nature lover is likely to encounter during each season of the year, with detailed drawings of each one of the flora and fauna mentioned. I also have In Yards and Gardens, a similar books by the same author.

Ruby Throat: The Story of a Hummingbird by Robert M McClung. Mr. McClung is another author whose books are all worth reading —over and over again. In this one, the author tells about the life and habits of Ruby Throat, a hummingbird, only three and a half inches long.

The Bug Club Book: A Handbook for Young Bug Collectors by Gladys Plemon Conklin. Ms. COnklin was a librarian who hosted a bug club for “young bug collectors” at her library. Read her book and find out how to start your own bug club.

For parents who want to join in the nature fun:

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv. Mr. Louv, father of boys himself, describes “the human costs of alienation from nature.”

Wild Days: Creating Discovery Journals by Karen Skidmore Rackliffe. Learn how you and your child can start a nature discovery journal of your own.

The Country Diary of An Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden. This book I’m going to read to see what I can learn about Edwardian ladies and their affinity for nature.

Do you have a favorite nature study book? Are you planning to make some time to get outdoors this summer and experience nature with your children?

If you like Little House: The Older (Golden) Years of Laura . . .

For the month of July, I’m planning a series of posts about readalikes: what to read (or what to suggest to your favorite child reader) when you’ve read all of your favorite author’s books or all of the books of a certain genre that you know of, and you don’t know what to read next.

On Saturday we talked about Little House (Laura Ingalls Wilder) readalike books for middle grade readers; today I have some prairie and frontier fiction for middle school, high school and even adult readers.

The Jumping-Off Place by Marian Hurd McNeely. Becky, Dick, Phil, and Joan, orphaned brothers and sisters, work hard to retain their Uncle Jim’s homestead in Tripp County, South Dakota at the turn of the century, early 1900’s. This book won a Newbery Honor in 1930, around the same time that the Little House books were being published, but it’s not nearly as well known. I put it here in this post for older children and teens because it’s a little darker in tone than the Little House books. A baby dies of snakebite; some homesteaders go hungry; life is hard. But the children/young people survive and thrive with grit and determination.

Patricia Beatty’s historical heroines are usually strong, spunky, and full of life and mischief. Often her novels have themes related to women’s rights, women’s suffrage, and feminism. These have a much more comical, individualistic, and adventurous tone to them than the Little House series, and they’re written for twelve year olds and older.
A selection of some of my favorite frontier fiction titles by Patricia Beatty:
That’s One Ornery Orphan. In Texas in the 1870’s orphan Hallie Lee Baker tries to get herself adopted, but her plan go awry.
Just Some Weeds from the Wilderness. In Oregon in 1873, Adelina Westlake, with the help of her niece Lucinda, goes into business, unheard of for a well-bred female, to save her family from financial ruin.
Something to Shout About. Thirteen year old Hope Foster and her family become the new residents of a new town in 1875: Ottenberg in Montana Territory.
How Many Miles to Sundown? Beeler Quimey and her pet longhorn, Travis, travel with brother Leo and another boy, Nate through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in the 1880’s.
By Crumbs It’s Mine. In 1882, thirteen year old Damaris and her family are traveling through Arizona territory in hopes of settling somewhere when her father catches gold fever and deserts the family for the gold fields of California. When Damaris accidentally becomes a hotel owner, the family calls on Aunt Willa to help.
Bonanza Girl. Ann Katie Scott and her mother move to a mining boom-town in Idaho Territory and begin to make a living by opening a restaurant.But how will they survive if the gold gives out?
The Nickel-Plated Beauty. In Washington state in 1886, the Kimballs order their mother a new, shiny, nickel-plated cookstove for Christmas. They keep their plan a secret and spend half the year working to try to pay for the beautiful new stove.
Hail Columbia! In 1893, Louisa’s Aunt Columbia bring her suffragette and other political ideas to the frontier in Astoria, Oregon.
O The Red Rose Tree. Also set in 1893, but back in Washington state, this novel features four thirteen year old girls trying to help an old woman complete her special quilt pattern.
Eight Mules from Monterey. In 1916, Fayette and her librarian mother try to bring library services by mule to the people living in and around Monterrey, California.

When Molly Was a Harvey Girl by Frances M. Wood. Molly pretends to be eighteen years old so that she can get a job as a Harvey girl at the famous Harvey House restaurant.

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson. The orphaned sixteen year old Hattie Brooks decides to leave Iowa and move to Vida, Montana, to prove up on her late uncle’s homestead claim. In Montana in 1918, Hattie finds adventure, hardship, and family.
Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson. In this sequel to Hattie Big Sky, Hattie wants to follow in the footsteps of Nellie Bly and become a real newspaper reporter.

If you’ve tried all of these and the ones in the previous Little House readalike post and you still want more, let me know in the comments. I can probably come up with a few more authors and books to sate your appetite for girls and families in historical frontier fiction.

If you like Little House on the Prairie . . .

For the month of July, I’m planning a series of posts about readalikes: what to read (or what to suggest to your favorite child reader) when you’ve read all of your favorite author’s books or all of the books of a certain genre that you know of, and you don’t know what to read next. Here are a few suggestions for Little House on the Prairie fans.

First up, author Melissa Wiley has written a series of books about Laura Ingalls Wilder’s grandmother and great-grandmother:
Books about Martha Morse, Laura’s great-grandmother by Melissa Wiley:
Little House in the Highlands
The Far Side of the Loch
Down to the Bonny Glen
Beyond the Heather Hills

Books about Charlotte Tucker, Laura’s grandmother, also by Melissa Wiley:
Little House by Boston Bay
On Tide Mill Lane
The Road from Roxbury
Across the Puddingstone Dam

Another duo, Maria Wilkes and Celia Wilkins, has written about Laura’s mother’s childhood.
Books about Caroline Quiner Ingalls, Laura’s mother, by Maria Wilkes & Celia Wilkins:
Little House in Brookfield
Little Town at the Crossroads
Little Clearing in the Woods
On Top of Concord Hill
Across the Rolling River
Little City by the Lake
A Little House of Their Own

Books about Laura’s daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, by her heir, Roger Lea MacBride:
Little House on Rocky Ridge
Little Farm in the Ozarks
In the Land of the Big Red Apple
The Other Side of the Hill
Little Town in the Ozarks
New Dawn on Rocky Ridge
On the Banks of the Bayou
Bachelor Girl

Then, there’s this set published by Harper Collins and written by various well-known authors who are also Little House fans:
Old Town in the Green Groves (Little House) by Cynthia Rylant.
Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls (Little House) by Heather Williams.
Mary Ingalls on Her Own (Little House Sequel) by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel.

Carol Ryrie Brink published Caddie Woodlawn in 1935, and it received the Newbery Medal in 1936. It’s about a girl growing up on the frontier in Wisconsin, before and during the Civil War (1860’s). Caddie is set during much the same time period as the Little House books by Ms. Wilder. A second book with more stories about Caddie and her family is called Magical Melons.

Louise Erdrich’s Birchbark House is about Omakayas, a seven-year-old Native American girl of the Ojibwa tribe. It’s a good counter-balance to the portrayal of Native American people in the Little House books, which tends to be somewhat negative and stereotypical. The books in the series so far are:
The Birchbark House
The Game of Silence
The Porcupine Year
Chickadee
Makoons

Latsch Family Farm series by Anne Pellowski. These are a series of five novels about life in the Polish Catholic farm communities in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin. Each book tells about one year in the life of the author’s great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, and the author herself in the last book, Stairstep Farm. The books, which do not need to be read in chronological order, are:
First Farm in the Valley: Anna’s Story
Willow Wind Farm: Betsy’s Story
Betsy’s Up-and-Down Year
Winding Valley Farm: Annie’s Story
Stairstep Farm: Anna Rose’s Story

The Orphan Train Adventures series are also worthy and exciting reads for lovers of frontier-setting fiction. The books tell about the adventures of a family of orphans from New York City who are split up and sent west on the Orphan Train to live with frontier families.
A Family Apart (Orphan Train Adventures, #1)
Caught in the Act (Orphan Train Adventures, #2)
In The Face of Danger (Orphan Train Adventures, #3)
A Dangerous Promise (Orphan Train Adventures, #4)
Keeping Secrets (Orphan Train Adventures, #5)
A Place to Belong (Orphan Train Adventures, #6)
Circle of Love (Orphan Train Adventures, #7)

If you finish all of these and still want more you can always enjoy a few nonfiction spin-offs:
The Little House Cookbook by Barbara M. Walker. Illustrated by Garth Williams.
My Little House Sewing Book by Margaret Irwin.
My Little House Craft Book by Carolyn Strom Collins.
The World of Little House by Carolyn Strom Collins.
Laura Ingalls Wilder by Gwenda Blair.

All of the above books are for approximately the same maturity and reading level as the original Little House books. Tomorrow I’ll post about what to read when you’ve sort of outgrown Little House but still want to read prairie and frontier adventures: Little House for young adults.