The Ballad of Lucy Whipple

In Karen Cushman's historical novel, "The Ballad of Lucy Whipple," twelve-year-old California Morning Whipple, who prefers to be called Lucy, is uprooted from her beloved Massachusetts home and dragged to the rough-and-tumble Gold Rush town of Lucky Diggins, California, in 1849. Lucy is initially distraught, finding nothing appealing about the ramshackle settlement, its tobacco-spitting miners, or the lack of a proper library. While her mother and siblings embrace their new Western life, Lucy vows to remain miserable until she can return East. This poignant and often humorous story follows Lucy's journey of adaptation, self-discovery, and eventually, finding that "home" is a feeling she can cultivate even in the most unexpected places. It's a wonderful read for children navigating big changes or feeling out of place.

California doesn't suit Lucy Whipple -- not the name, not the place. But moving out West to Lucky Diggins, California, was her mama's dream-come-true. And now her brother, Butte, and sisters, Prairie and Sierra, seem to be Westerners at heart, too. For Lucy, Lucky Diggins is hardly a town at all -- just a bunch of ramshackle tents and tobacco-spitting miners. Even the gold her mama claimed was just lying around in the fields isn't panning out. Worst of all, there's no lending library! Dag diggety! So Lucy vows to be plain miserable until she can hightail it back East where she belongs. But Lucy California Morning Whipple may be in for a surprise -- because home is a lot closer than she thinks.