Danny & Life on Bluff Point: My Horse Sally
Mary Ellen Lee
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2005 iUniverse
ISBN: 059536084X

1895 New York State where Danny has many adventures & learns to ride his horse.

Danny is 10 & there's never a dull moments as he & his sisters play hide & seek, having the school teacher live with them for part of the year, or exploring the history of the land or helping with the work of the family farm. This year his father asks him to drive Kit, one of their huge Belgian workhorses, through the vineyard raking up all the trimmings & while doing so uncovers an Indian arrowhead. He also accompanies his family to the nearest town where they trade the things they've grown & harvested, or made. He's also learning to ride his own horse, Sally.

When he falls into an old well, he discovers it's the campsite of Captain Charles Williamson. Danny is rescued by a Seneca Indian boy whose grandfather tells the emotional story about Red Jacket, the Seneca Indian Chief who played a vital role in the Peace Treaty of 1784.

For ages 9-12 & is a gladsome, simple introduction to another way of looking at history. The series is taken from the author's grandfather's journals & is packed with adventures & details about the everyday lives of the settlers of Yates County, New York State in the 1890s, complete with charming primitive drawings, & lessons about citizenship & American Indian life.

The four other books in Mary Ellen Lee's series are:
Danny and Life on Bluff Point
Danny and Life on Bluff Point: The Man on the Train
Danny and Life on Bluff Point: Lost in the Dark
Danny and Life on Bluff Point: The Blizzard of '95
(06/18/06)

Rebecca