On November 29, 1864, a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho encamped along Sand Creek in the southeastern Colorado Territory was attacked by Colorado Territory militia under the command of Colonel John Chivington. An estimated 150 to 200 Native Americans were killed, nearly all of them elderly men, women, and children. Nancy Oswald, author of the acclaimed young adult novel Nothing Here But Stones, uses the horrific events at Sand Creek as a shattering climax for the story of Hides Inside, a young Cheyenne unable to speak and struggling to gain acceptance as he grows to manhood and seeks to become a warrior. "Hard Face Moon is a heartrending story of broken promises, close to the earth and sky and to the heart of the Cheyenne people. It is an important look at one of the most shameful events in the history of the American West." Mary Peace Finley Author of the Santa Fe Trail Trilogy: Soaring Eagle, White Grizzly, and Meadow Lark "Hard Face Moon is an exciting and enlightening read for ages 10 and up. Through the eyes of a 13- year-old Cheyenne boy and his friends, Nancy Oswald tells the sorrowful story of the Sand Creek Massacre." Patrick Mendoza, Storyteller/Singer Author of Song of Sorrow: the Massacre at Sand Creek

Hard Face Moon

Children's Books

Nancy Oswald

Literature & Fiction

Filter Press

Rescue in Poverty Gulch (Ruby and Maude Adventure)

Rescue in Poverty Gulch transports the reader to 1896 Cripple Creek, Colorado, where gold was in the hills and the town was booming. Ruby May Oliver and her donkey, Maude, are happy with things just the way they are, traveling with Pa to mining camps to sell candlesticks to miners. However, life changes drastically when Ruby and her Pa are stranded in Cripple Creek. Spending days in a schoolhouse when she already knows her numbers and how to read, doesn’t strike Ruby as the best use of her time. To make things worse, Pa decides Ruby needs a ‘proper upbringing’. The hilarious antics of Maude, a menacing figure set on kidnapping Maude, and the historic backdrop of the destructive Cripple Creek fires of 1896 make for an exciting page-turning read. Nancy Oswald is author of two other Ruby and Maude Adventures—Trouble on the Tracks and Trouble Returns—as well as the historical novels Nothing Here But Stones and Hard Face Moon. Rescue in Poverty Gulch is filled with delights. With eloquent charm, Nancy Oswald recreates life in the rough-and-tumble gold mining town of Cripple Creek. Margaret Coel, author of Chief Left Hand and the Wind River novels Readers are sure to adore best friends Ruby and Maude. Her donkey, Maude, is the best friend a tomboy like Ruby can have! This is a page-turning adventure laced with twists, turns, humor, and a cast of memorable characters. We can only hope that Ruby and Maude team up for more fast and fun adventures. —Randall Platt, Award-winning author of Hellie Jondoe Nancy Oswald has the magical ability to let her young readers see life as it was a century ago. Ruby s story gives the reader a great sense of 1896 Cripple Creek. This is a great read for kids! —Jan Collins, Director, Cripple Creek District Museum, Cripple Creek, Colorado

Rescue in Poverty Gulch (Ruby and Maude Adventure) (Ruby and Maude Adventures)

Filter Press, LLC

Rescue in Poverty Gulch transports the reader to 1896 Cripple Creek, Colorado, where gold was in the hills and the town was booming. Eleven-year-old Ruby May Oliver and her donkey, Maude, are happy with things just the way they are, traveling with Pa to mining camps to sell candlesticks to miners. However, life changes drastically when Ruby and her Pa are stranded in Cripple Creek. Spending days in a schoolhouse when she already knows her numbers and how to read, doesn’t strike Ruby as the best use of her time. To make things worse, Pa decides Ruby needs a ‘proper upbringing’. The hilarious antics of Maude, a menacing figure set on kidnapping Maude, and the historic backdrop of the destructive Cripple Creek fires of 1896 make for an exciting page-turning read.Nancy Oswald is author of two previous historical novels: Nothing Here But Stones and Hard Face Moon.“Rescue in Poverty Gulch is filled with delights. With eloquent charm, Nancy Oswald recreates life in the rough-and-tumble gold mining town of Cripple Creek.”—Margaret Coel, author of Chief Left Hand and the Wind River novels“Readers are sure to adore best friends Ruby and Maude. Her donkey, Maude, is the best friend a tomboy like Ruby can have! This is a page-turning adventure laced with twists, turns, humor, and a cast of memorable characters. We can only hope that Ruby and Maude team up for more fast and fun adventures.”—Randall Platt, Award-winning author of Hellie Jondoe“Nancy Oswald has the magical ability to let her young readers see life as it was a century ago. Ruby’s story gives the reader a great sense of 1896 Cripple Creek. This is a great read for kids!”—Jan Collins, Director, Cripple Creek District Museum, Cripple Creek, Colorado

At first I thought everything in America would look like New York City, with shops and crowded streets, but I have discovered, the farther west we travel, that there are long stretches of nothing. Absolutely nothing. I only hope the place we are going to is not so empty. Nothing Here but Stones is based on a Russian Jewish colony that settled in Cotopaxi, Colorado, in 1882. Told from the viewpoint of eleven-year-old Emma, the book vividly portrays the hardships and struggles of the colony. They were promised housing and rich ground for farming. Instead, the land is rocky and of poor quality. The houses are small and unfinished, and the colonists lack equipment and livestock for tilling and planting. The actual Jewish settlers faced many of the same hardships that Emma and her family did. There was an early frost, and the crops were stunted. The colonists were threatened by marauding bears and visited in the winter by starving Indians, who came to their doors begging for food. This new edition of Nancy Oswald’s award-winning novel brings brings an important piece of Colorado history to a new generation of young readers.

Nothing Here but Stones

Teen & Young Adult

Historical Fiction

In 1858 Edward Wynkoop arrived in the frontier town of Denver City. He was twenty-two years old and soon became a town leader and Denver’s first sheriff. During the American Civil War, he joined the Colorado Volunteers and played an important role in the Union victory at the Battle of Glorieta Pass in New Mexico. After the Civil War, Wynkoop worked to see that the Plains Indians were treated fairly. He was a popular public figure until he spoke out in protest after the Sand Creek Massacre. His investigations into the actions of Colonel John Chivington’s men at Sand Creek turned the public against him. Today he is a hero to Coloradans. Wynkoop Street in Denver is named for him. Number Seventeen in the Now You Know Bio series. Ages 10 and up 72 pages; illustrated Paperback Trim: 5.5” by 8.5” Publication date: 2014

Edward Wynkoop: Soldier and Indian Agent (Now You Know Bio)

Biographies

Trouble on the Tracks, the second Ruby and Maude Adventure book, returns readers to the Cripple Creek mining town of 1896. Ruby May Oliver and her donkey and best friend, Maude, find a new friend when a cat named Trouble entwines itself around Maude’s legs and Ruby’s heart. Trouble and the adventurous eleven-year-olds Ruby and Maude try to stay out of trouble during the chaos following two fires in one week that have nearly destroyed the town. Can Ruby help it if she must interfere with a lynch mob ready to string up her friend Amos? And how was she to know that she would be stuck if she climbed out on the church roof? And about that business of getting trapped under a moving train, that was a mistake too. Had Ruby known the train was going to leave the station, she would have left Trouble to fend for herself. As in the first Ruby and Maude Adventure, discouraging Pa’s budding romantic interest in Miss Sternum, the schoolmarm, remains paramount on Ruby’s mind. Ruby’s fervent desire is that she and Pa will return to their old life of roaming from mining town to mining town in the Rockies. Trouble on the Tracks is Nancy Oswald’s fourth work of historical fiction set in Colorado. “A fun romp through the Old West, written with humor and charm. Ruby and Maude confront family troubles and thieving outlaws with spunk, smarts, and daring. The friendship between girl and donkey will delight readers of all ages.” —Kathleen Ernst, award-winning author of the Caroline Abbott series from American Girl “Ruby and Maude’s friendship deepens the story and will endear them to readers of all ages. I’m counting on more chapters from colorful Cripple Creek!” —Mary Cronk Farrell, award-winning MG/YA author

Trouble on the Tracks (Ruby and Maude Adventure) (Ruby and Maude Adventure, 2)

Filter Pr Llc

Trouble Returns is the third installment in the Ruby and Maude Adventure series. Winner of the 2017 Spur Award from Western Writers of America for Best Juvenile Fiction. Eleven-year-old Ruby is in an unbelievable amount of trouble. Trouble in school, trouble with the Sisters of Mercy, trouble with her cat named Trouble, and trouble with Pa after he proposes to the school principal. In 1896 Cripple Creek, Colorado, Ruby narrowly escapes death, and her donkey, Maude, steals the story with an unexpected surprise. “If you haven’t met Ruby, Maude, and Trouble, you’re in for a treat and a surprise ending. Enjoy!” —Lois Ruby, author of Steal Away Home

Trouble Returns (Ruby and Maude Adventure)

It’s Christmas time in 1896 Cripple Creek, Colorado, and Ruby May Oliver and her donkey, Maude, roam the streets in search of Maude’s missing foal. Along the way, Ruby comes upon four people in need of gifts—gifts she discovers she can give. This gentle tale, enhanced by the evocative illustrations of Nathaniel Jensen, is a great read-aloud or independent read for grades 2 thru 4. Readers who have enjoyed the antics and adventures of Ruby May Oliver and her donkey, Maude, through the award-winning Ruby and Maude Adventure series, are in for a treat with this heartwarming story as Ruby enters more and more deeply into the true spirit of Christmas.

Ruby's Christmas Gifts

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Books by Nancy Oswald