"An Outlaw Thanksgiving"

Author/Illustrator: Emily Arnold McCully
Awards: Caldecott Medal
Ages: 3rd- 5th grade

Pineapple Points: 4/5
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Summary:
     Based on the real event of a band of outlaws throwing a Thanksgiving celebration around 1896 at Brown's Hole, a young fictional character and her mom are aboard a train which is stopped by fowl weather on their journey to California. Clara meets a Mr. Jones on their train to California. After news of a delay in their transportation due to snow, Mr Jones invites Clara and her mother to Brown's Hole. A place that is now recognized as a hideout for famous outlaws. The outlaws here tolerated by the local ranchers and in return the two groups made friends. Clara and her mother were invited in with welcome arms. Clara was a witty girl who recognized outlaw, Butch Cassidy. Clara decided to withhold from her mother, her knowledge of their hostesses being outlaws. The two had a grand celebration with their new outlaw friends and returned days later to their train headed for Utah.

Evaluation:
      A neat story about a young girl and her protective mother. During the time of the Californian gold rush, trains played a huge roll in the settlement of America. This realistic story about their journey is important for young readers as they collect knowledge about American history. This book would be a fun introduction to researching famous outlaws during the 1800's. Students could use their research to create a wanted poster, just like the one about Butch Cassidy that Clara saw.

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