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RIDING FREEDOM
California
Young Readers Medal
Pam Muñoz RyanNarrator: Melissa
Hughes
| |   Family
Listening!
Ages 7 and up
Ideal for Reluctant
Readers
CD:
Length: 2.5 Hours / 2 CDs
ISBN: 978-0-9814890-4-9
Price: $34.95
Click
CD to hear audio clip 
Paperback Price: $5.99 |
Book
Reviews:
This fictionalized biography of equestrian Charlotte "Charley"
Parkhurst who lived her life disguised as a man and was the first woman voter
in the U.S.A is, "an ebullient and tautly structured novel that moves along
at a gallop."
- Publishers Weekly starred review
This
fictionalized biography of the first woman to vote in the state of California,
and perhaps in the whole United States, is fascinating. Charlotte Parkhurst, known
as Charley, spent most of her life masquerading as a man. Raised in an orphanage
where she is the only girl, she is prevented from being adopted by the staff,
who put her to work in the kitchen. Her own predilection is to be with the horses
and the elderly man who cares for them. Vern's tales of escaping slavery are the
seeds of Charlotte's own desperate bid for freedom after her only other friend
is adopted. Her knack with horses soon enables the disguised Charley to pursue
her dream of driving a stagecoach. She does it so well that she is admired and
sought after, and is offered the opportunity to earn a livelihood in the California
gold fields. Many trials arise, including the loss of sight in her left eye, but
throughout, Charlotte remembers her friends, works hard and persistently, and
fulfills her ambitions, culminating in her voting in a presidential election.
The author provides a compact and exciting story about real people who exemplify
traits that readers admire. - School Library Journal
SYNOPSIS: A fictionalized biography of Charlotte Parkhurst,
a real heroine ofthe wild west! Parkhurst lived her life as a man and became a
legendary
stagecoach driver and the first woman to vote - ever.
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