In 1849 a twelve-year-old girl who calls herself Lucy is distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a small California minin...
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Jun 30, 2008
Kristen
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We listened to this book on tape on a drive. I have to get stories that are kid friendly, and this one did not disappoint. I'd already read it, so I knew the kids would like it.
California Morning Whipple has lost her father and little sister, and now must move to California itself from her beloved Massachusetts. She doesn't want to go and does so very grudgingly. Even so, she becomes a big help to her mother, hunting game, making pies and helping in the boarding house where her moth More...
California Morning Whipple has lost her father and little sister, and now must move to California itself from her beloved Massachusetts. She doesn't want to go and does so very grudgingly. Even so, she becomes a big help to her mother, hunting game, making pies and helping in the boarding house where her moth More...
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Jun 20, 2008
Jackie
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California Morning Whipple is distraught at being uprooted from her Massachusetts home, away from her grandparents. But, her mother is determined to fulfill her dead husband's dream of going out west to California to the land of gold on the streets and a new life. Life, as they find out, is difficult and riches are no more common than they are in the east. California Morning hates California so much, she changes her name to Lucy. Lucy lives through back-breaking work, days without books, and dea
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Nov 08, 2009
Kerry
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This is a moving tale of a young girl by the name of California Morning Whipple. She is dismayed that her family is moving to Calfornia. It is the summer of 1849, and California vows to be miserable about her situation. The book relates her adventures over a span of several years, during which time California changes her name to Lucy. She finally comes to the resolution that home is the place where you are loved, safe, and needed. I admire Lucy's obstinance, and can relate to her fears at t
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Feb 02, 2012
Aneasha
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Genre:Historical Fiction
Quick Book Summary
Lucy Whipple and her family moved from Massachusetts to California by covered wagon. Her brother Butte died from a virus in the water. Lucy grew up and planned to go back to Massachusetts. Her mom got maried, moved to the Sandwich Islands, and Lucy decided to stay at Lucky Diggins and to not go back to Massachusetts.
Justify your rating: A
I gave the book three stars because I liked it and it was More...
Quick Book Summary
Lucy Whipple and her family moved from Massachusetts to California by covered wagon. Her brother Butte died from a virus in the water. Lucy grew up and planned to go back to Massachusetts. Her mom got maried, moved to the Sandwich Islands, and Lucy decided to stay at Lucky Diggins and to not go back to Massachusetts.
Justify your rating: A
I gave the book three stars because I liked it and it was More...
Jul 28, 2011
Libby
rated it:
Karen Cushman gives excellent voice to all her characters, but Lucy Whipple is one of my favorites. I relate to her negative view of change as she is grudgingly won over by a new place and people. Lucy, originally named California Morning Whipple, moves with her mother, brother and two sisters to a small town in California during the gold rush. Coming from the East, Lucy misses civilization and heartily despises the dirty and uncouth miners. As she shirks her work and complains about her sur
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Jul 14, 2008
Rachael
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Feb 15, 2010
Cass
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This is a great story about a young girl whose family moves to California during the Gold Rush. She hates her circumstances but finds a way to change her life. It's an all around great story. Karen Cushman writes stories about strong girls.
Just read this again and I still really like it! But this time, the ending meant a bit more to me when Lucy's family went to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii, now) since I have family on those islands.
Just read this again and I still really like it! But this time, the ending meant a bit more to me when Lucy's family went to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii, now) since I have family on those islands.
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May 11, 2008
Rana
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Since I couldn't find The Midwife's Apprentice by the same author at my local library, I settled for this lesser known title. I am so glad I did. Olivia and read this together. It is a story told by a young lady who was uprooted along with her family to go to California and work and live among miners during the Gold Rush. Fascinating and lively to say the least.
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Aug 02, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
Even thought his is considered children's fiction, I thought the
author did a terrific job in keeping the language of the era
authentic. It was colorful!
This is the story of a young girl who's mother drags she and her other siblings out from Massachusetts to the gold fields of California. It is told from Lucy's perspective of the unwilling participant and how she responds to her surroundings and the hardships of trying to make a go of it in with the miners. Her mother gets a More...
author did a terrific job in keeping the language of the era
authentic. It was colorful!
This is the story of a young girl who's mother drags she and her other siblings out from Massachusetts to the gold fields of California. It is told from Lucy's perspective of the unwilling participant and how she responds to her surroundings and the hardships of trying to make a go of it in with the miners. Her mother gets a More...
Jun 16, 2009
Ashley
rated it:
I thought I had read this book when I was younger, but the story did not sound familiar to me at all. All I remembered was the title and one scence with an indian girl. I figured I had the wrong book, but when I read it; there is was! I remember picking this book up because some girl in my class thought it was awful and crass and so descriptive and dirty. She went on and on about this scene with this indian girl who had menstal blood running down her leg. This was in like 4th or 5th grade, and I
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Feb 10, 2009
Melinda
rated it:
This book is a fantastic realistic portrayal of 19th century gold fever life in California. I pitied poor California Morning Whipple (aka Lucy) as she laments her unwillingness to leave her familiar life in Massachusetts to venture into the unchartered country of Lucky Diggins, California with her widowed mother and siblings. She goes to great lengths to make the best of her unfavorable situation, clinging to the hopes of receiving mail and packages from family and escaping into any book that
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Jun 19, 2011
Kandyce
rated it:
Ahh, I had forgotten how much I really love this book. I listened to it this time, kudos to the reader, she was fantastic. California "Lucy" Whipple heads out west with her family after her pa had died from pneumonia. Lucy makes me laugh out loud, giggle and cry. Her descriptions of her new home "Lucky Diggins" and the miner inhabitants cracked me up. There are also very poignant moments where she tells of how her pa and new baby sister are buried together because the gr
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Jul 03, 2009
Madeline
rated it:
One of my favorite books in 5th grade. California Morning Whipple (or Lucy, as she prefers to be called) has moved to her namesake state with her mother and three siblings (Butte, Prairie, and Sierra - their mom really likes California) after her father's death. They settle in a gold mining town called Lucky Diggins, where her mother opens a boarding house. Lucy spends a long time whining about how much she hates California and wants to go home, but she gets over it - grudgingly - after a while.
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Jan 26, 2012
Hannah
rated it:
On the whole not a bad book. The characters are all believable and the settings too. I think Ms. Cushman did an outstanding job of caputuring the voice of the old miners, like putting at least 50 different names for alcohol in the story. I have to admit that California's complaining rubbed my nerves a little bit but in the end she learns a valuable lesson all by herself and what home means and what it means to stand on your own to feet. Between this book and the Midwife's Apprentice, I would
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Jan 11, 2010
Denni
rated it:
I am now a fan of Karen Cushman. Just a sample- one of my favorites:
Belle Scatter had gone and married her lawyer fellow- "Guess this proves there's a lid for every pot," said Mama with a shrug- and now I had marriage on my mind. I feared Mama's suitors were exhibiting more than an outbreak of generosity and good manners toward a poor widow woman, so I watched carefully. Too many lids in Lucky Diggins (the town where they live) seemed to be searching for pots.
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Belle Scatter had gone and married her lawyer fellow- "Guess this proves there's a lid for every pot," said Mama with a shrug- and now I had marriage on my mind. I feared Mama's suitors were exhibiting more than an outbreak of generosity and good manners toward a poor widow woman, so I watched carefully. Too many lids in Lucky Diggins (the town where they live) seemed to be searching for pots.
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Oct 10, 2011
Keys
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I said it once and I'll say it again, I love Cushman's coming of age novels / tales. The heroines always feel so real to me, sometimes they seam strong headed but yey, they are 12 and 14 years old, when I was that age what I thought was important, what everyone else did, didn't matter that much ;p
This novel had some reminisce of Matilda Bone but I think it can stand on it's own. Although to me, nothing was more hilarious than "Catherine, called birdie", there was something about t More...
This novel had some reminisce of Matilda Bone but I think it can stand on it's own. Although to me, nothing was more hilarious than "Catherine, called birdie", there was something about t More...
Jun 13, 2010
Loanis
rated it:
This is a wholesome story that begins in 1849 and set during the Westward Expansion and the California Gold Rush. Our main character is 12 year-old California Morning Whipple, whose life is unsettled when her widowed mother uproots her and her brother, Butte, and sisters Prairie and Sierra from their comfortable residence in Massachusetts and decides to "Go West" to California where "the gold is just laying around" waiting to be picked!
Faced with the rough realit More...
Faced with the rough realit More...
Nov 24, 2009
Annette
rated it:
"The only constant thing in this life is change", I think that is the basic theme for this book. Lucy learns through hard work, sweat and tears that sometimes we must do things that we don't want to do and that includes moving from Massachusetts to California during the gold rush days when the west was wild. Lucy learns to make the best of a bad situation and meets many colorful characters along the way.
I picked up this book because I like the other books that I've read by More...
I picked up this book because I like the other books that I've read by More...
Feb 01, 2008
Kim
rated it:
Karen Cushman is a great author. I liked her book, "The Midwife's Apprentice" better. This book is great though - I laughed out loud several times at Lucy's anecdotes. Ending was a little predictable but I still like it.
Here's the review from Amazon:
Amazon.com
When California Morning Whipple's widowed mother uproots her family from their comfortable Massachusetts environs and moves them to a rough mining camp called Lucky Diggins in the Sierras, Californi More...
Here's the review from Amazon:
Amazon.com
When California Morning Whipple's widowed mother uproots her family from their comfortable Massachusetts environs and moves them to a rough mining camp called Lucky Diggins in the Sierras, Californi More...
Jul 17, 2009
Carol
rated it:
Why is it so often juvenile fiction is written with such care and with such great style and yet we tend to pick up so much fiction aimed at adults that is mediocre at best! This is a lovely book. Lucy, or California as her parents named her, is not happy to have been ripped from her Massachusetts home to start life anew in the gold fields of California. Lucy complains with great drama but also great humour. The book is beautifully written and reminds us once again of what is important in life.
Jan 27, 2009
I have really enjoyed Karen Cushman's books. They are short and educational. It's easy to inmagine yourself in these girls shoes, I'm sure some of my ancesters experenced simular circumstances. I escpecially liked this book,I can see a lot of myself in the main charictor. She has to learn to accept consierable change in her life. It's interesting to watch the mistakes she makes and the people she befriends. How often do we make our lives harder due to our attitudes.
Mar 19, 2010
Melissa
rated it:
The story was good, but there's nothing in it that is a must-read.
I did not like the language used by the child characters in two short instances. For that reason alone I won't put this into my kids hands. And I'm not a prude at all, I don't think. I don't usually mind a little mild language in a story. But the way it was used in this story by the main character, 13 yrs, and her little brother, 10 yrs, I found vulgar and just plain ugly.
I did not like the language used by the child characters in two short instances. For that reason alone I won't put this into my kids hands. And I'm not a prude at all, I don't think. I don't usually mind a little mild language in a story. But the way it was used in this story by the main character, 13 yrs, and her little brother, 10 yrs, I found vulgar and just plain ugly.
Dec 05, 2008
Willa
rated it:
This story (like others the author has given us) has a moral & that moral is; live the life you have been given to the best of your ability. Many of us, not just children, fight against the circumstance we are living in & Karen Cushman's characters are like that too. Then they discover, "grace" I guess you could call it, to live fully in their particular place & time. That is what I like best about her stories. This story is set in California during the gold rush.
May 25, 2010
Ginger
rated it:
Problems: I didn't find Lucy Whipple to be likable for much of the story. The ending seemed a bit contrived, a bit deus ex machina, and her change didn't seem realistic.
Done well: miner language. Phrases. They felt very real, very accurate.
The book was episodic, which seemed unnecessary to the telling of the story. This story seemed as if it would have been better served with more transitions and more flow.
Done well: miner language. Phrases. They felt very real, very accurate.
The book was episodic, which seemed unnecessary to the telling of the story. This story seemed as if it would have been better served with more transitions and more flow.
Sep 19, 2010
Jewell
rated it:
An historical, coming-of-age tale about a family's move to California during the gold rush era. Lots of authentic details and research. I couldn't help thinking this would be a great book to teach in middle grade. My favorite part is when the young protagonist "renames" herself--it really spoke to me about a child's need to define herself.
Mar 06, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
Charming and challenging children's book, provides an excellent introduction to California history. Rich in detail, "The Ballad of Lucy Whipple" puts the reader inside the experience of the adventurers rushing after gold but coming up empty. A great book for preteen girls, with a strong and memorable female protagonist.
Jun 28, 2009
Sarah
rated it:
I found this book lying on the 'free old/unwanted books' shelf outside my library and snatched it up with glee and disbelief. I LOVE Karen Cushman's books and this one turned out to be no exception. For a start I find the period of history it's set in fascinating, and as usual KC really made it come wonderfully and colourfully alive. Great book.
Dec 05, 2010
Whitney
rated it:
One of my favorite Cushman books (and that's saying something since I have liked all of her books so far). Unlike its predecessors, The Ballad of Lucy Whipple takes place in America (not the U.K.) during the California Gold Rush. The setting, history and everyday life stay true to Cushman's trademark of careful research. The characters are flawed but endearing and Lucy's humor or circumstances just made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. Well-thought-out and endearing story about ordin
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Jul 07, 2009
Cammie
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It was one of the first books that I had ever read in 6th grade. I loved the book because it depicted a girl who lived through the Gold Rush and a young girl who took advantage and began teaching herself. I love how she was able to be an attorney after reading the book.
Jun 12, 2009
Catherine
rated it:
In 1849, a 12-year-old girl who calls herself Lucy is distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a small California mining town, where Lucy helps run a rough boarding house and looks for comfort in books whle trying to find a way to get "home".
