Books with author Carolyn Reeder

A tattered flag above Fort Sumter . . . riots in the streets . . . Union troops occupying private homes and harassing citizens . . . The months before the first major battle of the Civil War were marked by confusion, deep emotion, and bitter divisions between families, neighbors, and friends. Timothy Donovan, a bugler at Fort Sumter; Joseph Schwartz, a scholarship student from a working-class family in Baltimore; and Gregory Howard, son of a wealthy man in Alexandria, Virginia, all find their loyalties challenged by the gathering storm. For Timothy, the threat of bombardment by rebel troops, coupled with a near-starvation diet in a garrison that is under siege, forces him to question what it really means to lay down one's life for one's flag. Joseph's family is fiercely Unionist, but his privileged classmates -- including his one real friend -- are staunchly in favor of secession. And Gregory's Unionist father has disinherited Gregory's older brother, who, like the rest of the family, remains loyal to the South.Shades of Gray author Carolyn Reeder shows the complexities of life in a time of fear, excitement, and overwhelming change in these three interlinked stories about the months before the first major battle of the Civil War.

Kate has always looked forward to her family's canal boat trips to Washington City, but this year everything has changed. Papa is dead and Mama has remarried, bringing a stepsister and stepbrother into their family. Kate's new stepfather is off fighting for the Union, and now Mama's expecting a new baby, making the trip they planned impossible. But Kate refuses to give up; her family depends on the income from the coal they haul down the C&O Canal. Kate knows every one of the 184 miles of the waterway between Cumberland, Maryland and Georgetown by heart, as well as how to steer the boat and handle the mules that pull it.But Kate can't make the trip alone. As much as she resents her stepbrother, Seth, she needs his help; so with Kate at the tiller, and Seth walking beside the mules, the two set off, risking encounters with rebels, managing the canal's locks, and hiding the fact that they are two children traveling alone. But along the way, Kate discovers that working together not only means survival, it brings the understanding that will help her belong to a real family once again. Keystone to Reading Book Award Masterlist Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, Masterlist Maryland Children s Book Award Masterlist

Joseph shook his head. "Ihave no quarrel with northern men--provided they don't try to take over Maryland." "Always playing neutral, aren't you?" Alexander said, his voice hostile. "Aw, leave him alone, Alex," Harold said. "As long as he's not a Unionist, he's okay, right?" Alexander gave Joseph a challenging glance and echoed, "As long as he's not a Unionist." But he was one.