Books with author Kathleen Ernst

Kirsten Larson has been living on the Minnesota frontier for only a few weeks when her neighbor and friend, Erik Sandahl, disappears. Erik had promised to help the Larsons at harvest time--and he owes Uncle Olav money. Has Erik run out on his promises? Everyone seems to think so--except Kirsten. Can she figure out what's happened to her friend?This story takes place in 1854.

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Molly still does her patriotic duty to help America win World War II, but in the spring of 1945 she's weary and troubled. Dad is home safe, but he seems different now. And someone is sneaking into the backyard shed and messing with the scrap she's collecting for the latest wartime drive. Who is the intruder: Ronnie, her own brother Ricky--or a prowler she spied in the night?This book includes a richly illustrated "Peak Into The Past" essay.

A year ago, Tanya Zeshonski was living in Wisconsin, interning at the public television station, and eating Polish food on the holidays. Then her mother divorced her father, reclaimed her maiden name of MacDonald, and moved to North Carolina to submerge them all in their Scottish heritage. So now, at 15, Tanya is the oldest beginning student at the Flora MacDonald School of Highland Dance. Instead of pursuing her dream of being a filmmaker, she’s learning the Highland Fling, one of the national dances of Scotland. Learning it means a lot to her mother, though, so Tanya resigns herself to practicing for the biggest event of the summer, the Cross Creek Highland Games. At the games, Tanya must face not only the intricacies of the dance, but the complications brought on by a handsome bagpiper named Miguel, a ghostly ancestor, and the arrival of her father. Tanya’s sharp, funny voice rings true as she describes the delicate steps of the dance and the beginning of her new life.

When her father goes off to join the Yankee troops, fourteen-year-old Hannah fears her family will be torn apart by the Civil War. But nothing prepares her for her mother's sudden death. Hannah now finds herself responsible for keeping the young family together in a world where even her best friend, Ben, sympathizes with the Confederacy. On a long and dangerous journey from Cumberland Mountain to Nashville, Tennessee, in search of their only living relative, Hannah and her brother and sisters come to realize the true meaning of family and hope. This is a beautifully crafted novel about the tragedy of war and the power of love even in the toughest of times.

A 2001 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee for Best Children's Mystery! Suzette Choudoir has spent each of her twelve summers at La Pointe Island on Lake Superior, where Ojibwe people camp by the French fur-trade fort. It is 1732 and if her papa wins the trappers' competition, the prize will let him stay with his Ojibwe family year-round instead of wintering in far-off Montréal with the other French voyageurs. But a troublemaker sabotages the competition, and Papa. Only someone who's both Ojibwe and French can figure out what's going on -- someone like Suzette.

In the early 1700s, twelve-year-old Suzette, an Ojibwa-French girl, hopes that her father will win the fur-trapping contest so that he can quit being a voyageur and stay with his family year-round, but when he is accused of stealing, Suzette must use herknowledge of both French and Ojibwa ways to find the real thief.In the early 1700s, twelve-year-old Suzette, an Ojibwa-French girl, hopes that her father will win the fur-trapping contest, but when he is accused of stealing, Suzette must use her knowledge of both French and Ojibwa ways to find the real thief.

While Caroline is out fishing one spring day, she sees a British warship about to capture an American boat. With only an instant to decide what to do, Caroline takes a daring risk to try to save the day. She's been trying to be brave, like she promised Papa, but would he be proud of her now? Missing him terribly, Caroline visits their special fishing spot on the shore of Lake Ontario. She hopes to find comfort there--but instead she makes a startling discovery! The illustrated "Looking Back" section discusses transportation and medicine in the early 1800s.

Caroline and her mother make a dangerous journey across Lake Ontario to the British fort where Papa is being held prisoner. When Mama isn't allowed to see Papa, it's up to Caroline to pass a secret message to him--right under the nose of a British guard! She hopes desperately that Papa will understand her message and make an escape. But can she get to him in time? The illustrated "Looking Back" section explores how the War of 1812 affected women and children.

Caroline imagined it would be great fun to have two girls staying at her house for the winter. But her friend Rhonda and her cousin Lydia seem to have more in common with each other than they do with Caroline. Worse, they'd rather stay inside styling hair than go skating and sledding on a beautiful day. When nothing Caroline tries seems to change things, her hurt feelings lead her to make a dangerous decision--one that puts all three girls on very thin ice! The illustrated "Looking Back" section discusses Christmastime and growing up in the early 1800s.