Caleb's Story (Sarah, Plain and Tall)

Book Description

Anna has done something terrible. She has given me her journal to fill.

In Anna's journal the words walk across the page like bird prints in the mud. But it is hard for me. It is hard for me to find things to write about.

"It's your job now," Anna says as she hands Caleb her journals, asking him to continue writing the family story. But Sarah, Jacob, Anna, Caleb, and their new little sister, Cassie, have already formed a family, and Caleb fears there will be nothing left to write about. But that is before Cassie discovers a mysterious old man in the barn and everything changes. Everyone is excited about the arrival of a new family member except for Jacob, who holds a bitter grudge. Only the special love of Caleb, and the gift he offers, can help to mend the pain of the past.

Caleb's Story continues the saga begun by the Newbery Medal–winning Sarah, Plain And Tall and its sequel, Skylark, spinning a tale of love, forgiveness, and the ties that bind a family together.

Ages 8–10

Customer Reviews:

Caleb's Story.......2006-02-20

This book in the 'Sarah, Plain and Tall" series has the same brilliant ability to draw readers in as the original, this time through Caleb's eyes.

Touching Story.......2004-03-13

Caleb's Story, the third of a series by Patricia MacLachlan, shows how a family can be brought closer together. Caleb, a teen coming of age, meets his grandpa who is sick. Taking place on the prairie this story show a struggle between generations. Read more to understand the struggles between the generations, and possibly solve some of your own.
Two good reasons you must read Caleb's Story are you could find more about grandpa, and find out more about Caleb and Cassie. You could see if their grandpa could make it or not. You could see if they started to get a long. Calob's Story is a MUST READ because you will learn about relationship. This book Calob's Story has a happy ending. You will love Calob's Story.
Patricia Maclachlan is a great writer. You will love her books. Patricia was a English teacher. She has a daughter who is helping her writer a book. She lives on the top of a mountain in Massachusetts. Calob's Story is the best book out of the series.

Sarah, Plain and Tall and Skylark Sequel is Heartwarming.......2002-04-09

Caleb's Story picks up where Skylark and Sarah, Plain and Tall leave off. For the countless readers who fell in love with Sarah as she learned to be a mother to Anna and Caleb, and a helpmeet for Jacob, this book is a wonderful addition. For the reader who lacks "Sarah background," Sarah comes from Maine to a prairie farm after responding to an ad placed by Jacob, who is looking for a woman to replace his recently deceased wife. While he is not necessarily looking for romance, Sarah and Jacob ultimately fall in love, and their next years as a family is chronicled in the sequel, Skylark.

In Caleb's Story, Anna leaves for town to help with victims of the influenza epidemic of 1918. A stranger is discovered in the barn, which turns out to be Jacob's estranged father, John. John wishes reconciliation with Jacob, who stubbornly continues to deny him the forgiveness he desires.

Journaling is a major theme in this book, making it a perfect companion to teaching the importance of recording events and feelings. Caleb picks up journaling for the family, a job which Anna had done until her departure. In trying to encourage Grandpa John to learn about the family he knew little of, Caleb offers the journals to him. Ultimately, in an extremely touching scene, Caleb presents Grandpa John his own journal, whereupon he learns that John never learned how to write.

What a touching story this is! A perfect read-aloud for the classroom (if the teacher can harden the heart enough not to cry!), students do not need to have a lot of background of the previous parts of the story. This reviewer found the characters believable; their reactions that John's arrival caused the family were extremely believable. MacLachlan's ability to convey emotions in an easy-to-understand way for intermediate readers makes this the perfect addition to any school or family library.

I'm not impressed.......2001-12-10

I'm not impressed with this book.

Sarah Plain and Tall is a near perfect novel in it's simplicity and depth but it is evident that MacLachlan spent neither the time nor the care to develop this story. I felt jipped with the cliches and predictable unfolding. This is definitely not her best writing.

Plus, the way the father Jacob is portrayed (an angry unforgiving man) takes away from his character in the first book .. shy, strong, deep and wise.

This book is a classic example of an author monopolizing on something good (Sarah Plain and Tall) knowing her fans will buy it. In the book "Caleb's Story" MacLachlan leaves herself plenty of loopholes so we know there will be more books.

I'm disappointed and kinda disgusted.

Caleb's Story by Patricia MacLachlan.......2001-12-03

As a third grade teacher, I am always on the lookout for good literature for student reading or teacher read alouds. My class and I read together the first two books in this trilogy and I used Caleb's Story as a read aloud which I shared with my principal. We loved this poignant story from its opening pages to its final pages. The old characters come to life once again while the surprising introduction of some new characters give great insight into family life. Everyone could relate to one or more of the characters, they are realistic. Lessons on cause and effect, character traits and goals, predicting, and problem solving were ongoing. Class discussions were wonderful as this tale presents much to talk about. The fact that this book is told in a different voice from the first two, is an interesting change. Caleb, who didn't want to take his sister's place as the family historian, eventually continues the saga in his own journal. My class is writing to the author requesting that she continue the stories using Jacob and the new characters to tie some pieces together. Many of my students are reading it again. It is a beautiful chapter book and appropriate to read when studying the early prairie years of our country.

The Raiders: Sons of Texas (Sons of Texas Trilogy 2)

Average customer rating:

The Raiders
The Raiders--an excellent read
Kelton Shines in The Raiders

The Raiders: Sons of Texas (Sons of Texas Trilogy 2)
Elmer Kelton
Manufacturer: Forge Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0765315254
Release Date: 2006-05-16

Book Description

Ten years have passed since Michael Lewis made his first venture into Texas, now a province of Mexico. Together with a small number of Americans pioneering on the Brazos and Colorado Rivers, Michael and his brother Andrew each have a plot of land assigned to them by the entrepreneur Stephen F. Austin. Michael Lewis has his fathers wanderlust; Andrew is less footloose and excitable but the two act as one when trouble starts. To secure their places in Texas, the Lewis boys have to fight not only Mexican authorities and hostile Indians, but their own kind renegade white men attempting to settle on Texas land without permission. In The Raiders, Elmer Kelton continues his saga of the Lewis family and the formative years of Texas.

Customer Reviews:

The Raiders.......2007-01-14

I really like following the familys. I can't wait for the third in the series.

The Raiders--an excellent read.......2007-01-09

Another Kelton masterpiece. It fleshes out the early settlers of Texas and fills in the history.

Kelton Shines in The Raiders.......2006-08-02

In book two of the Lewis family trilogy, THE RAIDERS: SONS OF TEXAS, veteran author Elmer Kelton delivers a finely wrought western set in the early days of Mexican-ruled Texas. To keep their land in Stephan Austin's colony, Michael and Andrew Lewis battle the elements and raiding hostiles. Michael's frequent wanderlust causes hardships for his wife, Marie, and small son. Andrew works Michael's land in his brother's absence, but Andrew's apparent fondness for his sister-in-law drives a wedge between the brothers. Their lives are endangered by the appearance of old enemies, the Blackwood brothers.

In an effort to ease tensions Marie suggests that Andrew should leave for a while and use the time away to hunt for a wife. While on his journey, Andrew visits Stephan Austin who sends him to Nacogdoches to ascertain if rumors of a revolt are true. Andrew meets a lovely young woman named Petra, but he is very confused about his feelings for Marie. During his travels Andrew makes a sworn enemy, Tolliver Beard.

Elmer Kelton's skillful narration exposes the resilience of love intertwined with gutsy determination. This second volume is rich in detail and strong characterization. I'm certain that the third book in the Lewis trilogy will be excellent reading.

Average customer rating:

Finding Worth
3rd Grade Reading Group, Newport Oregon Elementary School
Worth was a okay book
A Storm
Well Worth A Read

Worth
A. LaFaye
Manufacturer: Aladdin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1416916245

Book Description

Before the accident Nathaniel's life seemed pretty good. His help around the farm made his father proud. But now, with a busted leg, Nathaniel can't do farmwork anymore, so his father adopts another son through the Orphan Train. Feeling replaced and useless, Nathaniel attends school for the first time. Meanwhile, sturdy and strong John is able to do the work that earns Pa's attention.

But the truth is, John Worth has his own set of troubles. He is treated more like a servant than a son. Kept awake at night by nightmares of his family's death, he remembers having a pa who took pride in him. But now he has no one, until a community battle and a special book reveal a potential friend -- and a chance for understanding.

Customer Reviews:

Finding Worth.......2007-07-12

John Worth is an Orphan Train child, the sole survivor of the fire which killed his family. Nate Peale is a child of the prairie; his family struggles to homestead on the Nebraska plains. Neither boy has the ideal life; the question the book obviously asks is how will each find worth, value in the difficulties each has been handed. It is a deep study, this developing sense of worth, and the book handles it from the viewpoint of Nate, in a straightforward, no-nonsense, abrupt manner reflective of the rather harsh plains setting. I have met these people, having grown up in the High Plains myself, and the harsh view of life during the period is as real as the colorful country figures of speech. LaFaye creates country diction wonderfully and creates a great heroine in Mary Eve, Nate's mother, who at first refuses to love the orphan, John Worth out of a sense of loyalty to her own son and is, herself, an enterprising tinker. Gabriel, Nate's pa, struggles with his guilt over Nate's injury and faces down overwhelming odds to produce enough to keep his farm. One wishes that the issues of love, loyalty, women's roles were all explored more deeply rather than leaning on the fence-cutting dilemma and the long-lasting feud between ranchers and farmers to carry the story. But this is a children's book, and a good one. It is reminiscent of Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust which also reveals the endurance which High Plains life demands. For an outdoor drama featuring the rancher-farmer feud, see Texas, a play in Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo, Texas. The Peale's could be featured as strong farmers in that musical.

3rd Grade Reading Group, Newport Oregon Elementary School.......2007-06-13

A compilation of various students:

I really liked the book. It is kind of sad in the beginning. I loved this book...it got sadder and sadder but it had a very good ending. The book is `actiony', funny and it makes you want to read it over and over. Worth is the most dramatic action filled, dark gory story I ever read. It lost my 5th star because it has blood and pain, there is a lot of drama. If you don't like blood don't read this. I like the Greek myth stuff. The only thing I didn't like was it didn't have enough Greek myth stuff. My favorite character was Anemone.

Worth was a okay book.......2007-04-13

The book Worth is about a poor farming family trying to survive in Nebraska. After Nate crushed his leg in a farming accident, he was unable to help out around the farm. His father went to the orphan train, which was a train that brought homeless children from the East to find new homes, to get a boy to help with the farm work that Nate could no longer do. The boy's name was John Worth. Nate's father's actions hurt his feelings because he felt like he was being replaced by John. He became very jealous of John. John grew up in New York City, so he was not used to farm work. His entire family died in a fire, so like Nate, he had his own problems to deal with. The story follows the relationship between the two boys. The ongoing battle between the ranchers and the farmers connect the two boys as they try to save the farms in the area.

In my opinion the book was not great because it was not a happy story. I didn't like the fact that there was a lot of talk of death in it. John was always talking about how his family died in a fire, and Nate was always talking about how his little sister, Missy, choked on some bread. I also didn't like the fact that the book didn't use proper English. It was written in an uneducated, rural Nebraska manner, so it was hard to read and understand at times. In one sentence Nate says "Didn't do me no good" when he was describing how he was trying to keep up with the pain he was feeling.

At the end, the book started getting better. Nate and John were stopping the fence cutters, who were people who cut fences to let the cattle out. They went to help Widow Kerensky, a customer of John's parents', by chasing away the fence cutters. Widow Kerensky pulled a gun on John thinking he was a fence cutter, but then took the gun away when she saw Nate because she knew him. I liked this part because it was filled with action and I felt like I was hiding in the grass there, watching them.

The book Worth was not one of my favorite books. I would not want to read the book again, but I would recommend it to anyone looking for a historical fiction book. Although I learned a lot about the hardships of living on a farm, it did not have enough action to hold my attention. All in all I didn't really like the book.

A Storm.......2007-03-03

The main character of the book Worth is named Nathaniel.
First, Nathaniel is a hard working boy especially when he brings the hay in to the barn. Second, he is boy that can take pain. A storm hit their farm and he was on a tractor thing and fell off and hurt his leg. Third, Nathaniel is one of those boys that are nice on the outside but sometimes mean on the inside. He doesn't like people that take away his dad. Fourth, Nathaniel is always helping his mom. He puts things that were broken back together that broke. Does that character relate to you?

Well Worth A Read.......2006-11-04

Difficult subjects makes for difficult reading. However, Worth's writer, A. LaFaye, has managed to handle the subject of the human need to be wanted, to be needed, to have--worth, with a masterful hand.

"Ma says you can hear the lightening in the tall grass before a storm. Haven't heard it myself, but she swears there's a crackling in the grass like tiny bolts of lightening traveling from blade to blade." So begins our story with a slight ominous preminition. Written in first person, our main character, Nathaniel James, talks to us with descriptions so rich and easy you feel you are right there in the middle of the action. And there is plenty of action!

Our author fearlessly takes on all the problems and stresses that Nathaniel's family has to deal with. Some outside their control: ranchers vs. farmers, how women are treated, city boy vs country boy biases and does so in a direct and honest way. But the story's true brilliance is it's handling of the relationships between father and son, husband and wife, son and new adopted son.

This is a short book but its power will last a long time.

Average customer rating:

Read "Killing Mr. Watson" first
Truthful fiction
Matthiessen's Mastery of Voice
The Mangrove Novel
Bogged Down in an Impenetrable Swamp

Lost Man's River
Peter Matthiessen
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 067973564X
Release Date: 1998-09-29

Customer Reviews:

Read "Killing Mr. Watson" first.......2006-12-20

This is the second book of a trilogy that begins with "Killing Mr. Watson," and ends with "Bone by Bone." If you read Killing Mr. Watson, and were fascinated by it, as many readers and critics have been, you'll be tempted to read the rest of the trilogy. Dead Man's River begins many years after E.J. Watson's death. Watson's son, Lucius, is struggling to reconstruct his father's life and death. You might have noticed in Killing Mr. Watson that the story, told by those who knew Watson, contains gaps, ambiguities, contradictions and mysteries. There's plenty of room for sequels.

Lucius finds some answers, and also uncovers new mysteries and contradictions. Along the way, you'll learn more about the many fascinating characters you first encountered as narrators in "Killing Mr. Watson." The final book in the trilogy, "Bone by Bone," tells the tale again, from the point of view of Mr. Watson.

The Mr. Watson trilogy is reminiscent of the well-known film, Rashomon, by Akira Kurosawa. It re-tells the same tale several times, from different perspectives. This is a gutsy kind of trilogy to write. A lesser author would burden the reader with repetition and excessive detail. Mathiessen, one of few authors ever to win one National Book Awards for fiction, and another for nonfiction, is up to the task, if anyone is.

Dead Man's River suffers from the usual problems found in the second book in a trilogy. It doesn't begin the story, nor end it, and it's nearly incomprehensible if you haven't read the first book. Consider, who would enjoy "The Two Towers," the second book of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, if he or she had not first read "The Fellowship of the Ring," and did not intend to read "Return of the King"?

If, after reading Killing Mr. Watson, you're eager to know about Mr. Watson and the other pioneer families of that time and place, read the rest of the trilogy, in sequence. I think you'll be glad you did. I certainly am glad that I did. Matthiessen is a master of so many things -- pioneer history of Florida, diverse cultures, nature writing, environmentalism, character development, historical accuracy and detail, dead-on vernacular dialog, inventive style, and, in this trilogy, compelling mystery.

Also, in this trilogy, Mathiessen explores the nature of truth itself, as the same story is retold several times by people who all think they know the truth, though their understanding is filtered by their own perspectives, limited knowledge and vested interests.

On the other hand, if Killing Mr. Watson filled your cup, you might want to stop there. It works very well as a stand-alone novel.

Truthful fiction.......2006-08-24

Matthiessen's Killing Mr. Watson trilogy, of which Lost Man's River is the middle part, is to me an excellent example of how fiction describes reality better, more intensely, and in a way that is hard to explain, more truthfully, than, let's say, a factual report by a newspaper (or the police, for that matter).

Matthiessen's Mastery of Voice.......2005-06-25

I read "Lost Man's River" nearly 10 years ago, and finished the trilogy immediately following the release of #3. I've been a repeat reader of "Snow Leopard" and "Nine Headed Dragon River" and when I saw an unknown (to me) Matthiessen title I bought it on reflex, dug in, slogged, and followed in short-order to consume "Killing Mr. Watson" and wait impatiently for "Bone by Bone." When talking with anyone in whom I detect the slightest to be a reader I'm off and gone on the magnificience of Matthiessen's capacity to immerse the reader in the heat of the swamp and stubborn mind of man. It is an ultimate fly-on-the-wall experience. You buzz around, land for a moment, flash a restless, comforting blink through hundreds of lenses, and flashing with fear, hunger and frantic sleepy nervous energy, flick to another elbow, eyebrow, lampshade, another hall of mirrors inside someone's mind. And onto the next. Endless strings of POV. Not an easy read. It's at least as confusing as any of the most critical reviewers has let on. If your expectation is smooth narrative with crisp transitions and a baggage-free punchline at the end of a perfectly dissembled string of interleaving "Arthur Hailey-esqe" sub-plots, well, no, this isn't it. Peter hasn't named it "Lost Man's River" for nothing. It's the heat. Sweltering, oppressive, unrelenting, weaving inside and out of the mind's eye of dozens of characters, dozens and dozens by the time you get through all three books, each of whom is utterly certain that they've got the story right. This is a long yarn where everybody is telling the truth. Probably in much the same way, as say, Tom DeLay is certain that he is always telling the truth. Matthiessen's accomplishment as a craftsman is the voice, the vernacular. You learn to read with a drawl quick enough, which gets to be like a buzzing in your head. Books 1 & 3 are by the far easier reads. The experience of #2 being very similar to Thomas Pynchon's "V" where the candy for the mind is in the tone, weight and timbre of language, the music of the prose, where the narrative line is possibly only be found by surrendering your search. Matthiessen's achievement is brilliant, extraordinary, precious and impossibly rare.

The Mangrove Novel.......2004-12-04

Living in southwest Florida in the area of much of the locale of this story I was constantly reminded of the tangle of the mangrove forests which are typical of the coastal waters of this part of the world and the Ten Thousand Islands in particular. Virtually impenetrable. So was the confusing mass of cracker family detail piled on the reader. One has to force one's way through it and the result is a pretty thin story at the end. However the author's tidbits of history about the area and the spoilation of the Everglades is of interest for those having some knowledge of and curiosity about the subjects. I also felt that this New York born writer carries a lot of his Yankee baggage with him which causes him to unload the usual northern liberal unsympathetic, vulgar, racist stereotyping of southern life of the past on the readers. Way overdone.

Bogged Down in an Impenetrable Swamp.......2004-05-31

I sat down to read this book with a sense of eager anticipation, having greatly enjoyed Peter Matthiessen's first book in the Watson trilogy, "Killing Mr Watson". I put it down, nearly a month later, with a sense of profound disappointment. "Lost Man's River" is not a book in the same class as its predecessor.

"Killing Mr Watson" told the story of Edgar Watson's life in Southern Florida and his eventual death at the hands of a posse of his neighbours. "Lost Man's River" tells the story of Watson's son Lucius, a historian with both an academic and an emotional interest in finding out the truth about his father's life. (Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that, while Lucius's academic interest lies in finding out the truth about his father's life, his emotional interest lies in confirming his own preconceived ideas about his father's life). By the time of the events narrated in the book (around 1960) Lucius is an elderly man. The book follows his journeys around Florida and his meetings with the surviving few people who remember Edgar Watson, including his reunion with his long-lost brother Rob.

The sentimental journeyings of a septuagenarian historian do not make for an enthralling plot; indeed, the book has a loose, episodic structure and very little in the way of coherent plot at all. In "Killing Mister Watson" the characters were vividly drawn, especially the dominating figure of Watson himself. In "Lost Man's River" there is much less in the way of characterisation. Although Watson is an ever-present thought in Lucius's mind, he obviously cannot be introduced as a character in his own right as he has been dead for fifty years. Lucius is merely a bore, and the other characters are stiff and lifeless. The old people's reminiscences of the past are tedious and confusing, and tend to get bogged down in an excess of genealogical detail. In an attempt to add to the interest of the plot, Matthiessen provides a brief love-interest for Lucius in the form of a much younger woman, but this episode struck me as very unconvincing.

Not everything about the book is bad. There are some vivid descriptions of the natural beauty of the Everglades. There is also some sharp commentary about the way in which that natural beauty has been despoiled by the modern world, and about Southern racism. Unlike most of what has preceded it, the ending is genuinely gripping, as old feuds end in violence and Lucius makes an unwelcome discovery which forces him to reassess his view of the past. Unfortunately, to get to the ending one has to wade through some very tedious passages; like some of the characters, I often felt that I was bogged down in an impenetrable swamp.

Average customer rating:

Great book

Me Too!

JUST WHERE IS THIS BOOK?

WHISPER OF THE WOLF (Sons of the Plains)
Terry C. Johnston
Manufacturer: Domain
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Seize the Sky: Son of the Plains (Son of the Plains, Volume 2)

Long Winter Gone: Son of the Plains (Sons of the Plains)

Dream Catcher: The Plainsmen

Wolf Mountain Moon

Cry of the Hawk: The Plainsmen (Scout)

ASIN: 0553291793
Release Date: 1991-08-01

Book Description

Few names of the American frontier resonate like that of George Armstrong Custer. His fiery temperament and grand vision led him to triumph in one season and tragedy in another. Now best-selling chronicler Terry C. Johnston beings to life the Custer legacy as never before in a masterful new trilogy . . . . For a youth of the Cheyenne in the years between Little Big horn and Wounded Knee, life was brutal and dangerous. For Yellow Bird, who saw his father, George Custer, die on a blood-soaked field in 1876, survival is especially difficult, for--despite his own white heritage--he must live in the Cheyenne world. And so he grew to manhood, bound to his father by their warrior's spirit, preparing to fight for his home, his wife, and his own son.

Customer Reviews:

Great book.......2003-10-24

I found this book at a yard sale, so no help to those trying to find someone still selling it. I hadn't read the previous 2 volumes, but this book stood by itself very well. The story was well-written and very enjoyable. It was an interesting point of view - that of a child who is not completely of the "white" world or the Native American world.

Unfortunatley, something happened to my copy of the book, and I'm going to have to search for a new copy. Let's hope they'll publish this again!

Me Too!.......2000-07-20

I want a copy of this book. Help! pedlhed@aol.com

JUST WHERE IS THIS BOOK?.......2000-06-12

I have read the previous 2 books, LONG WINTER GONE, and SEIZE THE SKY, both which i think are Mr.Johnson's greatest books, but where can i find this book? readers out there, can you help a fellow Custerpile? Use my e-mail address please..And i give this book five stars because i know it's going to be-that damned good.

Average customer rating:

Elmer Kelton - A true Texas Historian
True Texas

Sons of Texas
Elmer Kelton
Manufacturer: Forge Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

ASIN: 076531021X
Release Date: 2005-05-12

Book Description

I n 1816, Mordecai Lewis, a veteran of Andrew Jackson's Indian campaigns and battles against the British, moves his family into the western Tennessee canebrakes. But Mordecai, a born wanderer, is not satisfied with farming, and with his sons Michael and Andrew and some other backwoodsmen, he leads a foray into Spanish-held Texas to hunt wild horses and return the mustang herd to sell in Tennessee. SONS OF TEXAS

Customer Reviews:

Elmer Kelton - A true Texas Historian.......2007-05-07

I have read at least fourty books by Elmer Kelton. I liked them all and this is one of the best. Kelton places his characters in a historical setting that is both factual and entertaining. I have read the first two books of this series and logged on today hopeing to find the third.

True Texas.......2007-01-11

Kelton is not an award winning author without good reason. Any of his books are good reads with well drawn characters and good story line...the history of Texas is so interwoven in each book. One of my favorite authors.

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American Gothic
Love of the Land

A Son of the Middle Border
Hamlin Garland
Manufacturer: Borealis Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 087351565X

Book Description

A classic of American realism, A Son of the Middle Border (1917) is the true coming-of-age odyssey of a farm boy who—informed by the full brute force of a homesteaders’ life on the vast unbroken prairie—would become a preeminent American writer of the early twentieth century. Pulitzer Prize–winner Hamlin Garland’s captivating autobiography recounts his journey from a rural childhood to the study of literature and the sciences in Boston, his vital connections with such inspirations as William Dean Howell, and eventually his reclaimed sense of identity as a writer of the Midwest’s beautiful yet hard land. This definitive book placed Garland among such regionalist writers as Willa Cather, Sherwood Anderson, and Theodore Dreiser.

Customer Reviews:

American Gothic.......2004-02-08

It is exciting to stumble upon this classic work and to ascertain it is absolutely readable and fresh. This work is constantly cited in support of regional factors constituting part of the experience of American writers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In 1863 Garland's father made the last payment on the mortgage on his farm and that same day he enlisted as a soldier in the Civil War.

The father was born in Maine. The family moved west via the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes, landing in Milwaukee. The children were told stories of the war and of the prairies of Wisconsin. The farm was near the LaCrosse River in western Wisconsin.

The author's grandfather was an Adventist, believing in the second coming. The McClintocks, maternal relatives, were farmers. The author's Grandfather Garland was a carpenter. Hamlin received his first literary instruction from his paternal, New England, grandfather.

To his father change was alluring. The father was eager to sell the farm in 1868 and push away onward to Iowa. The new farm was right on the edge of Looking Glass Prairie. When the family moved in February the children whined and the mother conveyed worry. His mother was in terror of the ice. At ten Hamlin was plowing at the family's third farm, located in Mitchell County near the Minnesota line. The name of the town was Osage. The schoolhouse was the center of social life on the bare prairie. The family rented land for their crops and broke sod and built a homestead on their new land. In addition to prairie there were hazel thickets. The curriculum pursued in the school was set forth in the McGuffey Readers. A singing school was started in Osage. Social changes were in progress. There were no more quilting bees and barn raisings. The women visited less often. Singing was confined to hymn tunes.

Garland tries to dispel the merry yeoman fantasy. The cowyard smelled of manure. Most farming duties require the lapse of years to seem beautiful. Haying was a season of charm. The author recalls buying his first deck of cards.

Growing up in the West were organizations called the Patrons of Husbandry, the Grange. The Lyceum took the place of the singing schools. Amusements had changed. The father was asked to become the official grain buyer for the country. He was to take charge of the new elevator in Osage. The family changed from farm to village, renting a house on the edge of town.

The family returned to the farm after a year. The wheat harvest was in jeopardy from the chinch bug. Hamlin went to Cedar Valley Seminary for two years. Grain buying had declined with grain growing and the border was moving. Many of the settlers were going to Dakota.

Hamlin and his brother Franklin went to Boston and various places on the East Coast. Broadway in New York seemed to be an abnormal congestion of human souls. Later Hamlin took a job being a school teacher in the Midwest. He was persuaded to go to Boston to study literature and found himself in a school for oratory, and with the passage of time, a teacher of literature himself. Returning West after seven years he saw that every house had its stamp of solid strugge. As to pioneering, the free land was gone. Garland was excited to meet William Dean Howells and to be considered by him a fellow writer.

Love of the Land.......2002-03-22

This is easily in my top ten list of books. Wonderful account of growing up in the upper Midwest after the War Between the States. Hamlin Garland writes with a great sense of place and a love of the land.

Seize the Sky: Son of the Plains (Son of the Plains, Volume 2)

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A Bad Retelling of a Tale wrongly Told
A Spellbinding History Lesson

Seize the Sky: Son of the Plains (Son of the Plains, Volume 2)
Terry C. Johnston
Manufacturer: Domain
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553289101
Release Date: 1991-03-01

Customer Reviews:

A Bad Retelling of a Tale wrongly Told.......2005-08-16

The fact that the other reviewer considered this a "spellbinding history lesson" speaks to the problem with this book. Many accurate facts were threaded into this patchwork retold tale with an agenda. Having read and enjoyed the complete Plainsmen series, I picked this book with anticipation, only to be disappointed quite quickly. Custer was depicted as both an archetype martinet, and as the stereotypical arrogant fool. I was stunned at the scene of Custer succumbing to the pressure by Mitch Boyer to forget waiting for Terry's command, and attack quickly.

A Spellbinding History Lesson.......2002-09-20

"Seize The Sky" is another Terry C. Johnston masterpiece!
I read this book alongside the Official Little Bighorn Battlefield National Park Handbook. "Seize the Sky" was historically accurate to the letter.
Mr. Johnston vividly portrayed the personalities of George Armstrong Custer, his commanders and scouts as well as the Sioux and Cheyenne leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse and their warriors.
After Mr. Johnston introduced me to General Custer, it became obvious why he led his 7th Cavalry into history on that fateful June day in 1876.
Mr. Johnston's writing is magnificently vivid. He puts you on the battlefield; the sights, the sounds, the smells amid the oppressive heat of that summer day. My skin crawled when he described the soldiers of L Company in the tall grass of Calhoun Hill. Those panic stricken moments when their Springfield carbines jammed and they frantically tried to pry the empty casings from the rifle's superheated chambers with screaming death and mutilation only seconds away. No one can put you there better than Terry C. Johnston!
Forget the textbooks. "Seize the Sky" should be required reading in any American history classroom.

Long Winter Gone: Son of the Plains (Sons of the Plains)

Average customer rating:

Don't Mess Around
Long Winter Gone is a real winner!

Long Winter Gone: Son of the Plains (Sons of the Plains)
Terry C. Johnston
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553286218
Release Date: 1990-10-01

Customer Reviews:

Don't Mess Around.......2002-04-09

Custer proves again that his cunning and straightforward approach toward doing his duty make a successful combination when riding into battle. This book includes enough detail to make the reader feel as if the they were sitting aound the fire with Black Kettle, or riding into battle with Custer himself.
A must read if you like very descriptive reading. A bit gory, but it helps to feel the realness of the events.
I could've gone without the love scenes, too.

Long Winter Gone is a real winner!.......2000-02-06

I love everything that Terry C. Johnston writes, but this book is by far the best yet! The story of Genl Custer's winter campaign to find the Indian tribes that had been looting and killing is so realistic....I could almost feel the cold wind and the snow as I read! The love story woven in among the army story was great. I ordered the next book in this series today, and can hardly wait for it to get here!

Average customer rating:

Not a dog of a book
How would you feel in this situation?
How would you feel in this situation?
Bigger is Better
Could you go 800 miles for your dad?

Bigger (Aladdin Historical Fiction)
Patricia Calvert
Manufacturer: Aladdin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 068986003X

Book Description

In the spring of 1865 the Civil War has finally ended. Men are coming home. Families are being reunited -- except for Tyler's. His father is going with a band of men to Mexico, where they will regroup, rearm, and continue the fight against the Yankees. Tyler is stunned. For four years he's dreamed of seeing his father again, and he can't let go of that dream. There's only one thing Tyler can do -- go get his father and bring him home.

Tyler starts his trek from Missouri to the Rio Grande alone, but he quickly gains a companion -- a strange dog made mean by cruelty but tamed by hunger and Tyler's desperately lonely need for him. Tyler names him Bigger.

The journey is long and hard but, with Bigger by his side, possible. Tyler might make it all the way to the Rio Grande. He might even find his father. But most importantly, Bigger helps Tyler realize that some dreams might not be worth holding on to.

Customer Reviews:

Not a dog of a book.......2006-11-07

The Southern cause was lost and many never came home.
We have a brave boy here who goes looking for his father
and winds up both finding a friend in a dog
and growing up at one time.
Unlike others he came home
and used his new understanding to make life
better after the war had gone away.

How would you feel in this situation?.......2006-01-10

Bigger, a book written by Patricia Calvery in which I rated with four stars.
This book is about a boy named Tyler who sets out to look for his father who is in the Civil War. He must travel to Mexico all by himself to find his father. During his journey he encounters many people, animals, and adventures. What makes it so interesting is the great detail each event is written in. It is almost as if you are there when it happens. Tyler finaly finds his father but very unfortunately his father is not coming home with him. Even though he isn't coming home Tyler showed Great determination to even go all the way to look for his father and actually find him. I now have great respect for Tyler and what he did.
During his journey Tyler makes a great companion. It just so happens to a bed a dog. The first time Tyler laid his eyes on the dog he never thought there would be any way that they would become friends. Somehow Bigger tracked Tyler down and they became best friends. On their first night together Bigger (the dog) woudln't even come on the same side of the fire as Tyler. That is just how timid he was. Tyler and Bigger being together really made me give this book four stars. They show a prime example of a great and loving relationship between boy and dog!
I would recommend Call of The Wild is you enjoyed this book. In a way they are similiar. I am foutteen years old and I love football!!!

How would you feel in this situation?.......2006-01-10

Bigger, a book written by Patricia Calvert in which I rated with four stars.
In this book a young boy named Tyler who sets out to look for his dad who is in the Civil War. It has beem a long while since his dad has been home so Tyler decides to go out looking for him. On his journey he encounters many people, animals, and spectacular events! The detail in which each event is explained in is what really makes me give this book four stars! Even though his dad doesn't end up coming back home with Tyler, this story shows great determination to at least find his father. I have great respect for Tyler after reading this story. Hard to believe a young kid would do something this risky just to find his father isn't it?
Now let's talk about the relationship between Tyler and Bigger. When Tyler first saw Bigger he was intimidated and never thought they would become such good companions. Their first night together bigger wouldn't even come to the same side of the fire as Tyler, thats just how timid he was. As the story progresses Tyler and Bigger grow closer and in the end Bigger is killed by his previous owner who used to beat Bigger. This book shows a great relationship between man and dog!!!
I would recommend Call of the wild if you enjoyed this story. In a way they are similiar.I am fourtteen years old and I love football!!!

Bigger is Better.......2005-03-02

If you're into adventures with a twist, then Bigger is the book for you! Bigger is written by Patricia Calvert, who has also written Ancient Inca, Betrayed, and Picking up the Pieces. Bigger is an older book published in 1994, so you'll find older dialogue that's different than today's. It was also nominated for a Rebecca Caudill award in 1997. Bigger is a story of a boy named Tyler who is leaving his home in a town named Sweet Creek to go to the Texas/Mexico border to bring his father back from the Civil war. Soon he meets a dog who he names "Bigger" and they set off together. On their way to the border they meet a black boy named Isaac Perce who travels with them for a few days. After Isaac leaves they continue south and learn more of what has happened during the war. At some points Tyler thinks they won't make it, but his determination and Bigger's loyalty keeps them going.
A great aspect of this book is how incredibly descriptive it is. You can easily imagine many things. One descriptive thing in the book is when Tyler compares the characteristics of the stranger to his father's, and used phrases like "his eyes were gray with sorrow, not black like a gypsy's." Another part that was descriptive was when he described the landscape of a Texas desert and used words like "The land was harsh and dry, and extremely hot." This book is so descriptive, it's almost like you're really there!
Another good part of the book is Bigger, the dog. Everyone calls him a devil except Tyler, who is the only one Bigger, is nice to. When Tyler first met Bigger, he was chained to a post, and his uncle was going to shoot him. Thankfully, Tyler's Cousin Clayton "secretly" loosened Bigger's collar so he could slip out and go with Tyler. An interesting feature of Bigger is his "talking" eyes, which "answer" Tyler when he talks. Bigger is brave and very loyal to Tyler.
Bigger is an extremely descriptive book with interesting characters that's good for most ages. It was one of the best books I ever read, and if you read it, I'm almost positive you'll like it to. It's an excellent story of a boy who meets his best friend as he searches for his missing father.

Could you go 800 miles for your dad?.......2004-02-14

Could you go 800 miles for your dad?
Bigger
By Patricia Calvert
Published in 1994
When his father, Black Jack Bohannan disappears near the Mexican border at the end of the Civil War,twelve-year-old Tyler decides to go after him over a 800 mile journey on the Rio Grande. Then he will bring him home, acquiring in his journey a strange abused `Devil Dog' which he comes to name Bigger and he also meets an slave who's name is Isaac who escaped, but he has many scars and Tyler befriended him.
An interesting part in Bigger is when Tyler gives Isaac a pair of shoes and Isaac was surprised and said,'My stars a pair of shoes! Might be a little too big for these big feet.' Then he tries them on and says,'Nossir these are big enough for me.' Then Isaac gives him a fishing pole and some line.
This is a book for boysand/or girls who like adventure.
I give this book a 9 and 1 half out of 10 because I love this book. (:D>

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