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Reviews
The Sugar Creek Gang book 1 The Swamp Robber.
Ten year old Bill Collins and his group of friends, Leslie Thompson ,nicknamed Poetry. Roy Gilbert, nicknamed Dragonfly. Jim Foote, nicknamed Little Jim. Dan Browne, nicked named Circus. And Big Jim.
Bill and his friends, find whiskers big glasses and white hair hidden in an old tree in the woods.
They wonder if it belongs to the bank robber that is said to be hiding in the swamp.
Then they find an old treasure map hidden in the tree, adding even more to their excitement. Meanwhile, the young bank robber is shot by the police and taken to the hospital and the boys encounter two bearded men that look like the disguise they found in the tree.
While all this is going on, Bill’s mother has a baby girl, Bill’s disappointed and had hoped for a boy.
Cirrus mother has a baby girl too and Circus dad, starts getting drunk all the time.
Bill’s dad learns the young man who was shot wasn’t really a bank robber after all to the lord. Crrucs and his dad do the same at a rival meeting a few days later.
Then the group of boy’s figure out that the bank robber was dresser in the old man disguise and he’s after the treasure map, and the treausure.
They decide to have a steak out and they capture the bank robber, find the treasure, and meet the original owner of the treasure, Old Man Paddler who was rumored to be dead and had been tied up in his own cabin during the night when the bank robber caught him. And the young man who was shot Barry Paddler, was Old Man Paddlers nephew.
Then Bill saves Circus's dad from dying from a Black Widow bite by getting the doctor, which is what Bill wants to be when he grows up.
Little House in Brookfield by Maria Wilkes.
Six-year-old Caroline Quincy lives in a house in Brookfield Wisconsin with her mother, her Grandmother, her Sister Martha, who is the oldest of six children, her older brothers, Joseph, Henry, her younger sister Eliza, and her younger brother Thomas.
Their father had drowned at sea so Caroline's mother has work harder than ever.
Caroline is just learning to sew and goes to her first day of school.
Even though they suffer great hardship, they get though it with hard work and determination.
Little Clearing in the big Woods by Maria Wilkes.
Caroline Quincy and her family her Mother, her older Sister Martha, her younger sisterd Eliza. And her older brothers Joseph, Henry, and her younger brother Thomas, and move to Concord Wisconsin.
While on their way their Caroline wonders if she will like Concord as much as Brookfield.
Caroline's mother's friend and his son Charles come with them to help build their house before they go back homa and the Quincy family is on their own.
They make new friends and Caroline's mother decieds to marry again.
While on their way their Caroline wonders if she will like Concord as much as Brookfield.
Little House in the big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls is five years old.
Her older sister Mary is eight. And her younger sister Carrie is just a baby.
Even though they have to work hard they also have fun.
Laura and Mary’s cousins come for Christmas, Laura gets a rag doll and names her Charlotte.
After Christmas they go to Granma Ingalls house and have a sugaring off party to amkie maplr syrup. Then they bring home buckets of maple syrup with.
During the spring their cow has a calf and they have fresh milk and cheese.
In the summer they plant a garden.
And during the winter Pa goes hunting.
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Charles Ingalls, or Pa decides to sell their house and move to Indian Territory with his wife Caroline, his daughters, Mary Ingalls who is nine., Laura Elizabeth Ingalls who is six, and baby Carrie.
Mary and Laura are both sad yet excited to go to the new and strange land.
On the way they almost loss their dog Jack when they cross the Mississippi River and Jack is swept away. But Jack finds his way back to them and they continue on.
When they get to Indian Terrritory they met all types of new friends.
They met a man named Mr. Edwards who is their nearest neighbor. A neighbor named Mr and Mrs. Scot.
They also suffer some hardship's including geting disease called fever n’ague.
They met a new neighbor named Mrs. Scot.
They also have some near calls, like when Mr. Scott falls down the Ingalls well and nearly dies of poisons gasses.
Then they are ordered off their land by the army because they are on indian land. So they obey and move on.
Farmer boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Almonzo Wilder is eight years old, almost nine and lives on a big farm with his Father, Mother, his older brother Roy, and his two older sisters Eliza Jane and Alice
Even though he’s young he works hard just like is older brother.
Almonzo, his father and Roy get up at five am to milk the cows and feed the stock. But what Almonzo really wants is a horse and his father wont give him one.
When Roy decides to become a store keeper instead of a farmer, his father and mother ask Almonzo what he wants. He tells them he wants a horse. And his father decieds to give him one.
A Family Apart by Joan Lowery Nixon.
When their mother gives Thirteen year old Frances Mary Kelly, twelve year old Meagan Kelly, nicked named Meg, eleven year old Michael Kelly, nicked named Mike, ten year old Danny Kelly, nine year old Peg, and five year old Peter Kelly, nicked named Petey, away and send's them away to the west for better homes after Mike is caught stealing and almost sent to Tombs Prison, Frances decides to dress like a boy so that she can stay with her little brother and protect him.
The Kelly children all travel to St. Joseph Missouri by train. On the way they are attacked by bandits and have to put out a fire. And Mike makes an enemy of a impotant man in St. Joseph even though he only tries to help.
Pretending to be a boy works and Franices and Petey are adopted together by a young couple named the Cummingtons.
Mike is adopted by a family called the Friedrich's who only wants a unpaid worker.
Meg is adopted by a nice young couple.
And Danny and Peg are adopted together by an older couple.
While living with the Cummingtons Frances makes friends with a boy named Jonny Muller and finds out that the Cummington's are working with the Underground Railroad and decides to help them.
When she does, she gets arrested and almost put in jail. But then the lady that took them west Mrs. Kathrine Banks finds out she is a girl and makes sure she isn’t taken to jail.
The Cummingtons want to keep her and her brother anyway even though sh's a girl.
Caught in the act by Joan Lowery Nixon
When their mother gives Thirteen year old Frances Mary Kelly, twelve year old Meagan, nicked named Meg, eleven year old Michael, nicked named Mike, ten year old Danny, nine year old Peg, and five year old Peter, nicked named Petey, away and send them away to the west for better homes after Mike is caught stealing and almost sent to Tombs Prison, Mike is adopted by a family named the Friedrich’s, who only want cheap labor.
Their son, Gunner, hates Mike and gets him in all sorts of trouble. Including slipping a golden watch into Mike's matress, putting a frong in his bed, dropping a special platter and blaming Mike, and getting Mike whipped on a couple occasions.
When the only friend he has named Reuben, another farm worker, disappears Mike thinks that Mr. Friedrich killed him since he heard the Fredrich's talk about a boy that shouldent have died.
Mike tells people in town when he is accused of stealing a pocket knife in Kathrine Banks store, the lady who took Mike and his brothers and sisters west, by Gunner. The some of the men in the store decied to go and have a looky's for themselves. And dig up a box full of foreign money but no Reuben.
Then Mike realizes he was wrong and that Reuben probably went go a job on a river barge that he was so found of talking about .
That night he has a talk with Mr. Friedrich, who thinks he is a fair man listens to what he has to say, then he whips him.
So that night runs away, but gets caught be the man on the train who had become his ennmy, and drags him to Kathrine Banks store. Who cleans his wounds and when Andrew Macnair, another one of the people who took them west, changes his cloths.
The next day Mike, Kathrine and Andrew MacNair, go to the Friedrich’s and tell them that Mike is no longer going to be staying with them.
Then Mike proves once and for all that Gunner has been the one causing trouble for him, when Gunner sets the outhouse on fire and blames Mike when Mike was sitting next to Andrew the whole time. Then Mike is taken to live with a Captain who befriended him on the train.
In the Face of Danger by Joan Lowery Nixon.
When their mother gives Thirteen year old Frances Mary Kelly, twelve year old Meagan, nicked named Meg, eleven year old Michael, nicked named Mike, ten year old Danny, nine year old Peg, and five year old Peter, nicked named Petey, away and send them away to the west for better homes after Mike is caught stealing and almost sent to Tombs Prison, Meg, is sent to live with a kind young couple who is about to have a baby.
Meg was told by a gypsy that read her palm that she would have bad luck for the rest of her life and Megan believed it.
So when things start going bad Meg believes that its part the gypsy cures. First a rude neighbor comes to live close by and even when Meg tries to help her she's mean. Then Lady, the family dog, dies from a rattle snake that almost bites Meg. And then Meg and her new family are held hostage by a criminal when all the men have gone looking for him.
But Meg is able to outsmart the man and keep him from killing them. And realizes that it wasent bad luck that made those thing's happen, they just happened.
A Place to Belong by Joan Lowery Nixon.
When their mother gives Thirteen year old Frances Mary Kelly, twelve year old Meagan, nicked named Meg, eleven year old Michael, nicked named Mike, ten year old Danny, nine year old Peg, and five year old Peter, nicked named Petey, away and send them away to the west for better homes after Mike is caught stealing and almost sent to Tombs Prison, Danny and Peg, are sent to live with an older coupled named Alfred and Olga Swenson.
Danny is thrilled to have a father again but when Olga dies he’s heart broken. Until he has the idea to send for his mother and have her marry Alfred so that he can have a mother and a father. Everything goes well until his mother falls in love with another man.
Then even though Danny doesn’t like it, Alfred decides to marry another woman. But they work it out so that Danny and Peg live with their mother, but Danny works for Alfred so that he can still see him.
Then Danny is able to see his brothers and sisters again when they are renuited.
Then Danny sees a phony doctor that he knew in New York who tries to kill him and Alfred after Alfred exposes him. But Alfred saves Danny just in time.
A Dangerous Promise by Joan Lowery Nixon.
After Michel Kelly, nicked named Mike, was sent on an Orphan Train with his brothers and moved from the Friedrich’s, who only wanted cheap labor, to a captain and his wife at a fort, he and his friend Todd decided to become drummer boys and join the army even though Mike is only twelve.
During his time in the army he is wounded and Todd is killed.
Before the battel Mike promised Todd that if he didn’t make it he would get his watch back to his mother and sister.
While wounded Mike watches a confederate soldier take Todd’s watch.
Mike swears to get it back even though he’s trapped behind enemy lines. Mike is rescued by another confederate soldier who he helped once.
Gets back Todd’s watch and delivers it to his mother and sister. And gets back home.
Keeping Secrets by Joan Lowery Nixon.
When a woman named Violet Hennessey, comes to stay with elven year old Peg Kelly, her older brother twelve year old Danny, and her mother and step father, Peg is thrilled that she treats her like an adult instead of a child.
Then she finds out that Violet is a union spy and needs Peg’s help to get some vital information. And so Peg decieds to help her.
Then Danny dies from a fever when he saves Peg and Violet from confederate soldiers.
Circle of Love by Joan Lowery Nixon.
When nineteen year old Frances Mary Kelly’s true love Jonny Muller comes back from the war she’s thrilled. But is hurt and angry when Jonny doesn’t come back the same and is hesitant to marry her.
So Frances decides to take a young boy back to New York on the Orphan Train to be with his aunt and uncle and get away from Jonny for a while.
While their she decides to escort thirty children out west for better homes. Along the way she meets a bitter confederate soldier who is a bank robber dressed like a minster and traveling with the children. The bank robber wants to take Frances with him when he is discovered but she refuses. And when he is about to take Eddie a ten year old boy in her care, she asks him not to, and leaves without him. Then when the bank robber finds out that she told the sheriff about her he comes after her intending to kill her and Eddie, who hadn’t been adopted and Feances had taken him to mothers house. But Frances talks to him and the bank robber doesn’t kill them and leaves.
Frances goes home and brings Eddie with her. Makes up with Jonny, then they decide to get married, and decide to adopt Eddie.
Lucy’s Wish by Joan Lowery Nixon.
When ten year old Lucy Griggs’s mother dies Lucy is sent out west on the orphan train under the care of Frances Mary Kelly.
All Lucy wants is a little sister.
When she gets adopted by a kind man, and an angry bitter woman who has a little girl who’s simple, she’s happy that she got her wish, even though it wasn’t quite like she imagined.
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