All the Stars in the Sky: the Santa Fe Trail Diary of Florrie Mack Ryder [Hardcover]

Megan McDonald (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up

Florrie finds the adventure of a lifetime along the Santa Fe Trail, meeting new challenges and dangers, after her mother decides to move her family from Missouri to New Mexico.

Starting their journey from their home in Missouri, Florrie Ryder and her family are headed towards the promise of a new life in Santa Fe. As they cross the Great Plains of the midwestern prairie, fording rivers and climbing mountains, the Ryders encounter endless hardship as they undertake this great adventure.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-Florrie, 12; her pregnant mother; a younger, sometimes troublesome brother; and Mr. Ryder, her new stepfather, set out in 1848 from Arrow Rock, MO, on an arduous journey of several months to Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory. Florrie's diary entries believably record her varied experiences-from mired-down and broken wagons and standoffs with badgers to the death of a friend in the wagon train. Children will identify with the girl's sadness as she leaves her best friend and rejoice as she finds new acquaintances along the seemingly endless trip. The writing is excellent, developing a compelling narrative and revealing the character of Florrie and the people she describes. As with a real diary, some entries are short, others more detailed, and there are gaps of time between them. The concluding "Historical Note" includes photographs, a map, and other information to place the story more firmly in the context of its time. A solid purchase for most collections, especially those with avid "Dear America" readers.
Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 188 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; Edition Unstated edition (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439169631
• ISBN-13: 978-0439169639
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #500,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

10 THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME

10. The first book I ever wrote was about a hermit crab, inspired by a pet I once owned.

9. My favorite color is purple.

8. I love to read mysteries. When I was Judy's age, I read all 56 classic Nancy Drew books . . . in order! Jeepers!

7. I used to collect scabs so I could examine them under the microscope that I got for my 8th birthday.

6. My four sisters and I often made up our own language, which included the words "Hoidi Boidi", "oogey", "retzel crummypuss" and "poony-poony".

5. My favorite TV show is JEOPARDY!

4. To research my Sisters Club book, THE RULE OF THREE, I toured San Francisco in search of the ultimate cupcake. The winner: Sleepless in San Francisco. Think chocolate + coffee.

3. When I was a kid, I fell down a hill from chasing the ice-cream truck and had to get stitches.

2. When I was a librarian, I used to tell stories in sign language. That's how I got the expression "same-same" for Judy.

1. I share a birthday (February 28) with a famous princess, race car driver and gangster, a Rolling Stone, a French tightrope walker, and a winning racehorse named Smarty Jones.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent new Dear America book., September 5, 2003

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All the Stars in the Sky: the Santa Fe Trail Diary of Florrie Mack Ryder (Hardcover)

Twelve-year-old Florrie barely remembers her father, who died when she was very young. Now her mother has remarried, and Florrie's new stepfather, who is a trader, has decided to take his new family to Santa Fe, where he is part owner of a store. Florrie begins her diary as she, her younger brother, mother, and stepfather set out from Missouri on the Santa Fe trail. She describes the hardships they face crossing rivers, mountains, and deserts, but also the joys, as she makes new friends and experiences the wonders of the beautiful wilderness. This wasn't one of the best Dear America books, but it was still very good, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the series. I particularly enjoyed that it covered a subject not written about that much in historical fiction.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Dear America, December 2, 2003

By 

Brittany "lady_jane_grey" (MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All the Stars in the Sky: the Santa Fe Trail Diary of Florrie Mack Ryder (Hardcover)

I have been reading Dear America books for a long time, and I've had a hard time trying to stop! I started in fifth grade, and I am a senior now. I normally read adult books, but there are just some series that I can't let go!

Florrie (Florence) Mack Ryder sets out from Missouri to travel in a wagon to Santa Fe. Along with her come her pregnant mother, stepfather, brother, and dog, Mr. Biscuit. The journey is harder than they thought, filled with hardships and losses. The tragedies were not in vein, for it made Florrie a stronger person, as you will find in the end.

I enjoyed The Wild and Lonesome Prairie, so I thought I would enjoy this. I did. As with most Dear America books, it was well written, it kept me turning pages, and it was educational. For instance, did you know Santa Fe means "holy faith"?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thought provoking picture., July 1, 2004

By 

A Customer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All the Stars in the Sky: the Santa Fe Trail Diary of Florrie Mack Ryder (Hardcover)

Florrie Ryder is having a hard time leaving everything she has ever known behind. Her best friend, her grandparents, and even the grave of her father must all remain in Arrow Rock, Missouri. Florrie, her younger brother Jem, her mother, and her mother's new husband are going to travel down the Santa Fe Trail to begin a new life in New Mexico in the town of Santa Fe. Unlike the Oregon Trail and others that went towards the west coast, the Santa Fe Trail was used mostly by traders rather than by settlers.

Nevertheless, it was still a grueling journey and Florrie witnesses more than her fair share of suffering and hardship. She develops friendships that come to mean a great deal to her and that sustain her. We are drawn into the story as Florrie and her family battle their way down the trail, and we are charmed by Florrie's likable and determined personality. Florrie sees things with a clarity that can be quite startling at times, even to her. For example, she comments early in the journey that she feels lost "like a stick figure drawn in the dust, erased by wagon tracks." Later she remarks, "I am lonely and have fallen under the cloud of my own bad weather."

Written in a style that suggests Florrie's own speech, Megan McDonald has created a wonderful character and has gone to great lengths to study the times and the people she writes about. Her inclusion of Spanish words, as Florrie begins to learn the language, is a particularly effective device. Both sad and at times humorous, Florrie's story provides us with a thought-provoking picture of a time and place not often written about.

--- Reviewed by Marya Jansen-Gruber ([e-mail])