A book for black-eyed Susan

Gr 3-6-Ten-year-old Cora is traveling in a covered wagon with her parents on the Oregon Trail when tragedy dashes their dreams of a new beginning. The girl's mother dies in childbirth, and Cora names her blond, dark-eyed sister Susan after the black-eyed flowers she had picked for her mother along the way. One rainy day, she begins sewing quilt squares to show to the baby and commemorate the journey west. Their home in Missouri, the covered wagon, a campfire, prairie dogs, buffalo, and other animals are just some of the images captured in her squares. When her father decides that her aunt and uncle, who are heading to California, should raise Susan, a heartbroken Cora fashions the cloth squares into a book for her. Aunt Alma promises to tell the baby all about the big sister who loves her, once she is old enough to understand. Six years later, the teen passes a test to become a schoolteacher, headed south with a minister and his wife. The surprise ending, however unlikely, will warm readers' hearts. Realistic watercolor images reveal the intricacies of pioneer life and the emotional turmoil of the characters. An engaging introduction to life during the Westward expansion.-Barbara Auerbach, PS 217, Brooklyn, NY (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The story begins with Cora's mother's death during childbirth along the Oregon Trail. Difficult decisions pioneers had to make aren't sugarcoated: Cora's father gives the baby, named Susan, to her aunt to raise. In a fairy-tale ending, little Susan appears in teacher Cora's classroom. There's a fair bit of sentimentality in the text and prairie-themed illustrations, but the story line is engaging. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.