Caddie Woodlawn

Caddie Woodlawn, which has been captivating young readers since 1935, was awarded the John Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Now it is in a brand-new edition with lively illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman. In her new foreword, Carol Ryrie Brink lovingly recalls the real Caddie, who was her grandmother, and tells how she often "sat spellbound, listening, listening!" as Caddie told stories of her pioneer childhood. Children everywhere will love redheaded Caddie with her penchant for pranks. Scarcely out of one scrape before she is into another, she refuses to be a "lady," preferring instead to run the woods with her brothers. Whether she is crossing the lake on a raft, visiting an Indian camp, or listening to the tales of the circuit rider, Caddie's adventures provide an exciting and authentic picture of life on the Wisconsin frontier in the 1860s. And readers will discover, as Caddie learns what growing up truly means, that it is not so very different today.

Carol Ryrie Brink The late Carol Ryrie Brink was born and grew up in Idaho. Her mother was the daughter of a New England pioneer doctor; her father came to America From Scotland when he was twenty, and he was the first mayor of the small town of Moscow, where she was born. Mrs. Brink lived and traveled in Europe for several years; the European setting appears in several of her books, including her first children's book, Anything Can Happen On The River, an adventure set in France. She says, "Some of my books, such as The Pink Motel, have been creations of my fancy; but even in these books I like to preserve a core of reality and some sort of tie-in with my own personal experience. The first hand element gives satisfaction to both author and reader in any fictional re-creation. Books which lack the author's own experience of living rarely move the reader." Carol Ryrie Brink has written two dozen books, both for children and adults, many of which have been translated into foreign languages.