Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Riding Freedom

Riding Freedom
by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Illustrated by Brian Selznick

Genre: Juvenile Fiction

Synopsis: Charlotte Parkhurst never acted like most other girls.  She climbed trees and fought with boys and worked in a stable.  She had a way with horses that was like nothing folks had ever seen.

In the mid 1800s, some people didn't think it was proper for a girl to behave like Charlotte, and they tried to stop her.  But Charlotte was smart, and she came up with a plan that would let her live her life the way she wanted-a plan so clever and so secret that almost no one figured it out.

A top-notch horse rider, a legendary stagecoach driver, the first woman to vote in the state of California and probably the United States, Charlotte Parkhurst, known as Charley, was a real person with a larger-than-life story.
from the book jacket

Review:  This historical fiction book gives readers a look at a character who most people would not know anything about.  The story starts with Charlotte growing up in an orphanage where she finds an outlet in caring for and riding horses.  She wants to be free from the unfair treatment at the orphanage so she decides to run away.  Charlotte turns into Charley and learns to drive a stagecoach.  Charlotte is portrayed as a very strong girl and woman who knows her own mind and follows her dreams.  I really enjoyed reading about her life and I wish that this book could have been longer so we would have known more about her!  This is definitely a great book for kids to read!

Rating: 4 stars

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