An Outlaw Thanksgiving

Clara Maher and her mother are traveling cross country by rail at the dawn of the Golden Age of Railroad, planning to meet Clara's father in California. After two days in the sooty railroad car, Clara is happy to have a break in Omaha and walk around the station. On a wall, she spies a poster advertising a reward for the capture of the outlaw Robert Leroy Parker, aka, Butch Cassidy.

After buying some sandwiches for dinner, they switch trains and pull out of the station. During the night, snow begins to fall, and as they pass through southern Wyoming the next day, the train becomes snowbound and eventually stops. Wagons pull up to the train to carry the passengers to nearby hotels so they won't starve or freeze to death while waiting for the snowplows.

Because Clara and her mother have made friends with a Mr Jones on the train, they join him in a wagon headed for Brown's Hole,Utah, that he has hired to get him there by Thanksgiving dinner. After more than a day of travel, they finally arrive at the general store of Mr Jarvie in Brown's Hole, just in time for the planned festivities. The residents of Brown's Hole are being treated to a Thanksgiving feast by some “cowhands” that want to say 'thanks' to the local ranchers for being so accepting.

After the feasting comes music and dancing and suddenly, Clara recognizes one of the hosts. She puts on a brave face, though, to save her mama from fainting. After dancing all night, she and her mama are returned to the train by Mr Jarvie's wagon to continue their journey to California to meet Mr Maher.

If you want to add a little adventure to your Thanksgiving, this is the book for you!

If hilarious historical episodes make your heart beat a little faster, this is the book for you. This is also the book for you if you are studying westward expansion near the turn of the 20^th century, the Golden Age of Railroads, or outlaws in the wild west.  This is the book for you if you appreciate subtle humor or plucky, courageous young heroines. This is the book for you if you appreciate Ms McCully's inimitable watercolor style, a little loose around the edges like a lawless gang of western outlaws.

This rollicking adventure is based on a unique historical event like many of Ms McCully's other books are (Mirette et al, The Pirate Queen, Strongheart, The Wonder Horse, etc.) If you're anything like me, this swashbuckling tale of an encounter with a true-life “Robin Hood” will have you laughing with glee and gasping with surprise. You can even take a field trip to Brown's Hole, Utah, and tour Mr Jarvie's store, maintained to this day by the Bureau of Land Management.

Props to the author/illustrator for giving us a map of railroad lines in a children's book. The appendix adds fascinating historical details.

CONTENT CONSIDERATIONS

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