Tree of Freedom, by Rebecca Caudill

This cover.  Oh, this cover.  It sent me into the book with so much confusion.  Firstly, the summary on the back of the jacket tells me that Stephanie and her family are moving from Kentucky to Carolina when the reverse is actually true.  Then the jacket illustration (to left) shows an oddly-proportioned Stephanie gently fingering the titular tree with a strange expression on her face, as if the tree has told her something but she's not quite sure she heard it right.  And in the back, a dark, brooding, black-haired boy gazing her way.  Perhaps a mysterious Indian, full of longing for our fair Stephanie?  Nope, just one of her sulky brothers (although which sulky brother he is remains unclear).  All of this goes to prove that you really can't judge a book by its cover because, once my mind switched gears and caught on that the family was moving from Carolina to Kentucky, I really liked it.

The book takes place in 1780.  The rich land of Kentucky is open for claims, and Stephanie's father has reserved his piece by planting corn two years prior.  It's time for the Venable family to move and settle it.  The family consists of thirteen-year-old Stephanie (our protagonist), her parents, her older brother, her two younger brothers, and younger sister.  Her mother comes from a French family of high regard, and can even read (although only the French in the family's Huguenot Bible).  Stephanie's father, on the other hand, is a simple and practical sort who has no patience for anything beyond the basics (including education for his children, who cannot read at all), and requires them to pack sparingly, leaving even treasured heirlooms behind in Carolina.

When the family finally arrives and has their claim surveyed, they have a lot of work ahead of them.  They need to clear trees, plant crops for food, and build shelter.  Their claim won't be official until December, giving the courts time to hear any competing claimants, but they need to invest everything they have into the land.  Additionally, the Revolution has reached even Kentucky, with British claims in competition with Virginia-issued ones, and no one knowing which will have precedence until the independence movement is either quashed or successful.

This was a surprisingly engaging book about creating a new home from nothing during very tumultuous times.  It would have appeal for anyone with a fondness for the Little House books.

Kildee House, by Rutherford Montgomery

Jerome Kildee, an introverted stonemason, decides to retire to the redwood forest of northern California.  He has enough to live alone simply, and builds himself a cabin with a large redwood tree as its back wall.  But he quickly learns that even in the forest, a hike from his nearest neighbor, he'll never be left completely alone.  Raccoons quickly make their presence known in the house, skunks under it, and mice in the walls.  Over time he befriends the raccoons and the skunks, feeding them at mealtimes and arranging his living space to keep them from getting into everything he owns.

One day his downhill neighbor, Emma Lou Eppys, drops in to become acquainted.  She originally has somewhat ulterior motives (Donald Cabot, another neighbor, has been running his dog after animals on the hill and she's seeking allies to keep him further afield).  But she is instantly charmed by the shy, quiet Jerome and his brood of curious, friendly animals.  And Jerome is likewise charmed by this tall, red-headed, forthright girl.

Over the course of the year, Jerome weathers all four seasons in his little cabin with his animals and Emma Lou as an occasional visitor.  Donald eventually finds his way to the cabin as well, intrigued by the stories he's heard of the animals (especially the skunks, whom Emma Lou has taught tricks).  Jerome would like for them both to get along, especially since he'll need everyone's brain to help him come up with a solution to his growing problem.  All of his animal babies have struck out. . . and returned with babies of their own.  He'll soon be overrun, and stressed skunks mixed with volatile raccoons in your house are a risky proposition.  If Jerome can get his two human friends in his house at the same time, hopefully he can get peace in all areas of his life!

A really fun and pleasant story!  Often times I lose interest in descriptions of the personalities of wildlife, but this book didn't have that effect on me at all.  I also really enjoyed the charming illustrations by Barbara Cooney.

The Blue Cat of Castle Town, by Catherine Cate Coblentz

An interesting modern folk tale based on actual historical events and people in a small Vermont town in the mid-1800's.  Zeruah Guernsey, resident of Castleton, embroidered a carpet so noteworthy that it was added to the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  The book's author has created a story to explain the origin of the blue cat that it features at the bottom.

A blue cat born during a blue moon has a destiny, as all such cats do, to learn the river's song and teach it to the people who need to hear it.  In this case, the blue cat must go to Castleton so the beauty, peace and content[ment] that the song can bring will drive back an evil enchantment that is spreading through the town through greed and haste.

Wikipedia has a pretty thorough summary of the book so I won't invent the wheel by doing it again here.  The book in its entirety is also available in the public domain for those who are curious.  At 123 pages, it isn't exceptionally long.  The author certainly did her research into primary sources to add important townspeople to the narrative.  Although from some quick research I've done, I am sorry that the book was so unfair to Mr. Arunah Hyde- he's feared and reviled in the book as a man who values profit over everything and produces shoddy products in his haste.  Accounts I've found of him seem to indicate that he was very invested in the town's prosperity and gave generously of both his time and his money and resources to promote its progress.  Sorry, Arunah!  I hope that somewhere there is another contemporary account that recalls you favorably.

George Washington, by Genevieve Foster

It seems that Ms. Foster has attempted to abridge her prior Newbery-Honor-winning book for younger readers.  Although the reading level is simple, the book as a whole came across as a series of very disjointed vignettes that touched on the major points of Washington's life, but left the reader with very little sense of who he was.  I realize that for young readers you can hardly overwhelm with information, but so many of the significant events left me wondering why they even mattered when presented in such a stark way.  I've got no idea why this one made the honor list.  At 96 pages with occasional two-color illustrations, this should have been a quick read.  But I found it torture to finish and I'm glad I can finally drop it back into my library bag.