Early Reader
Avon the snail has never had an adventure. And adventure, he has heard, is the key to a happy life. So with his new friend Edward the ant, Avon sets out on a journey to find the excitement his life has been missing.
The travelers meet all manner of wise, weird, and intriguing creatures--including a dragon!--and it's not long before their adventures begin.
Here are a few things that sometimes happen:
HAPPY THINGS
An unpopular Black Crayon proves to a Little Girl how useful he really is.
SAD THINGS
On a very hot day, an Ice-Cream Cone waits...and waits...to be eaten.
EXCITING THINGS
A Papa catches cold, so his Little Boy gets to go to work instead!
While I was working on my longest novel, BEYOND THE WESTERN SEA, I was also working on my shortest, FINDING PROVIDENCE. It is meant for very young chapter-book readers, but it's about something very important in the history of the United States. Having lived in Rhode Island I learned a lot about Roger Williams, one of the founders of the state.
Young Noah Bidson lives on the Colorado prairie in the 1870's. Being a homesteaders he doesn't go to school. But his parents want him to learn to read. Here's how he's taught.
I've always been interested in the history of children's books. One day, while browsing through a 1880 copy of "St. Nicholas Magazine" a very popular magazine for kids, I found a story about a girl who took over a tug boat and steered it to safety in crowded New York Harbor. It didn't say it was a true story, but it sure sounded like one. What's more I thought today's kids would enjoy the tale.
