(4) YA Overworked and underappreciated, jester Conrad longs to be free of his master. He runs off, accompanied by his (disguised) servant girlfriend. Medieval lingo abounds (this jester, it seems, never stops performing), which will tire all but the most devoted Renaissance Faire–goer, but the offbeat perspective may interest genre fans.

Reviewer: Betsy Murray

(3) YA With colonialist zeal and dreams of adventure, sixteen-year-old Tom Ormsby joins the African expedition of Henry Morton Stanley (of "Dr. Livingstone, I presume" fame). After three years witnessing the slave trade, tribal conflict, and colonial conquest, Tom returns to England a changed man. Karr's gripping plot includes meticulous historical details. An author's note and map are appended. Timeline.

Reviewer: Juliet S. King

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Malene Laugesen. A girl narrates the story of her mother's crusade for women's suffrage: Mama leads parades, pickets the White House, and goes to jail for the cause. The text of Karr's fictional story is lively and engaging; chalky pastel illustrations capture the feel of the era and highlight the drama of the struggle. A brief note summarizes the history of women's suffrage in America.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 Fifteen-year-old Christopher adjusts to life in the New World with the help of a Sewee Indian who teaches him to survive in 1670 Carolina. Christopher's respect for the Sewee way of life is in sharp contrast to his haughty father, who refuses to acknowledge the help provided by the Indians. The conflict between European and Native American cultures is well drawn.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(2) YA In 1914, a forward-thinking chaplain at Sherborn Prison for Women starts a prison choir and discovers sixteen-year-old Libby's natural talent as a soprano. When the choir tackles a fully staged production of The Pirates of Penzance, each inmate blossoms in a predictable yet satisfying way. Readers will relish the Dickensian-style adversity and bleak setting juxtaposed with the more hopeful "show must go on" plot.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2003

(3) 4-6 In this sequel to Skullduggery, young Matthew accompanies his employer, phrenologist Asa Cornwall, to the Sahara, where they hope to find the skull of Alexander the Great. When they're captured by slave traders, Matthew concocts a showy ruse to engineer their release. The dangers and beauty of the Saharan setting are evocatively described in this nineteenth-century historical adventure.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) 4-6 In 1924, Greer and her mother, Madame Camille, masterminded by "Uncle" Drake Morley, come to a wealthy man's home to conduct a series of séances. Egalitarian Greer makes friends with the staff, exposes Morley's fraud, comes to terms with her and her mother's past, and learns to distinguish between true and faked spiritualism. Sometimes the seams of merging details show, but plucky Greer invites interest.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(2) 4-6 In 1839, orphaned Matthew Morrissey begins working for phrenologist Dr. Asa B. Cornwall. The doctor's study of skulls requires the pair to rob graves for new specimens and travel overseas in hopes of recovering the skulls of Voltaire and Napoleon. The narrative's somewhat formal style contains glints of dark humor and quietly reveals the characters of the smart, deferential boy and his imperfect but sincere partner. An author's note provides historical background.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2000

(2) YA Narrated by fifteen-year-old John Aloysius Xavier Woods, the measured plot traces his boxing career, from saloon bouts to his first prizefight, against a vivid backdrop of 1880s Manhattan. Johnny emerges as a sympathetic, admirable character who, in between matches, cares for his siblings, pursues an education, and saves money to move his family from their crowded tenement.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2000

(2) 4-6 Describing the events that changed him from a boy of ten to a man of eleven is the central theme of an ingenuous first-person narrative dealing with the (Hungarian) immigrant experience in the years between the two World Wars. There is no grand scheme here, no breathtaking adventure, only a gentle slice-of-life story that insinuates itself into the heart.

Reviewer: Mary M. Burns | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 1999

(4) K-3 Kate bravely maintains the lighthouse through weeks of storms, while Papa goes for food. Written with a sense of a young girl's longing for privacy, for grown-up responsibility, and for fairy-tale romance, the text moves quickly through several dramatic (and sometimes contrived) adventures--including rescuing what seems to be a real mermaid and her baby--with pencil illustrations adding liveliness. A note about lighthouses is appended.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) 4-6 Fifteen-year-old Simon, who has lots of common sense but little book learning, narrates the story of how he makes his fortune by walking a huge flock of turkeys over a thousand miles from Missouri to Denver in 1860. Accompanied by a roguish mule driver and a runaway slave, Simon fends off turkey rustlers, a plague of locusts, and meets his long-lost pa along the way. Based on an actual event, this is a lively and entertaining story.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.