Two Girls with True Grit

April 14, 2011

The Blue Ridge book club for kids met on April 9 (we meet on the second Saturday of the month, September through May). The April book selection was The Misadventures of Maude March, or Trouble Rides a Fast Horse, by Audrey Couloumbis. And what a great selection! 

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1869. Two sisters are orphaned. The good townspeople who give them shelter use them as slave labor, and further, make arrangements to marry off the elder sister. So Sallie and Maude, ages 11 and 15, disguise themselves as boys and run away, desperately hoping  to find their remaining relative, an uncle who may or may not be found in Independence, Missouri. And, as in any good adventure story of the prairie they face hardship, hunger, the cold, (and a really big snake!) but meet some good people who help them on their journey. They even manage to vanquish a couple of outlaws along the way. Yeah!  Girl power!

But you don’t have to take my word for it! (Hope that’s not a copyrighted phrase, because it’s so true.) Read it yourself. Maude March will be hard to put down.

After that, please read A Week in the Woods, by Andrew Clements. Clements is well known for Frindle, The School Story and No Talking. If you’d like to join the discussion, please visit Blue Ridge, check out the book, and let us know you’re coming on May 14 at 3:30 p.m. If you have questions, please call our Branch at (816) 761-3382, and ask for me.

Thanks for reading,

Geri H. 
Blue Ridge Branch