By Emily Arnold McCully
Historical Fiction
In this story Clara and her mother are on their way to California. They had come from New York State and were on the Chicago and Rock Island Express. They got of the train and Clara saw a poster with a reward of four thousand dollars for Butch Cassidy. The newspaper boy said that he did not think Butch was such a bad guy. Soon Clara and her mom got back on the train and were on their way but a storm caused the train to get stuck on the way. On the train they met a man named Mr. Jones who offered to take them with him to Brown's Hole so they could stay there while the snow was removed and the train could pass. Clara's mom hesitantly agreed and they got there after a day or so. When they got there everyone went to meet them and then they had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. There Clara realized that one of the men was Butch Cassidy and she asked him if he was going to rob their train. He told her no and at the end of the dinner party he gave her a coin so she could remember her. After two days they left the town and went back to the train. Once they got to their destination and were on their way to California with her dad, Clara wondered whether or not she should tell her parents they had spent Thanksgiving in an outlaw town. She decide she would tell them when they got to California.
I would provably use this book in my class to help students understand how life was in the time where this story takes place. I would use this book for 2nd or 3rd grade. This book would be part of a social studies lesson.
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