Books in Adventures in America series

In 1852, recently orphaned, thirteen-year-old Mateo becomes an "arreiro," or mule driver, bringing supplies to California gold miners and searching for the notorious bandit who stole his horse, but when he learns that Yankee squatters are threatening to take the ranch he grew up on, Mateo heads for home.Recently orphaned Mateo becomes an "arreiro," leading pack mules through gold rush camps and searching for the bandit who stole his horse, but when he learns that his father's old ranch is in danger from squatters, he heads home.

Voices for Freedom contains three stories focusing on the Underground Railroad and the 1963 Freedom March on Washington. Stories are Friend on Freedom River, Riding to Washington, and The Listeners.In Friend on Freedom River, written by Gloria Whelan, runaway slaves ask Louis to ferry them across the Detroit River to freedom in Canada. He’s not sure what to do. If they are caught, it means prison for Louis. Written by Gwenyth Swain, Riding to Washington tells of one girl’s journey to attend the 1963 “Great March on Washington.” Janie and her father ride a bus to Washington, D.C. to hear a man named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak. During the trip, Janie sees firsthand the injustices that many others endure. In The Listeners, another offering from Gloria Whelan, each night Ella May and her friends secretly listen outside the windows of their master’s house. They listen to learn their fates and those of the other slaves.

Each paperback in this series features a trio of fictional stories highlighting a moment in American history. Troubled Times contains three stories focusing on the Great Depression. In The Lucky Star a girl helps her sister and other children learn to read when their school is closed. Rudy Rides the Rails features a boy living the hobo life. In Junk Man's Daughter, a family struggles after moving to the United States.