The Riddle of Penncroft Farm

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Summary: History is a puzzle with pieces missing!
Review: I love this book as a way to introduce history to my children. It shows the difference between a 1st hand account, from the shade/ghost Geordie who lived at that historical time, and our historical account. The differences in the story show easily how history is not written in stone and depends on the available information and the slant of the writer. Even the best of histories will probably have "pieces" missing. It also introduces a newer perspective that the American Revolution was perhaps The First American Civil War since 2/3 of the population at that time were either loyalists or neutral. Besides all this educational talk, the story line is fun and my children begged me to read more!

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Summary: I Have Read This Book 6 Times!
Review: I love this book VERY much! I thoroughly recommend it! I have nearly memorised the story of Lars as he settles at Philadelphia and meets Geordie, learns his story, and finds out the mystery of his dead aunt's will. I think everyone should read this!

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Summary: The Riddle of Penncroft Farm
Review: This is a very entertaining book and I recommend it to everyone. The author uses a fictional family on a fictional farm to weave a story that has a solid plot and believable characters. Her purpose is to make history come alive and be interesting.

The main character, Lars, is a typical twelve year old boy with a natural laziness and disdain for history until he meets up with a spirit from the local area's past. This ghost ("shade") relates a story of survival and the importance of making decisions which ultimately connects past and present.

This book is well-researched and well-written. It is somewhat predeictable but is engrossing nevertheless. If more authors would attempt to teach history through books like this, libraries could be filled with eager readers awaiting to learn of their own and their nation's past. The book really has no "villain" as Eddie, the antagonist, is dealt with in a way that shows how family legends can become blurred over the years. The fact that neither he nor his father were humiliated only adds to the charm of the book.

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Summary: Great Book
Review: This was a really good book, and I have read it several times. The author makes the characters very real, and uses familiar events and friendship to tell a story about our country's history. Vocabulary and flow of words make this book very hard to put down!