Trail of Thread: A Woman's Westward Journey (Book 1 of Trail of Thread Series.) [Paperback]

Linda K. Hubalek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1995 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Trail of Thread Series

In this first book of the Trail of Thread series, in the form of letters she wrote on the journey, Deborah Pieratt describes the scenery, the everyday events on the trail, and the task of taking care of her family. Stories of humor and despair, along with her ongoing remarks about camping, cooking, and quilting, make you feel as if you pulled up stakes and are traveling with the Pieratts, too. This series is based on author Linda K. Hubalek's ancestors that traveled from Kentucky to Kansas in 1854. Besides the history of the times, Hubalek weaves quilting facts and quilt pattern sketches in her book series.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Trail Of Thread is an historical fiction in the form of letters written by a woman in the years 1854-1855 as her Kentucky family traveled by wagon trail to the new territory of Kansas. Deborah Pieratt describes the scenery, the everyday events on the trail, and the task of taking care of her family. Stories of humor and despair, along with her ongoing remarks about camping, cooking, and quilting, make the reader feel as if they had pulled up stakes and went traveling with the Pieratts, too. But hints of the brewing trouble ahead plagued them along the way as people questioned their motive for settling in the new Kansas territory. Why didn't a Southern family have slaves with them? Would the Pieratts vote for or against legal slavery in the new state? Though Deborah didn't realize it, her letters show how this trip affected her family for generations to come. Author Linda Hubalek has paid meticulous attention to historical accuracy and background in this superlative fiction. --Midwest Book Review

About the Author

In sixth grade we had to write a paper on what we wanted to do when we grew up. My mom had kept it and I found this paper while cleaning through my closet during my college days. According to my dreams back then, I wanted to be a farmer, but my last line was "but alas, girls can't be farmers." Well, I got my Bachelors Degree in Agriculture/Horticulture from Kansas State University, did agronomy research for years before starting a wholesale horticulture business. My company, Prairie Flower Creations, grew and dried flowers, ornamental corn, and mini pumpkins for the florist trade. In 1990 I was featured in Country Woman Magazine, but at the same time, my husband's job was transferred to California. I sold my business and tried to cope, growing flowers and pumpkins in five-gallon buckets on our cement lawn.
I started writing about the family and farmland I was homesick for and started a new career, writing about women ancestors who had moved to the new state of Kansas and farmed its land.
We eventually moved back to Kansas, bought land next to my family, raised buffalo, and I have a garden again. So not only have I fulfilled my dream to be a farmer, I've written about past and present women that have also tilled the prairie land of Kansas. Please read and enjoy my book series which are about the family that homestead our family farm, and my ancestors that homesteaded in Kansas in the 1800s. Considered historical fiction, these quality paperback books are age appropriate for everyone from age 9 to 99. Book, quilt, and Scandinavian gift shops sell them (or ask your local store to stock them for you) and schools use them in class studies to portray early pioneer and Kansas history. My writing time most days is spent on the computer with marketing my businesses, and working on the next book series.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 124 pages
• Publisher: Butterfield Books (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886652066
• ISBN-13: 978-1886652064
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #321,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Linda Hubalek majored in agriculture in college, and featured in Country Woman Magazine about her wildflower business when her husband's job transferred them to California. She then started writing about the Kanas prairie she was homesick for and started her writing career.

Linda's first book, BUTTER IN THE WELL, written as diary entries, is about the Swedish immigrant that homesteaded her family farm. Readers wanted to know what happened to the family, so she continued the story with PRÄRIEBLOMMAN, EGG GRAVY (a pioneer cookbook), and LOOKING BACK.

Her next historical fiction series features pioneer women as they experience the Civil War firsthand. TRAIL OF THREAD, THIMBLE OF SOIL, and STITCH OF COURAGE, written in the form of letters, has a quilt theme because of a quilt handed down in Linda Hubalek's family.

PLANTING DREAMS, CULTIVATING HOPE, and HARVESTING FAITH tells her ancestor's story that changed their family history forever when they homesteaded on the unforgiving Kansas prairie.

Linda Hubalek and her husband eventually moved back home to Kansas, and she continues to research and write about pioneer women that made Kansas their home. The KANSAS QUILTER will be her next book series.
www.LindaHubalek.com
www.Facebook.com/lindahubalekbooks

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT!, July 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Trail of Thread: A Woman's Westward Journey (Book 1 of Trail of Thread Series.) (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book about a family traveling from Kentucky to Kansas. The story is told by Deborah Pieratt in letter form to her mother, Betsy Goodpaster. Deborah wrote to her mother about everything that happened along the way to her new home. She faces many diffuculties on her long journey including a cyclone. She explains how hard it is to raise a family while traveling to a place she has never seen. I would recommend that anyone who loves to read should pick up this book. If you do, I hope you enjoy it.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Trail of Thread, January 8, 2000

By 

MARIAN A SPAIN (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trail of Thread: A Woman's Westward Journey (Book 1 of Trail of Thread Series.) (Paperback)

The book was very interesting and showed the challenge and hardship of westward travel in a covered wagon. I wish the author had told more about the quilts or maybe even provided patterns. I would read the whole series for the historical value.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars vicki, January 26, 2012

By 

vicki - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trail of Thread: A Woman's Westward Journey (Book 1 of Trail of Thread Series.) (Paperback)

this is a great book. there is several books written by this author and she does such a nice job of writing history. all of linda's books are hard to put down once you begin reading.