Lyddie doesn’t last long at the tavern, not when she realizes she’d be making money much faster as a factory girl. For a little while it’s just Lyddie and her ten-year-old brother on the farm, but then Lyddie’s mom decides they’d be better off hired out to people in town. Dad has been MIA for years now, and Mom has never quite recovered.

The story is this: Lyddie is thirteen when a bear crashes into their farm cabin, setting off a series of events that change Lyddie’s life forever. I do think the student of history would be the most interested here, and that means the more mature. Once again, I found several of my students enjoying a book that I too was enjoying. In fact, I had to do quite a bit of explaining to teach this book (which is great to go along with a graphic novel of Oliver Twist as well as an Oliver Twist movie version), but an especially sharp reader would find a lot in it. It doesn’t get real explicit, but it would need to be discussed, partly because it is a little unclear (particularly if you are a contemporary eleven-year-old). Just an FYI: there is some real heavy stuff, including issues of a parent with mental health issues and inability to function, indenturing children, and also a boss who takes advantage of his young, female workers. It’s not going on my all-time favorites list-I just didn’t find anything in it to love-but I would read more of her writing, which is award-winning like this one. For middle grades historical fiction, I thought Lyddie was a real solid read. Like a Jacqueline Wilson, but time-travelling, American, and less predictable. It is clear that she loves story and cultures and that she does a lot of research and writes difficult subject matter for middle schoolers.

That’s not really a bad thing, I was just surprised that the same lady wrote Lyddie, Jacob Have I Loved, and Bridge to Terabithia. (Check out her website HERE.) Having now read two of her books, I can hardly believe the same person wrote both of them. You can likely find something that would interest you amongst her books, especially if you are a kid or someone teaching kids. Maybe they aren’t even all for kids, since a couple are memoir/writing life books. For children, yes, but everything from picture books to nonfiction, fantasy to historical fiction. She wrote a heck of a lot of books and they are very wide in their scope. Okay, there are actually quite a few more.

Lyddie book cover