Books in Great Episodes series

Lars Olafson moves with his parents to the old family farm near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to live with his aged aunt Cass. Lars is miserable--until he meets Geordie, a ghost whose stories of the Revolutionary War are as exciting as those of an eyewitness. When Aunt Cass dies suddenly, Lars is faced with a mystery linked to the Revolutionary War--and Geordi’s ghostly stories are his only chance of solving it.

Carrie Hill hates Indians. Indians killed her parents and ruined her life. With nowhere else to go, fifteen-year-old Carrie signs on to help care for the family of Beaver Dick Leigh, an English trapper. To her dismay, Carrie discovers that Beaver Dick's wife, Jenny, is a Shoshoni Indian! But as Carrie's wounds heal under Jenny's gentle care, she begins to respect and love this kind woman. Beginning each chapter with an excerpt from Beaver Dick Leigh's actual journals, Kristiana Gregory brings alive the people and the dramatic setting of a bygone era.

Fifteen-year-old Lorenzo Bonifacio never intended to be a soldier. But when the soldados raid his tiny Mexican village, Lorenzo finds himself forced to join General Santa Anna's army . . . all because of the pesky goatherd Catalina and the haughty Esteban Equivel, son of the wealthiest landowner in the region. Taken under wing by the kind Sergeant Ildefonso, Lorenzo and Esteban endure boredom, exhaustion, and hunger as the army makes its way across Mexico to San Antonio de Bexar, where rebellious norte-americanos have barricaded themselves inside an old mission called El Alamo. Neither boy can imagine what lies at the end of the march--defeat, death, glory?--and neither can accept the price paid during the fight for Texas.

An independent-minded young maid tells the story of social-climber Peggy Shippen and how she influenced Benedict Arnold’s betrayal of the Patriot forces. Revolutionary Philadelphia is brought to life as Becca seeks to find her “missing pieces” while exploring the complicated issues of the war between the impoverished independence men and the decadent British Tories. “This tale of treachery comes alive under [Rinaldi’s] pen.”--Kirkus Reviews

On the night of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, his frantic wife, Mary, calls for her best friend and confidante, Elizabeth Keckley. But the woman is mistakenly kept from her side by guards who were unaware of Mary Todd Lincoln’s close friendship with the black seamstress. With vivid detail and emotional power, Ann Rinaldi delves into the childhoods of two fascinating women who became devoted friends amid the turbulent times of the Lincoln administration. Includes an author’s note, a reader’s guide, and a bibliography.

The Revolutionary War is raging. Food and firewood are scarce, and Tempe Wick is worried that she will not be able to care for her ailing mother and her family and still maintain the farm. Her ability to hold on to her world is threatened when a mutinous soldier demands that she lend him her beloved horse in exchange for keeping her brother’s rum-smuggling activities secret from the authorities. This dramatic historical novel is based on a real event that has been popularized into American legend.

Sis Goose is a beloved member of Luli's family, despite the fact that she was born a slave. But the family is harboring a terrible secret. And when Union soldiers arrive on their Texas plantation to announce that slaves have been declared free for nearly two years, Sis Goose is horrified to learn that the people she called family have lied to her for so long. She runs away--but her newly found freedom has tragic consequences. How could the state of Texas keep the news of the Emancipation Proclamation from reaching slaves? In this riveting Great Episodes historical drama, Ann Rinaldi sheds light on the events that led to the creation of Juneteenth, a celebration of freedom that continues today. Includes an author's note.

Chaos reigns in Washington, D.C., after President Lincoln’s assassination. But for fourteen-year-old Emily Pigbush, the Union’s turmoil is nothing compared to her own struggle. Sent to live with her uncle Valentine after her mother’s untimely death, Emily realizes that her best friend’s mother was one of John Wilkes Booth’s accomplices. And even worse, she suspects that her uncle is breaking the law.