Exploring the Chicago World's Fair, 1893 (American Sisters) [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Laurie Lawlor (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Series: American Sisters

THE WHITE CITY While their mother works long hours to pay for their room, Dora is once again left in charge of her sisters. Overwhelmed by responsibility, she worries about Lillian and Phoebe as they find jobs of their own and experience the wonders of the World's Fair -- strange new foods, foreign cultures, and incredible inventions. Seeing the sweeping changes that the turn of the century will bring makes Dora wish for a more traditional family -- until her own family is threatened in the fantasyland that will disappear at summer's end....

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-7-Dora, 12, and her three younger sisters are moving again. The family has relocated 20 times in 10 years, chasing the big break on the stage or entertainment circuit, often under the shadow of unpaid bills and gambling debts. This time they head for the Chicago World's Fair, where their father has work as a horse handler for Buffalo Bill. The girls' parents continue to be self-focused and seemingly irresponsible in this new setting. Papa lives at his work site, failing to provide for the family's expenses, while Mama tries to earn some money-first as a waitress, a job that does not suit her fancy, and then as a hootchy-kootchy dancer. Every day, the siblings are left to fend for themselves on the crowded, potentially dangerous fairgrounds. While the descriptions and details of the setting and activities are realistic and fascinating, the level of independence and responsibility assumed by the children (ages 4, 8, 10, and 12 years) is not believable. This title may be of regional interest.

Janie Schomberg, Leal Elementary School, Urbana, IL

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. The latest entry in the American Sister series shows the glamour and grittiness of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Twelve-year-old Dora Pomeroy and her younger sisters, Phoebe, Lillian, and little Tess, are in town because their father has a job with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. But no women are allowed there, so the girls and their mother are on their own. The atmospheric story is chockfull of the sights and sounds of the exposition: the gleam of the electric lights, the crush of the crowds, the tastiness of the treats, the excitement of the rides. Yet, there is also fear and poverty as their father gambles his money away, and their mother lurches from one job to another (including a stint as a hootchie-kootchie dancer), forcing the girls to find work of their own. The characters are stock, but the situation is not. Lawlor attempt to weave some social issues into the story, and the sisters' resentments about not being in a traditional family and having to fend for themselves will ring true for many of today's readers. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 212 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (February 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671039245
• ISBN-13: 978-0671039240
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,919,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Could have used more details, June 30, 2002

By 

MAB (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exploring the Chicago World's Fair, 1893 (American Sisters) (Hardcover)

"Exploring the Chicago World's Fair, 1893" is a good book, but it didn't have an ounce of happiness to it. Under the circumstances, I understand that Dora wouldn't be running with joy throughout the fair, but still, have her smile at the sights and sounds every so often. I find it hard to believe they would build a fair, which reminds me of a modern theme park from today, and then tear it down - how sad. Also, we never found out why Da Pomeroy's letters never made it to his wife and children, what job Mama Pomeroy took to make money for the rent and food, after she quit being Little Egypt, etc. I enjoy Laurie Lawlor's writing, but I am disappointed with the American Sisters series for two reasons: there isn't an Epilogue, so you haven't a clue how the Pomeroy's fair in the future, and second there isn't a historical explanation of the fair. If you don't care to learn about the historical facts of the Chicago World's in 1893, but just want to see what it was like from a child's point of view, then I recommend it - if you want to learn history, then don't bother.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The adventures of four sisters at the Chicago World's Fair., February 15, 2001

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Exploring the Chicago World's Fair, 1893 (American Sisters) (Hardcover)

Dora Pomeroy has always longed for a more traditional family. Her parents, who are in the theater business, have moved the family - Dora and her three younger sisters - more times than Dora can remember. Out of the twelve years of her life, Dora has only attended school for four years. Her happiest memories are of the past year spent on a ranch on the Nebraska prairie - ironically, her parents' worst memories. Now that the ranch has failed, the family is moving to Chicago - just in time for the World's Fair of 1893. For the Pomeroys, Chicago is a city of dreams. Dora and her sisters are eager to explore the fair. But when the girls and their mother lose contact with their father, reality hits hard. Mrs. Pomeroy and the three older girls have to work to pay for their room and their meals. Dora longs for the day when her family will finally be together again - but will that day ever come? I highly recommend this book, and the rest of the American Sisters series, to young readers who enjoy historical fiction such as the Dear America series.