Larger	Calico Captive Author: Elizabeth George Speare
	Book Information Publisher: Dell Yearling Book Type: Paperback Members Wishing: 3 Rating: 1 ISBN-13: 96114 - ISBN-10: Publication Date: 11/1973 Pages: 274

An ALA Notable Book
CALICO CAPTIVE
Elizabeth George Speare

"Neighbor Labaree's solid figure filled the doorway, and his hearty voice boomed through the cabin. 'Still abed, all of you? Thought you aimed to start on the south field before daybreak.'

"Without warning it happened. James Johnson's answer was drowned in such dreadful shrieks that Miriam's whole body turned to stone. She had heard them before, but far away, in the depths of the forest. Now they were close, close upon them. Indians! Labaree was jerked backward and the doorway was filled with bodies, pouring into the cabin with horrible yells. The half-light was a confusion of feathers, hideous faces streaked with red and white, and tomahawks flashing."

Thus the Johnson family and young Miriam, prodded along by their Indian captors, began a harrowing journey along the wilderness trail to Montreal, there to be sold to the French and held for ransom.

"Based on an actual narrative of 1807, this is superior historical fiction... The writing is so vivid that the reader shares with the characters their experiences on the long trek to Canada and in Montreal where they are sold to the French." --Horn Book

"The author has drawn her characters with a deft touch andx paints a vivid picture of the danger and difficulty of such an experience without ever resorting to sensationalism or melodrama." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Vital and vivid... presents American history with force and verve." --The Kirkus Reviews

"An exciting romantic story." --(starred review) Library Journal

Elizabeth George Speare is widely known and admired by readers of all ages for her outstanding historical novels. She is two-time winner of the Newbery Medal for The Bronze Bow and The Witch of Blackbird Pond. She lives in eastern Connecticut with her husband.