This is a juvenile novel about the legendary Annie Oakley. It chronicles her childhood and early teen years from being born Phoebe Anne Moses to becoming Annie Oakley.
Pheobe is one of many of a Quaker family on the Ohio prairie. At the age of nine and shortly after her father's death, this spunky, stubborn girl picked up her father's rifle, cleaned it real good and shot a rabbit for dinner. Her mother was appalled. That is not ladylike behavior!
Nevertheless, Pheobe's disobedience regarding the rifle has nothing to do with her mother sending her to the "poor house." Pheobe's mother is broke and having lost not one, but two husbands, can't feed all her children so off Pheobe goes to the poor house to sew and help tend orphans. It's in this orphanage that Pheobe drops her hated first name and becomes Annie. It's also in this orphanage that Annie makes friends and enemies and has a life changing ordeal. She is sent to work for a man and woman who treat her cruelly. Annie vows never again to be without her rifle and a way of self defense.Once she escapes the unhappy household or "wolf family" she once again takes up her dead pa's rifle and soon shooting turkeys for family dinner becomes shooting turkeys and other animals for profit to save her mother's farm. The novel ends with her meeting her future husband at a shooting competition.
That's my complaint. The story ends there. I was hoping for a little more and especially of her traveling with the Wild West Show.. I know this is a juvenile book, but I feel it could have been longer by at least a hundred pages and showed us more of Annie's famous life. The novel ended as the fun was really beginning so 4/5 stars.
This was a library book.
This looks like it would be one that my daughter would like. It's too bad that it cuts off too soon, but it still sounds worth picking up.
ReplyDeleteChristine, if you participate on goodreads.com, someone has just posted a copy for swap. You would only pay shipping and your daughter will probably love it.
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