This book is about a girl named Christine who finds a mysterious cave of wonderous objects. Her brother is extremly ill in this magical story.This story takes place in the dust-bowl times.What Christine finds in this significant cave is unbelieveible and amazing. This Book is the best I've ever read in my entire life. I reccomend this book to every body in the world!!! I absolutely LOVE this book!!! It's the bomb!!! -Jillian

This is one of my daughter's and my favorite books. It tells the story of an adolescent girl coming of age during the dust bowl. While her family prepares to leave their homestead if rain doesn't come within the week, the girl and her brother discover and explore a cave which contains valuable geodes. They must decide whether to reveal the existence of the cave to their father, or to keep it secret in order to preserve it from the same destruction that the surrounding woods have met at the hands of desperate settlers. This book is an excellent read aloud book for advanced 6 year olds and up, or an excellent read for 9+ year olds. Be forewarned, though, that there are several pages that deal with the onset of menstration.

These 4 books are darling - so much fun, for 3rd graders and up. Same courageous strength as the Laura Ingalls books, but easy flowing, learning without getting bogged down. Lots of enjoyment!

Gold-Rush Phoebe was a humerous book about pioneers and the gold rush. It is about a pioneer girl who dresses as a boy so she can search for gold in California and have adventures. She and her friend end up running a restaurant, and become rich. I reccomend this book and the rest of the Petticoat Party series.

I thought this book was really cool my little sisters checked it out from the library, I was bored one day so I decided to check it out I could'nt put it down I did'nt even want to stop for lunch I wish they would of told us the name of the Judd's Baby and Wade and Amelia finally tie the knot! I really like Robbie he seems so excited over everything just like Phoebe I hope that they tie the knot when there done with the next adventure I recommend this book to anyone it's great!

Oregon at last! Finaly, the Petticoat Party, after enduring more then the usual hardships on the trail, have arrived in the so-called "Promised Land" - Oregon. But for 13 year old Phoebe Brown, Oregon is downright boring. After a few days of farming, Phoebe is just plain fed up. She longs for the adventures and freedoms she experianced on the trail. Is she the only adventuresome person in the whole Oregon Territory?

Kathleen Karr's Spy in the Sky is not just another Civil War book. In fifty-five pages the reader not only learns to care about the characters but also learns of this unique use of gas balloons in war. Teachers will find this useful in the Social Studies units. Third and fourth graders will be able to read it independently. Karr ends with a two page biography of Thaddeus Lowe. It is quite a story packed into 55 pages.

Thaddeus Lowe is the undisputed father of our U.S. Airforce, and grandfather to famed aviatrix Florence Lowe, aka Pancho Barnes. This children's book tell's Thadddeus's Civil War story as never told before. A great way to share aviation history with your children, and learn a little something for yourself too. - Stan McClain

This is a wonderful historical romance about a young woman who runs a canal barge up the Potomac. She meets a young man who teaches her all she needs to know to successfully reach her destination. I was truly touched by this story.

The Great Turkey Walk is definitely one of Kathleen Karr's best. It is a very unique book. The title sounds a little weird, but turkeys are not what the book is all about. The language used in the book draws the reader back into the 1800's of the Wild West of Missouri. When Simon Green first buys 1000 turkeys, he's rather confused about what to do with them. He finds a mule-skinner to drive the mules he needs to help drive the turkeys all the way to Denver with him. His third-grade teacher loans him some money to pay for the skinner and the turkeys. When he finally gets on the road there is much more trouble and three surprise guests! One of the reasons I recommend this book is because it has lots of interesting characters. One of them, Mr. Peece, is a drunk. But, since Simon has hired him as a mule-skinner, he never takes a drink. When they get to Denver, Mr. Peece helps Simon set up an auction for however many turkeys they have left in the end. (They lose a few along the way.) Also along the way they pick up Jabeth, a friendly, run-away slave. When they get closer to Denver they find Lizzie, a sixteen-year-old orphan, whose family died when they got a plague from grasshoppers. Simon falls in love with her as soon as they pick her up. Another great addition to the story is... ACTION. When Simon, Mr. Peece and Jabeth go into an unknown town, they meet up with some unfriendly soldiers, who start shooting at the turkeys. As soon as that happens, Simon gets a little overprotective. He starts punching one of the soldiers and ends up beating him up pretty badly. Also along the way, they meet with Simon's long lost dad, who takes Simon's turkeys and ties Simon and Mr. Peece up. (Jabeth hides behind a bush) When he and his companions get out, they have a very hard time getting the turkeys back. This is a great book; I highly recommend it.

One reason why another person might not enjoy this book, is that it some of the action gets a little repetitive. When Simon's dad comes and steals the turkeys from Simon, something like that happens again. And they run into Indians twice. However, each time it happens, you still get the same rush of suspense. This book has a great ending, it's a page-turner and fun to read.

" Git long now turkeys." Simon Green is a fifteen year old kid who takes 1000 turkeys cross-country. Sounds kind of disastrous doesn't it? Along the way, Simon meets up with his long lost pa who turns out to be evil and tries to steal his turkeys. The Great Turkey Walk was a laugh-out-loud comedy that kept me reading. I just couldn't put it down, it was like I was write there in the book. Simon was hilarious the way he talked and acted. This was a great non-stop laughing kind of book. If you like comedies about real life characters, The Great Turkey Walk is for you.

If you have read this book, you know how hard it is for Simion Greene. For those of you who havent, Simion Greene is a farm boy whose furture is full of action. He and his turkeys,and turkey drover (Mr. Peece), find many intersting people. Simon takes you along the trail of his own walk, so you too can meet the characters. Be sure to read this book!

Go West Young Women is about a family that goes on a trip through the West and the have the same thing to eat day after day, and they are sick of it. Phoebe is starting to get sick of her dad and they keep arguing. They have to keep track of the cattle and a stampede begins and they want to keep going but don't know if they should! My opinion on this book was that it was a little boring and the writing was hard to read sometimes. I wouldn't recommend this to an eighth grader because I think it would be more of a fifth grade book. The reader that likes adventure through the country will enjoy this book.

This book is an fascinating and colorful look at crossing the plains from a girl's perspective. It is very entertaining, and Phoebe is an interesting and engaging main character. We really get to know how she feels and thinks. Boys may not find the book quite as enjoyable; there aren't any sympathetic male characters, and most of the women don't seem to fond of men in general. This is a good book to get the favor of the early westward movement.

This book is one of the few available that are adventurous, appeal to girls in a period where self-confidence is constantly threatened, and has a splash of learning tossed in. Not enough to make it boring, of course.

"The Boxer" was an okay book with not a whole lot of a knockout ending. Johnny Woods a lower class kid living in the tenements of Manhattan in the 1800's is supporting his family after his father leaves 3 years earlier. Johnny is walking home from the sweatshop one night, and stops at Brodie's Saloon where they offer boxing to anyone, and the winner wins five dollars. When Johnny is fighting, the saloon is raided by the police Johnny ends up with a sentence of 6 months in prison. When in prison he meets the "Professor" Michael O'Shaunessy. Michael offers to train him in prison and continue to train him when they get out of prison at his Upper East Side New York Athletic Club. When Johnny gets out he is surprised with the return of his father. He now must concentrate on fights and his family. This was an overall okay book. I expected a better ending then what was given.

Kathleen Karr's THE BOXER is a great story about a young man who makes his own way in the world and reaches for dreams that he would have never dared if life hadn't forced him to succeed. Fifteen-year old Johnny Woods dropped out of school and started working 12-hour days in a sweatshop ironing clothes to help his mother support his five younger siblings. His dad ran out on them a long time ago. But the money Johnny makes hardly puts a dent in the mounting bills the struggling family faces. Then, one night, he reads an ad on Brodie's Saloon about a boxing match. Whoever wins the boxing match receives a five-dollar prize purse. In 1885 New York City's Lower East Side, five dollars is a month's rent. Johnny signs up, gets his first bout and may be on his way to winning his first match, then gets arrested by the New York City Police. In 1885, prize-fighting was illegal, especially the way the sport was run in Brodie's Saloon. Sentenced to six months in jail, Johnny figures out he's got to change his life, and he finds the man to help him do it. Michael O'Shaunnessey, called Perfessor by those who know him, was a boxer and fight manager, and he begins training young Johnny. Using his wits, his muscle, and his courage, Johnny begins the transformation that will forever alter his life and the lives of those around him.

An author of a number of books, Kathleen Karr apparently loves to blend her fiction with history and real people. Other books she's written include SKULLDUGGERY (a story about a young boy helping a well-meaning grave robber practice his trade), THE GREAT TURKEY WALK (the tale of a boy herding turkeys to Denver, and the book was on the Best Book of the Year lists by SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL and PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY), and the Petticoat Party series (books about young girls going West on a wagon train. Her heroines and heroes are always well-done and draw readers into their problems and into the stories.

THE BOXER is an excellent tale and a fantastic read. The author brings images of late 19th century New York City's slum areas and lifestyles into view for young readers without hitting them over the head with history. She doesn't describe the events like they're history. She presents Johnny's world as it is and as he sees it. Of course, many readers will note the difference between then and now, but Karr leaves that up to the reader rather than drawing special importance to those facts. Karr's ear for dialogue, both internal in the first-person point of view and in the conversations between the characters, is true to life, but written so that the words on the page pass amazingly quick. She keeps up a rapid pace that encourages young readers to keep turning page. The focus she maintains on the family, and Johnny's growing vision of the family's plight and what he can do about it, is fantastic. Johnny is a great hero, but remains very human in the reader's view.

The only thing that needed a little more attention was the last fight. Karr builds the readers up to an all-or-nothing finish, yet the final showdown is somehow anti-climatic. However, the interweaving of the Perfessor's knowing remarks with scenes from the battle in progress are nicely done.

Anyone interested in getting a glimpse of the past through the eyes of a hero with a great heart will enjoy this book. Readers that like fiction that is fast-paced and filled with dialogue will blaze through this story. In addition to an enjoyable read, readers will make a new friend and gain a mentor in Johnny Woods, inside and outside the boxing ring. THE BOXER is a fun read, and the book is emotionally uplifting.

That is of course, only if you like boxing. John Woods: a poor, tenament resident with a mother and young siblings to take care of, and a dead end job in the sweat shops that wasn't getting him anywhere, needed a miracle. And while walking down the street one day, he thinks he finds one: boxing. Boxing paid big money, and John knew he could do it, so he tries out in a place Brodie's Bar. During his first bout, the place is stormed by the cops (boxing was illegal without a permit) and John is sent to the "Tombs" (prison) for 6 months. Luckily, it was a hidden blessing, For John meets "The Perfessor" O'Shaunnessey. Ex-pro boxer, who now owned an athletic club. After getting out of the Tombs, his training begins at the club, and now his only goal is to get his family out of the tenaments, and into a decent home. If you're the person that enjoys boxing, I would say this book is definitely for you. If you do not like boxing like me, it will still be an enjoyable book (it was very well written), but it will not be as enjoyable...I give it 4 stars.

This book has a very creative premise, is well-written with interesting characters, and got off to fascinating start. Halfway through this book I would have rated it with 5 stars. However, I found the last third somewhat disappointing. After creating a mysterious and fascinating antagonist, the author seemed to run out of plot ideas in terms of how to satisfactorily resolve the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist and as a result the ending was very flat as the story seemed to run out of gas without any real or compelling resolution.

Ok, I don't know why I found this book intruiging! It took me awhile to read it, because it didnt started out slow. Then it gets moving! And thats why I give it 4 stars! Good book! Wonderful author! RECCOMEND... especially to anyone that wants to be a brain surgeon! This book is about how they would dig for skulls, so the DR. could help in his work. They got some famous skulls too!

This book has it all -- history, suspense, friendship, and dark humor. Kids will be intrigued to learn about the 19th century practice of phrenology -- analysing someone's character and personality by the bumps and shape of one's head. Although the history and grave robbing scenes are interesting, it is really the friendship between the doctor and the boy that makes this book great.

For a humerous historical fiction story, this is good. But for a novel on the Oregon Trail, it's only average. Other books, such as ACROSS THE WIDE AND LONESOME PRAIRIE (In the Dear America series), do a much better job telling of this time in history. The humor in this story was unnecesary (life on the trail was not funny, but filled with terrible hardship), and the story was unrealistic. Also, this story made the Indians appear dopey and ignorant (okay, I don't think Indians challenged pioneer women to shooting contests).

Phoebe's Folly was hilarious! Anyone who likes American History, but isn't too serious about it would love the book! Phoebe's way of telling the tale,( and bagging Mr. Harley's rabbit, for rabbit stew), are almost inspiring! The Kennan twins, with their superior markswomanship, (and"la-de-das") along the trail, give the book a little adventure and pizzaz. The way Phoebe gets into a shooting match is too funny to describe, especially with the end result! And how many girls, on their 13th birthday, shoot a bear? All this, plus more, complete a wonderful tale of a journey made by women on the Oregon Trail! ( However, my only concern is that some men might not like the book, because it focuses more on women, as dubs the name, "The Petticoat Party")! Jessic