Books published by publisher Hillside Education

Philip Henry Sheridan was one of the greatest Union generals of the War between the States. Yet, before this brilliant leader was able to win battles, he had to win a victory over himself. Young Phil was a headstrong and willful youngster whose solution to all of boyhood's difficulties was to attack with his fists. Resolved to gain self-control, Sheridan rose in stature as a careful, deliberate strategist as well as a fearless, daring fighter. This is a story filled with the drama, sights, and sounds of the war that restored the Union. But more than that, it is a colorful picture of a captivating personality, who became known as the last of the great American cavalry men.

Having come through the crucible of personal suffering, Margaret Haughery spent her life serving others. She was an astute businesswoman who made money so that she could help others. Humble and persistent Margaret made a name for herself as a woman of generosity and kindness. Set in her adopted city of New Orleans, this story portrays a lively picture of the development of the city with its colorful past and the people who helped to make it thrive. Part of the American Background Series originally published in 1961, this story is for 5th or 6th grade readers and up.

Francis Margaret Allen, daughter of legendary Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen, leads a charmed life. She is beautiful, intelligent, compassionate, and loves the vitality of freedom in pristine Vermont. Devoted to the "rock-bound hills" of the Green Mountains and finding God in every blade of grass, she doesn't see the need for organized religion and its needless rituals. But God has other plans for Fanny Allen. She has but to open her mind to the longings of her heart!

Chuiraquimba has lived all her life in the forests, the daughter of a powerful chief. When her father abandons her dying brother, she runs to the "Black Robes" for help. She and her brother are welcomed into the Jesuit reductions and come to believe in the Christian religion. Slave traders however hunt the Guarani, poaching them from the reductions despite the priests efforts to convert the slavers and reform the practice of slavery. Eventually the priests gather the remaining Guarani and move south over the falls along the Parana River to a better location. Along the way, Chuiraquimba's faith is tested, but she never falters and ultimately finds hope waiting at the end of her journey. Based on the true events of 1600s Paraguay.

New York in the late 17th century was still a rude settlement but one which was opening its doors to a great variety of nationalities. Its citizens were independent individuals valuing freedom and self-government above everything else. When Colonel Thomas Dongan, the Duke of York's new governor with a royal proclamation guaranteeing the rights of assembly and the making of their own laws, the people of New York greeted him with cheers. But all was not smooth sailing. This is the story of how Irish Catholic Thoams Dongan overcame many political obstacles, drove back the French, made peace among the Five Nations, and fought for the New York charter. In this volatile time of our history, it was Thomas Dongan and men like him who secured the frontiers of the United States and made it possible for future generations to follow. His story also highlights that the struggle for religious freedom has been with us from the very beginning.

Follow the continuing adventures of Nathaniel B. Oakes in this second book of delightful tales. Nathaniel tells hilarious stories of growing up with his fourteen siblings on a small farm in the West. He brings you up close to sulky vultures, mad bulls, angry honeybees, and much more. Hang on to your funny bone! For more fun, don't miss the first book in the series "The Adventures of Nathaniel B Oakes."

John Hughes was an Irish immigrant who played a significant role in the establishment of the Church in northeastern United States before the Civil War. As Bishop and then Archbishop of New York, he was the leader and protector of his people during the Nativist and Know-Nothing movements, constantly reminding his flock by word and deed of their duties as American citizens. Intensely devoted to his adopted land, the Archbishop responded loyally when asked to perform any public service. One of his admirers was Abraham Lincoln who sent him to the court of Napoleon III in France to win support for the Northern cause in Civil War. He was like an eagle, whether fighting for souls or defending his beloved country--a vigorous American who stood ever ready to uphold the principles of freedom. "All that he did he did with the greater good of his country in his mind and in his heart."

On a hillside in ancient Crete, a young boy tends his father's goats. A girl about his age, dressed in finery, appears on his hill and then the adventure begins. The girl, the Princess of Knossos, and the goatherd are captured by Egyptian slave traders. To hide her identity as the Princess, the boy puts on her ring--the symbol of the double axe. Mistaken then as the Prince of Knossos, he is treated royally while she becomes a slave. He eventually finds a way for them to esacpe. How will they ever make it back to Crete?

Don John of Austria accomplished an amazing array of victories for Christendom in his short life. He was an excellent strategist and leader of men, commanding forces in the Spanish Moorish rebellion, the Battle of Lepanto, and in the war in the Netherlands. Margaret Yeo tells his adventurous life story, filled with triumph and tragedy, as a poignant end to the Medieval period. Don John, obedient to his King and half-brother Philip II to the end, finally succumbed to the intrigues of court and natural illness, dying at the age of thirty-one. In the four-hundred years since his death, his story never dulls, yet continues to captivate and inspire new generations.

English born Alwin is captured by Viking slave traders and becomes a thrall of Leif the Lucky. He proves his worth in many ways and becomes a trusted servant of Leif, even sharing in Leif's dream of finding the mysterious land in the West. Recently, Leif had promised King Olaf that he would convert Eric the Red, but that path is filled with danger as the Christian religion is outlawed by Eric. Just as he is making strides with his mother and Eric the Red, the thrall Alwin crosses Leif in a way that cannot be forgiven and is struck down and thought dead. Alwin's romance with Leif's foster daughter takes shape in that moment, and no one's life will be the same. Told in the style of a Nordic saga and filled with Nordic traditions and stories, as the Vikings, perched on the tipping point of a new way of life, slowly convert to Christianity. "The Anglo-Saxon race was in its boyhood in the days when the Vikings lived. Youth's fresh fire burned in men's blood; the unchastened turbulence of youth prompted their crimes, and their good deeds were inspired by the purity and wholeheartedness and divine simplicity of youth. For every heroic vice, the Vikings laid upon the oppostie scale an heroic virtue . . . And so it was with their choice of religion, when at last the death-day of Odin dawned. Not to the God who forgives, nor to the God who suffered, did they give their fatih; but they made their vows to the God who is the never-dying and the all-powerful Lord fo those who follow Him." ~ From the Foreword