Newbery Honor author Susan Campbell Bartoletti brings the story of a young girl caught up in a web of murder, lies, and the Great Fire of Chicago to bold life.
In the spring of 1871, fourteen-year-old Pringle Rose learns that her parents have been killed in a terrible carriage accident. After her uncle Edward and his awful wife, Adeline, move into the Pringle family's home -- making life for her and her younger brother, Gideon, unbearable -- Pringle runs away with Gideon to Chicago, seeking refuge from the tragedy, and hoping to start a new life. She becomes a nanny for the children of a labor activist, and quickly finds herself caught up in a web of intrigue and lies. Then, when a familiar figure from home arrives, Pringle begins to piece together the devastating mystery of what happened to her parents, and realizes just how deadly the truth might be. But soon, one of the greatest disasters this country has ever known -- the Great Fire of Chicago -- flares up, and Pringle is on the run for her life. PRAISE FOR DEAR AMERICA:"More than a supplement to classroom textbooks, this series is an imaginative, solid entree into American history." --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY "An impressive series that will challenge students to make connections from prominent historical events to relevant life situations. . . . A wonderful asset to the classroom as well as to home libraries." --CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEW SERVICE"Engaging accessible historical fiction." --SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL"The Dear America diaries represent the best of historical fiction for any age." --CHICAGO TRIBUNE Susan Campbell Bartoletti is the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of many fiction and nonfiction books for children. Her fiction includes the novels The Boy Who Dared, Dear America: A Coal Miner's Bride, and No Man's Land, as well as a number of picture books. She won the Newbery Honor for her nonfiction book Hitler Youth. A former eighth-grade teacher for 18 years, Bartoletti now writes full-time and lives in Pennsylvania with her family. From DEAR AMERICA: DOWN THE RABBIT HOLESUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1871 Only five days have passed since the fire began but each day has felt like a year. Around me, lumps are beginning to stir. As they sit and stand and scratch and cry and whisper and coo, the lumps transform into men and women and children. Their hair and skin and clothing are covered with fine, white ash. Each time the subtlest breeze passes, it carries smoke and ash with it. I look over each rising lump, wondering if this one will be Gideon. But it never is. I wonder, too, if Gwen and Peter and Adam and Lucy and Sallie are safe. I pray the answer is yes, even though I hope to never lay eyes on a Pritchard again. PRAISE FOR DEAR AMERICA:"More than a supplement to classroom textbooks, this series is an imaginative, solid entree into American history." --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY "An impressive series that will challenge students to make connections from prominent historical events to relevant life situations. . . . A wonderful asset to the classroom as well as to home libraries." --CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEW SERVICE"Engaging accessible historical fiction." --SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL"The Dear America diaries represent the best of historical fiction for any age." --CHICAGO TRIBUNE
