Overview

"Lonely and bored with rural life in 1856, young Bella Lee Dunkinson began to hang around the local railroad. Engineer John Hardiman took a liking to the spirited girl and gave her a boy's responsibilities helping with the engine. One stormy night, the engine was slipping dangerously on wet rails. While John was putting sand on the tracks, Bella found herself alone in the cab driving the train up a steep and dangerous mountainside--a 16-year-old female faced with a task that would terrify any seasoned male engineer. After her heroic and triumphant climb to the mountaintop, she was hailed by the miners who met her there as the ""Belle of the Mines and Mountains."""

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9781939656711

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Reviews

This series presents various episodes of American history through stage plays. Comprised entirely of dialogue, the books are told from the perspectives of elderly people reflecting on their youthful adventures, including 19th-century steam train worker Bella Lee Dunkinson and explorer Patrick Gass of the Lewis and Clark expedition. One-page introductions provide relevant historical context, along with a 'Cast of Characters' listing. The format necessitates elements of fictionalization, which the books indicate. Some readers may become confused when the dialogue switches quickly between the older narrator's voice and the depicted historical episode. Yet overall, these engaging and creative offerings succeed, introducing important people, events, and inventions in a lively, dramatic way. More difficult vocabulary words are set in bold and defined in glossaries. Each volume features a different illustrator, which gives the series a diverse aesthetic. Todd's linocuts present the Hudson River of 1807 in brilliant abstraction, while Jacobsen's smooth pastels bring Lewis and Clark's expedition to life, and Renaud's fluid lines give vibrant motion to a chugging steam train. These works encourage group reading, with different readers assuming different parts. VERDICT: Recommended for history curricula, as well as for both school and public libraries. School Library Journal --Journal

Author Information

Wim Coleman has written more than 100 books with his wife. For 13 years he lived in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico where he created and managed a scholarship program for at-risk youth. Pat Perrin has written more than 100 books with her husband. For 13 years she lived in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico where she created and managed a scholarship program for at-risk youth. Joanne Renaud graduated from Art Center College of Design in California. She studied graphic design at Central Washington University and art at the University of Ulster in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She lives in Los Angeles.

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