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Howard, Ellen
4 Reviews
(4)
4-6
A young boy named Pierre joins La Salle's expedition. After the explorer is murdered, Pierre becomes first a captive and then a compatriot of Hasinai Indians. Set in the late seventeenth century, the densely detailed historical novel is at its most successful while offering insight into American colonial history and a now vanished native culture.
Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn
(4)
1-3
Illustrated by
Ronald Himler.
After her mother's death, Elvirey suggests pairing up with Widow Aiken for harvesting. Elvirey doesn't anticipate her own jealousy of the woman, but, luckily, their mutual love of books unites them. Readers may be stumped by the dialect ("On the morrow, Bub couldn't hobble to the privy his knee had got so swole") in this story of an 1833 frontier family.
Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Ronald Himler.
Although the young narrator's backwoods accent is somewhat distracting, Elvirey's questions about the need for a church in the newly settled Michigan farming community give the book (a sequel to Log Cabin Quilt and Log Cabin Christmas) an unusual focus. Himler's artwork conveys the hardships of pioneer life more successfully than the joy and comfort of community.
Reviewer: Anne St. John
(2)
4-6
Ten-year-old orphan Emma works long days in a stifling mill to support her older sister, an abusive, alcoholic brother-in-law, and their baby. One day she steals a potato from a canal boat and is pressed into service by a recently widowed boatwoman--a new situation that is ideal for both of them. Howard has given her story a highly interesting venue and has created a cast of characters who are fully dimensional and engaging.
Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 1999
4 reviews
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