Dream-Quest Adventure

Eleven-year old Jennifer decides to humor her father by listening to entries in an old journal stored in the family trunk. Much to her surprise she becomes intrigued by the journal's writer, her ancestor, Jenny Case, a spunky New York farm girl who travels to the Michigan Territory in 1836. The Case family's journey begins along the Erie Canal on a boat owned by Jenny's young aunt and her difficult husband. Along the way Jenny befriends an orphan whom Mr. Case soon adopts. The two youngsters' adventures, combined with their determined protection of the orphan's wolf-dog, create drama and suspense both on the canal boat and the steamboat that the family takes across Lake Erie. Once in Detroit the Cases buy a wagon for the remainder of the trip to their new home. But the excitement does not end as the family is forced to cope with wolves, crude inns, and a cabin that does not quite match its sales description. "Erie Trail West" involves the adventure, humor, accurate research, and cast of delightful characters for which Janie Panagopoulos' books are known. Added to this is the richness of the family's love and integrity that is reflected in every episode of this delightful story.

"This is so unfair, " laments Gus McCarty, a twelve-year-old who first struggles at school with an obnoxious bully named Al, and then is reeled back in time to a lumberjack camp with an equally troublesome acquaintance named Alex. Added to Gus' dilemma are a camp full of rugged lumberjacks who think the youngster needs to know a few things about being a real 'jack. Gus' misadventures in lumberjack camp lead him from hilarious encounters with a three-legged cat named Betty, an army of lice and bedbugs in the bunkhouse, to a more serious and chilling escape from a cougar. But even in his misery, everything is not all trouble for Gus. Tommy, the camp's Irish barn boss, and Miss Addie, the camp cook, befriend the boy, and even the meanest 'jack in the camp, Rat-hole Andy, comes to Gus' defense. "Journey Back to Lumberjack Camp " has much to say about the lumbering era in the 1800s western Great Lakes region, rich in detailed historical information, with a story and cast of characters that will keep readers smiling long after they have finished the last chapter.

As Robert Pacquette interviews an old iron miner for his Social Study's history report, he is swept back into the life of Robert Friggens, a boy from Albany, New York, who travels to Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the mid 1800s, during this regions great iron mining period. The son of one of the first doctors in the area, Robert meets a variety of colorful characters including Michael Shane, a rough but likable ex-miner. Michael takes Robert with him by dogsled to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where they collect the mail for the Upper Peninsula mining settlement at Marquette. When Michael is injured during the trip, and his replacement never arrives, Robert must travel alone on the wilderness trail back to Marquette. To add to his trouble, he is pursued by a thief looking for the miner's gold payment. And who is that mysterious Native American? Is he a friend or an enemy? Panagopoulos has again created a novel of adventure, humor, and facts rich in historical detail that makes her a favorite of readers both young and old alike.

Panagopoulos' award winning novel about Nicholas and Christopher, brothers who find themselves trapped in an 18th-century world of fur traders and Indians, has become a classic. A Historical- Fiction adventure tale about Great Lakes history, featuring Madame LaFramboise. Kids love the excitement of a great canoe race, while teachers appreciate the historical, fact-based details in this fun and educationally engaging story. A true classic.

Malaika and her brother Sammy have been arguing about the Underground Railroad when they are caught in an afternoon storm and whisked back into the lives of Malaika and Samson who are escaping slavery along the Underground Railroad. Separated from their mother, the pair make their way across the Ohio River to a stop on the Underground Railroad, the home of a Quaker couple who introduce them to Daniel; a crude but warm-hearted abolitionist. Reluctantly, Daniel agrees to accompany the youngsters on their journey through Indiana and Ohio to Detroit, Michigan, where they hope to rejoin their mother and take a boat to the safety of Canada. But the trip is fraught with danger as two slave-catchers chase the trio all the way to the border. In true Panagopoulos style, "Train to Midnight" gives readers an informative look into the past while skillfully combining the true adventures of the chase and the tension of a family's separation with the comic relief of her colorful, true-to-life characters.