book data
369 ratings,
3.66
average rating, 59 reviews
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published
March 31st 2002
by L'Ecole des loisirs
(first published 1996)
details
Paperback, 210 pages
setting
isbn
2211043135
(isbn13: 9782211043137)
description
When California Morning Whipple's widowed mother uproots her family from their comfortable Massachusetts environs and moves them to a rough mining cam…more
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| Location | 2 | 6 | Apr 23, 2008 06:39PM | |
| I loved this book | 1 | 4 | Jan 17, 2008 09:02PM |
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 486)
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5 stars (68)
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4 stars (143)
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1 star (2)
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avg 3.66
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
Everyone
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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Read in June, 2008
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...more
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Read in April, 2008
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...more
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Read in December, 2000
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Read in January, 2003
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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Read in March, 2008
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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Read in July, 2009
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
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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...more
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Read in February, 2009
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 ...more
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Read in January, 1999
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....more
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Read in January, 2010
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.
...more
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.
...more
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Read in August, 2006
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
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Read in November, 2009
"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
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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
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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.
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Read in January, 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.
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Read in March, 2010
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.
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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.
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Read in June, 2009
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.
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Read in April, 2002
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.
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