I first heard of about "Constance: A Story of Early Plymouth" in ninth grade from my friend. She implored me to read it. I was hesitant at first. I was a fairly advanced reader for my age, and this book had clearly been written for a younger audience. I trusted my friend's judgement, however. We had read "Anna Karenina" together the year before, so I knew that she had good taste in books. On a whim, I decided to read it. Once I had picked "Constance" up, I could not put it down.It was simply an enchanting, romantic story. Far from feeling to old to appreciate it, my maturity seemed almost a benefit. Constanc's boyfriends were the perfect romantic men. They reminded me of very simple versions of Mr. Darcy. This book appeals not only to fifth and sixth graders, but to adolescent girls as well. Any girl who likes pre-20th century romance novels will adore "Constance." The one thing I dislike about Constance is her shallow character. She is not exactly the feminist ideal of a woman. She is foolish and dependent.If one ignores this flaw, however, the book is thouroughly enjoyable. And you don't even have to be ten to like it!

I first read Constance last year when my 6th grade teacher recommended it. I adored it- the weekend I read it, Constance was my constant companion! I just finished reading it again and it was even better the second time through! I really feel like I bonded with Constance, and now I am doing as much research as I can on her. She was a real person, and as it says in the book, all the characters but one really existed. Through her diary, Constance tells of her journey across the Atlantic from London to Massachusetts, and gives wonderful details about the building and founding of Plymouth Colony. Through Constance I felt the pain of "the sickness" that claimed many lives during their first winter, became tangled in her complex love triangle, and felt outraged at the two men who tried to destroy Plymouth's peace. Constance was detailed, well written, interesting, exciting, and romantic. I would recommend this book to anyone, but I almost don't want to share it at all, since I feel like it's "my book"! This book found a very special place in my heart, and I wish I could thank Patricia Clapp for the many hours of contentment, excitement, and utter bliss she has given me! Constance is an exceptional read!

Ok, the first time I read this book was for a 7th grade reading assignment-and that was well over 20 years ago, but this book has stayed in my heart ever since. Its a very well written story about a young girl who came over from England on the Mayflower and lived through the struggles that the Pilgrims went through in their first years of Plimouth Plantation. This is for the most part, a true story, written by Patricia Clapp, who's husband is an actual descendant of Constance. The story has adventure, romance and I felt the pain that these people went through during one of the most important times of our history. This book opened in me an interest in life in Plimouth. I was lucky enough to live in New England and visited the Plantation often. I highly recommend this book to young teens, as well as older. Somewhere I still have my copy (that I bought back when I was in 7th grade), and its a book that I would read again.

A friend and I were discussing books that we pick up over and over again throughout our lives and of course I thought of this one. I loved this book so much that my copy is falling apart at the seams. What a wonderful story, so descriptive, and so imaginative. I watched my dollhouse like a hawk for years. Anyone would love this story, my brother even loved it. I wish it were in print so I could get a copy for my god daughter.

I'm a 31 yr old mother of two and need to find this book! I can't tell you how often I have thought about this story. When I was a little girl, I would read it over and over again. A little girl discovers a royal family living in her dollhouse! The book is so descriptive when it comes to explaining all the miniature items the King, Queen, and the Peanut Butter babies used in their everyday life. It's been over 20 years and I have not forgotten about this book! I hope my children can one day read it.

I loved this book as a little girl. My brother and I used to make our older sister read it to us over and over. I'm sad to see it's out of print. Much better than The Littles or other stories about tiny dwellers amongst us.

This book is sooooooooooo good. I've read it about six times, and enjoyed each time. It is so well written, and tells the truth! Out of the five books on the Salem Witch Trials I've read, this one is by far the best.

It is about Mary Warren, one of the girls involved in the Witch Trials (actually they are the accusers). She must decide between staying with the girls, or confessing that the girls are liars and save the lives of 19 innocent people to be hung on account of witchcraft.

I absoloutly loved this book, and I know you will too. If you are looking for a spellbinding book on the Salem Witch Trials, READ THIS. Even if that is not what you're looking for, READ THIS. And even though it IS worth the ... price, you can probably check it out of your local library. That's where I first got mine!:)

This book is truely excellent. I got it from the library, since our class had studied the Salem Witch Trials and read Arthur Miller's "The Crucible". I had read other books on the Salem Witch Trials, but this was by far the best. I had been browsing Amazon.com and found this one, and thought, "This is the one for me!"
It is about Mary Warren, one of the girls involved in the Witch Trials (among them Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, Mary Walcott, Elizabeth Booth, etc...)and how she must chose between staying with the girls, or telling the truth and saving the lives of the 19 innocent people to be hung on account of witchcraft. I really couldn't put it down, and finished the whole book in about an hour and a half! And, I read it again about five times.

If you are looking for an excellent, spellbinding book about the Salem Witch Trials, you HAVE to read this book. You'll kick yourself if you don't.

This book was so cool. It refers to the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. I loved it and you will too! I read half of it in a day it was so interesting!!!!

I read this in early 1996 in the 6th grade. I still remember how I read it so many times and was fascinated and chilled by what it told. I'm in the 11th grade now, more than 5 years later, (a lot in a child's growing mind), and one of the few things I remember is reading that book for a whole semester, over and over again. The intrest stayed with me, and I have searched and learned as much as I can about this. I visited Salem itself in 2000 and saw the museum and memorial park. This year my term paper focuses on Salem Witch Trials relations to modren situations, like McCarthyism. I also just finished assistant directing a full performance of The Crucible. I'ver read so many books on the subject, about it and other witchcraft cases. I've even learned to preform an exorcism! Still, this book is the starting point in my memory and I learned more from it than all the texts and biographies. I have a fond spot for this book, and wish I could find that old copy I flipped through so much. I hope more people read this and relize it's not just a children's book, but a fascinating story you can't think is history.

This is a beautiful book. it's written in the narrative form of a young girl in Salem, who finds the courage to stop helping in the accusation of inocent women as witches. If you are looking to research the Witch trials of 1692, or just to enjoy a touching book, this is a book you have to read.

This is an excellent book! Very gripping. An wonderfully written account of the Salem Witch Trials. This book never gets boring. I couldn't put it down. The mian character is wonderfully portrayed. Her struggle with what is happening in here town, and with being a part of it. She must decide to tell the truth, or to keep quiet and go along with the other girls. She knows if she tells the truth, she could be condemned as a witch herself. This is a book you will never forget, and will want to read over again. A definate "DON'T MISS".

As a child, I read this deliciously chilling book over and over, and it caused me never to look at lawn-ornament reflecting balls in the same way again. As an adult, I checked Jane-Emily out of the library a few years ago to see whether it was as good as I'd remembered, and surprisingly, it still gave me goosebumps!

I'm disappointed now to see that Jane-Emily is out of print, so that I will have trouble finding a copy to share with my children. The story, with a little bit of historical detail, a little bit of romance and coming of age, and a whole lot of things that go bump in the night, is definitely worth a reprint!

Last summer I was at the library with my 10 year old niece and suddenly remembered the title of the book about the ghost-girl and the reflecting garden ball. All my life, I thought of that story whenever I saw one of those reflecting balls (and now I have one in my own garden!)

We found a tattered copy in the library and read it together. It struck the same chord with me in 2001 as it did in 1976, when I first read it, and it was one of those books I read again and again. My niece loved it, although she was a bit scared. The book contains some heavy themes for a pre-teen: life, death, love, loss, reincarnation, but is a wonderfully told story. This book stands the test of time and I wish it would be reprinted.

I loved this book so much that I've read it four times! It's so nice because there is so many things that you will love, the characters, the plot, the things that happen, the romance, and the choice of words that this wonderful author has put into her story. I have read this book and still lots of things still remain in my head: like the reflecting ball, the pansies, the ruined dress, the melted doll, and the night of when Emily was "pushed back to her world" I should say. This is a wonderful book and thankfully it is still at my library. :) I love this book SO much that it is my favorite! I really suggest looking into this book (sincerly) and reading it.

This book was pretty good! It has a rather sentimental value to me because in 5th grade my class put on a revolutionay play and I was Deborah Sampson.

My book was I'm Deborah Sampson. I liked this book alot. I liked this book because it taught me that everyone is equal. I learned from this book that no matter what, life goes on. There are alot of tough times in life that you just have to think it through and do what is right. This is one of my favorite books.

Imagine a world where all your dreams come true. This is how Rosemary, the main character in "The Tamarack Tree," thought life in America would be when she was sent from England. But what if all your dreams were nightmares? What if you lived in a world where war was a natural occurrence? This is Rosemary's world in the United States during the Civil War. She and her brother Derek are trapped in a world of hate, slavery, and misunderstanding. The following is an example of this misunderstanding:
" Rosemary, you haven't changed, have you?" " I must have. In some ways I must have." " But you are still Rosemary Leigh, the very beautiful English girl who could not say where her heart belonged in this war. The girl whose beliefs were with the North, and whose affections were with the South. The stormy girl who accused me of coming back to fight the friends I had made in Vicksburg. I have not fired one shot at Vicksburg, Rosemary, and very few at any place else. I am a cartographer- a mapmaker. I took up a pen instead of a gun.'' I looked at him sqaurely. " I am glad, Jeff. Oh, I am so glad!"
Rosemary's hometown, Vicksburg, is under the pressure of being beseiged by the Union Army, and she writes on whatever paper she can find what she is going through. Her courage and will to survive is about all that keeps her alive. During the course of the book, certain dilemmas will take place and test her ability to control herself under poor conditions. I think this is an emotional and moving text, and it is also very inspiring to young people trying to reach there goals. I also think the author was trying to tell people to keep on trying to achieve their goals because even if something undesirable happens, you can get through it. I think this is a good book and I recommend it to young adult readers of all ages.

Patricia Clapp's The Tamarack Tree is the story of a young girl's struggle to survive the seige of Vicksburg during the American Civil War. Following the death of her mother, Rosemary Leigh leaves her home in London to live with her brother Derek and Uncle Will in antebellum Vicksburg. There she becomes friends with many of the residents, including Mary Byrd Blair, the pampered daughter of a plantation owner. She also forms close relationships with Amanda, the free black housekeeper, and Amanda's husband and daughter. When the Civil War erupts, Rosemary is forced to reconcile her own personal hatred of slavery with the friendship and loyalty she feels for her Southern friends. The text of The Tamarack Tree is well-written. The story progresses through a series of flashbacks, as well scenes from Rosemary's current life. These flashbacks help to show the fear and horror of war, as well as its effects on Rosemary and her friends. The happy days when she first arrives in Vicksburg contrast sharply with her work in a hospital at the height of the Seige. The characters are easy to identify with. Rosemary's uncertainty following her mother's death and her feeling of insecurity when compared to the vibrant and flirtatious Mary Byrd translate easily into the confusion that many young girls find themselves in today. Rosemary's ability to conquer her fear and help others conveys a message of courage for any who read this book. One of the most significant things about The Tamarack Tree is the way that Patricia Clapp represents the people in the story. Instead of the typical treatments of the Civil War, Clapp shows both the good and the bad of everyone. The plantation owners are not hideous cruel monsters, but neither are they the "O'Haras" from Gone With The Wind. They are wrong for holding slaves, but they are also kind, generous, loyal, and courageous throughout the Seige. Similarly, Clapp portrays the slaves and free African Americans differently from their characterizations in other works. Some loot, burn, and kill, much like the slaves in Gone With The Wind, but there are also people like Amanda, who help everyone regardless of their color, even going so far as to feed Confederate soldiers some of her supper. Finally, the "Yankees" are not monolithic invaders, but they are not a grand and glorious army either. In short, Clapp represents humanity as it is. Amanda's husband, Hector, sums it up best when he says, "There are mean men and there are good men, and the color of their skin doesn't change what's inside." This is a good novel for storytelling purposes, but it is not very true to the social realities of the time. A middle-class English family would have found it difficult to relocate to America and live as Rosemary and Derek did. They maintained their home in England, while renting a house in Vicksburg. Rosemary was completely accepted by the social elite of Vicksburg, and had no problems with dressing the part of a typical Southern belle. A middle-class family simply would not have had the money to do this, nor would they have enjoyed such complete acceptance. Also, Hector and Amanda's situation paints a false picture of the typical life of an African American in Mississippi during the Civil War. Most were slaves, and the "free blacks" were often anything but free. There were rules on where one could go, how many blacks could gather at once, and so forth. Education was scarce among the white population, and practically non-existent among the African Americans. Hector and Amanda are far better off than the averag African American of that time. Nevertheless, The Tamarack Tree is an excellent novel, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good story of courage and friendship.

I decided to read 'The Tamarack Tree' because it was written by Patricia Clapp, the author of 'Constance'; my very favorite book in the world. Patricia Clapp did not let me down! I absolutely loved 'The Tamarack Tree'! Charming characters, realistic details, and an interesting historical setting made this book good to the very last drop. It tells the story of Rosemary Leigh, who moves to Vicksburg, Mississippi from London, England with her older brother, Derek, after the death of their mother. In Mississippi, and the rest of the Deep South, it is a time of wealthy cotton plantations, lazy hours spent relaxing in the heat of the afternoon, parties, and storybook life of contentment. All this changes, however, with the start of the Civil War. Rosemary herself believes that slavery is wrong, but has a great deal of loyalty and love for the gentle Southerners who befriended her and welcomed her into their society. The war seems distant and almost unreal to Rosemarie until it comes directly to Vicksburg. Confederate troops settle on the Mississippi River and the Siege of Vicksburg begins. Amidst starvation, death, fear, and the constant, 24-hour threat of raging Northern bullets, Rosemarie tries her very best to remain calm and brave. She manages to prove herself as a confident and capable young woman throughout the siege that lasts for 47 days during the spring of 1863. As the war finally leaves Vicksburg Rosemarie has learned a number of valuable lessons, survived more than she ever thought she could, and has a better understanding of herself and life.