Welcome to the adventures of two 13-year-olds, Katie McEachron and her friend Florence Mather, who experience an exciting summer in 1852 as the plank road that runs by their homes brings mysterious strangers to their dinner tables and the plight of runaway slaves to their consciences. 
Katie McEachron is a forthright, impulsive girl who has not yet learned the importance of keeping silent. Her friend Florence Mather, a solemn and hardworking girl, came with her family from Cornwall, England. She has an eager mind, but her mother is less interested in Florence's education than in having her help at the inn. 
One day in May, a stranger arrives at the Mather Inn. The visit of the stranger launches a string of events that will make this a most unforgettable summer for the two girls. . . . 
This well-researched historical novel, with its themes of Underground Railroad activities, 19th-century pioneer life, and the importance of friendship and family values, is sure to appeal to young readers (and their parents and teachers).

Plank Road Summer

Children's Books

Hilda Demuth

Emily Demuth

Literature & Fiction

Crickhollow Books

In October 1871, 13-year-old Sophie Caswell longs to escape the dullness of life in her small farming community. Her grand plan is to find fame far away from Yorkville, Wisconsin. Sophie's dreams are thwarted when the Chicago Fire brings chaos to that city, and leads to the arrival of 12-year-old Hans Hoffman and his family at the nearby McEachron farm. While Sophie stubbornly pursues her dreams, Hans struggles to adapt to a world very different from the bustling German neighborhood he once knew. During a memorable winter, Sophie and Hans learn much about life, loss, and the road home, as their families face the challenges of the years following the Civil War. Plank Road Winter is a sequel to Plank Road Summer,  which was a story set in Yorkville in 1852 when two pioneer girls become involved in the Underground Railroad. Winter takes place a generation later, when those pioneer girls are grown up and married with children of their own. CRICKHOLLOW BOOKS is an independent publisher of books for young readers.

Plank Road Winter

Crickhollow Books (an imprint of Great Lakes Literary)

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Books by Hilda Demuth