From School Library Journal
Gr 5 Up-This collection of biographies combines historical data and fictional narrative. (The author calls her work "creative nonfiction.") In diary format, the main characters and people who knew them tell their stories. Isabella Bird, a refined Englishwoman, explored the Rocky Mountains on horseback in the 1870s. Clara Brown, a freed slave, traveled to Kansas in 1859 and later to Colorado where she helped other ex-slaves establish new lives. Margaret Brown, known as the "unsinkable Molly Brown," grew up in Hannibal, MO, traveled to the mining districts of Colorado, and married a miner who struck it rich. Nellie Cashman, an Irish immigrant, moved with her sister to Boston and then to San Francisco. Later, she worked as a miner and owned a restaurant in Tombstone, AZ. Sarah Winnemucca, a Northern Paiute, experienced discrimination, saw her people mistreated by Anglos, and served as a translator between the two groups. All the figures have much in common: determination, perseverance, and hard work. It is easy to forget that segments of the book are fictional narrative, so careful, discerning reading is crucial. Black-and-white photographs and reproductions of historical artifacts in soft gray tones appear throughout.
Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel, IL
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
