BOSS OF THE PLAINS: THE HAT THAT WON THE WEST
by Laurie Carlson
illustrated by Holly Meade
DK Ink;ISBN: 0789424797;$16.95;1998

From indispensable trail apparel to fashion statement: all you ever wanted to know about the Stetson.

Suggested for ages 7 - 10
Subjects: Cowboys | Frontier and pioneer life

OUR ONLY MAY AMELIA
by Jennifer L. Holm
ISBN: 0060278226;$15.95;1999

Life in a Finnish-American logging community at the turn of the last century in remote Washington state is not easy for a girl with seven brothers, but our only May Amelia has learned that survival requires humor as well as determination.

Suggested for ages 10 - 14
Subjects: Death | Frontier and pioneer life | Newbery Honor

KINDLE ME A RIDDLE: A PIONEER STORY
by Roberta Karim
illustrated by Bethanne Andersen
Greenwillow;ISBN: 0688162037;$16;1999

A pioneer family delights in a riddle game that gets them thinking about the origins of everything from their candles to their pillows, their log cabin to their ice house. Glowing oil paints on gesso capture fascinating details of their 19th century world.

Suggested for ages 6 - 8
Subjects: Frontier and pioneer life | Riddles

GONE A-WHALING: THE LURE OF THE SEA AND THE HUNT FOR THE GREAT WHALE
by Jim Murphy
Clarion;ISBN: 0395698472;$18;1998

Letters and diaries of young cabin boys and deck hands inform this story of the dangerous life aboard old-time whaling ships. Photos, drawings, and facts about whales expand the historical record.

Suggested for ages 10 - 14
Subjects: Frontier and pioneer life | Whaling

RIDING FREEDOM
by Pam Muņoz Ryan
illustrated by Brian Selznick
ISBN: 059095766X;$15.95;

A lively biographical novel describes the unconventional life of Charlotte Parkhurst, who ran away from an orphanage, disguised herself as a boy, and went out west to become the first woman stagecoach driver.

Suggested for ages 7 - 10
Subjects: Frontier and pioneer life | Historical | Orphans