Willow Creek Home

April 1, 1986
Gr 4-6 -Finding hardships in their first Texas homestead, 12-year-old Mina, her father and his new wife move on to more promising land. They settle, with other German immigrants, in an area where more fertile land is available. A new baby brother arrives, and when Mina's father is away getting supplies, Mina chases off a Comanche with a shotgun blast. Mina's new school, her friendship with a handsome neighbor boy and her escape from a Comanche kidnapper make an adventure story that will hold readers' interest. Written in a straightforward style, this pioneer adventure moves along quickly. A smattering of German is used, and the Jordans' German heritage is smoothly blended into the story. Full-page pencil drawings and small ink sketches are appropriate to the story but uneven in quality. Like A Paradise Called Texas (Eakin Pr, 1983), this is based on Shefelman's ancestors' immigration to Texas in the 1840s. It will ably fill requests for historical fiction. Nancy Kewish, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Cleveland