Laurie Lawlor: American Sisters Series
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    Books: American Sisters Series

    This series of stories center on the lives of sisters and how the sisters bravely face adversity during the settling of the United States. All of these sisters face their own perils -- perils involved with their family's journey. Whether traveling in wooden sailing ships across the ocean or in covered wagons across the prairie, the girls found a confidant and companion in their sister. Despite the normal squabbles, the sisters inevitably learned that working together was important to their family's survival and well-being. Publisher's Weekly said:
    "Lawlor balances the hard-hitting verisimilitude with (the protagonist's) equally credible and endearing connection to her family...Lawlor's writing prowess and the winning thematic combination of sisterhood and American history render this a series with promise."

    School Library Journal welcomed the series by saying, "Lawlor's writing distinguishes this first offering in yet another new historical fiction series...Based on a real family's experiences, the story includes excerpts from diaries, letters, and The Prairie Traveler, a handbook from the period. These primary sources add authenticity to the text...."

  • Adventure on the Wilderness, Road, 1775.
      The Poage family, sets out across the wilderness to join Daniel Boone's settlement in Kentucky. Eleven-year-old Elizabeth, her sister Martha, and their two younger brothers are part of the group that are making the foot journey through the dark and dangerous forest, across the mountains, and onto Kentucky. Curriculum Connections

  • Crossing the Colorado Rockies, 1864.
      Certain they will find gold, the Hitchcocks leave Pennsylvania and head for California. The Civil War is raging and the three sisters, Eda, Belle, and Lucy are unaccustomed to roughing it. But they are settling in... and then Pa decides the family should return home. Curriculum Connections

  • Down the Rio Grande, 1829.
      Rosita Trevino, a sixteen-year-old, and her stepsister, Maria Alvarez, dream of having a better life. Neither Rosita or Maria can imagine what is to face them when they run away and catch a steamboat down the Rio Grande -- on their way to Texas. Curriculum Connections

  • Exploring the Chicago World's Fair, 1893.
      Dazzling lights and incredible sights, sounds, smells, and crowds -- chaos of everything that surrounds the World's Fair. The sights lure twelve-year-old Dora Pomeroy -- but she longs for Nebraska and the security of the life on the prairie. Then father joins the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show and Dora, her mother and three younger sisters are left in Chicago to take care of themselves. But the threat that threatens her dream is not with her own family but in the fantasy land that will disappear at the end of the summer. Curriculum Connections

  • Horseback on the Boston Post Road, 1704.
      The French and Indian War has just begun and Madame Sarah Kemble Knight is told to bring twin servant girls, Hester and Philena to Boston to New Haven, Connecticut. The journey by horse on the Boston Post Road is dangerous. When Madame decides to take just one of the sisters the other risks her life to follow. The group of travelers find themselves traveling through the menacing and hazardous wilderness. Curriculum Connections

  • Pacific Odyssey to California, 1905.
      Hawaii seems to be the land of opportunity but when eleven-year-old Su-Na and her family arrive from Korea they find their hopes for prosperity and good fortune unfulfilled. Racism and poor job opportunities convince the family to travel even further and they continue on to California. Curriculum Connections

  • A Titanic Journey Across the Sea, 1912.
      Father had sent tickets for Mother and Karl, but their little brother was sick, so only sixteen-year-old Alfreda Anderson and ten-year-old Erna were sailing to America. But the fate that awaited them could not have been foretold. Curriculum Connections

  • Voyage to a Free Land, 1630.
      The family is headed for America. Ten-year-old Hannah and her sister, twelve-year-old Abigail have not been far from Chelmsford and now they are on their way to London but now the girls and their father, and stepmother have boarded the Arbella and will sail to Massachusetts. The voyage is unlike anything they have known. When the girls meet Zach, an indentured servant, their relationship begins to change. Curriculum Connections

  • West Along the Wagon Road, 1852.
      Harriet "Duck" Scott, an eleven-year-old is not nearly so ladylike as her older sisters. Duck finds many opportunities for adventure as the family travels on in a wagon train from Illinois to Oregon Territory. Along the way the family must deal with the loss of loved ones, quicksand, and a horse thief. Curriculum Connections