The Ballad of Lucy Whipple

In 1849 a twelve-year-old girl who calls herself Lucy is distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a small California mining town. There Lucy helps run a boarding house and looks for comfort in books while trying to find a way to return "home."

About the author

Karen Cushman's acclaimed historical novels include Catherine, Called Birdy, a Newbery Honor winner, and The Midwife's Apprentice, which received the Newbery Medal. She lives on Vashon Island in Washington State. Visit her online at karencushman.com and on Twitter @cushmanbooks.

Summary

In 1849 a twelve-year-old girl who calls herself Lucy is distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a small California mining town. There Lucy helps run a boarding house and looks for comfort in books while trying to find a way to return "home."

Additional text

"Cushman’s heroine is a delightful character, and the historical setting is authentically portrayed. Lucy’s story, as the author points out in her end notes, is the story of many pioneer women who exhibited great strength and courage as they helped to settle the West."

School Library Journal, Starred

"The recent Newbery medalist plunks down two more strong-minded women, this time in an 1849 mining camp—a milieu far removed from the Middle Ages of her first novels, but not all that different when it comes to living standards. . . . With a story that is less a period piece than a timeless and richly comic coming-of-age story, Cushman remains on a roll."

Kirkus Reviews with Pointers

Product details

• Authors: Karen Cushman, Cushman Karen
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: ages 10 to 12
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.07.2019
• EAN: 9781328631138
• ISBN: 978-1-328-63113-8
• No. of pages: 208
• Dimensions: 130 mm x 193 mm x 13 mm
• Weight: 159 g
• Subjects: Children's and young people's books; JUVENILE FICTION / Family / General, JUVENILE FICTION / Historical / United States / 19th Century, JUVENILE FICTION / Historical / United States / General, 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899, General fiction (Children's / Teenage), Children’s / Teenage fiction: Historical fiction, United States of America, USA, Family & home stories (Children's / Teenage), Children’s / Teenage fiction: Family and home stories, YOUNG ADULT FICTION: Asian American & Pacific Islander, JUVENILE FICTION / Places / United States