By Pam Muñoz Ryan
Scholastic Paperbacks, 1999
Narrated by Melissa Hughes
Genre
Historical Fiction
Awards
- Teacher's Choice Award (1999)
- WILLA Award: Best Young Adult Novel (1999)
- Arizona Young Reader's Award (1999-2000)
- California Young Reader Medal: Intermediate Reader (2000)
Review
After Charlotte banned from the stables because her riding makes the boys look bad and her only friend in the orphanage is being adopted, she decides to run away. She escapes with the help of her friend and the stable hand, disguised as a boy. She finds work in a stable with coach horses where she is a stable hand, and eventually coach driver, until she decides to move to California during the gold rush to find land where she can finally get her own ranch. This is a wonderful story about "Charlie", a coach driver that was a woman disguised as a man until the day she died. An inspiring story for young girls about chasing your dreams no matter what it takes, this story touches on the history of the woman's suffrage movement and talks about what it was like to be a girl in those times. Melissa Hughes does a great job narrating, bringing Charlotte's story to life for the listener.
Opinion
This is an inspiring story about this girl who went against all odds to achieve what she did. The author explains that though Charlotte was real, and most of the characters and history was accurate, some of the timelines were changed to coincide with historical events the way the author wanted. I think this is a great book for horse lovers and for girls, who will find strength in Charlotte's spirit and resilience.
Ideas
Great for a display about historical woman, woman's suffrage, horses, or people who are not who they appear to be.
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