Cora Frear

by Susan E. Goodman, Doris Ettlinger (Illustrator)

Overview

FIRE!
Cora loves riding through the wild prairie with her doctor father on his house calls. One day, they have a bigger adventure than they bargained for. Prairie Fire! Their old horses will never outrun the flames that are galloping right toward them!
What will Cora and Papa do to save their lives?
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Cora Frear was a real pioneer girl, growing up on the prairie at the end of the nineteenth century. Her true story is as exciting as any novel. And it is only the first adventure in the Brave Kids series. Coming next: the story of Robert Henry Hendershot, Civil War drummer boy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689843297
Publisher:	Aladdin
Publication date:	03/01/2002
Series:	Brave Kids
Edition description:	Original ed.
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

To research her various books and magazine articles, Susan E. Goodman has snowshoed through mountain forests, tried using a blowgun in the Amazon, and scared a moose at rest — and herself in the bargain. Years ago, she went to U.S. Space Camp as a participant and loved the 1/6 Gravity Chair. Ms. Goodman lives with her family in Boston, Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

Launching the Brave Kids chapter book series, this morsel of historical fiction springs from a memoir by Cora Frear, born in 1887 and raised on the Iowa prairie. The tale opens as Cora's father, a doctor, invites her to accompany him on a buggy ride to visit an ailing patient. Cora, who often acts as her father's assistant, eagerly accepts. After spying dark clouds and a red glow in the sky behind them, Cora realizes that a prairie fire is heading their way. Her father decides to set a backfire he will sear a patch of grass that, reduced to ash, will serve as a "blessed island of safety" when the prairie fire approaches. The doctor's single match fails to ignite, but Cora manages to find one last remaining match in her father's cast-off vest pocket. The scene is set for high drama, but Goodman's (Animal Rescue) bland prose doesn't do justice to the duo's peril or anguish: "The fire was burning around them. The temperature was almost unbearable. The heat seemed to last forever." An afterword amplifies the historical setting. Illustrations not seen by PW. Ages 6-9. (Apr.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 2-3-This brief story is based on actual events in the life of a girl who grew up in late-19th-century Iowa. When the 10-year-old and her doctor father are caught in a prairie fire on their way to treat a sick baby, their energy and resourcefulness save their lives. An afterword tells about the real Cora Frear Hawkins and provides background regarding women's roles. Goodman's straightforward style calls to mind the work of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and provides the action that beginning chapter-book readers require. The short format perfectly fits this depiction of an episode out of history. Ettlinger's black-and-white full-page pictures illustrate historical detail. The story makes a great stepping stone for readers not quite ready for the "Dear America" or "My Name Is America" series (Scholastic).-Pat Leach, Lincoln City Libraries, NE Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal