Title: Dear America: Down the Rabbit Hole: The Diary of Pringle Rose, Chicago Illinois, 1871
Author: Susan, Campbell Bartoletti
Published: 2013
Genre: Historical Fiction
Summary: When Pringle’s parents are killed in a carriage accident caused by workers of her father's coal mine, 14 year old Pringle Rose finds it hard to deal with the loss and her newfound responsibility for her younger brother who has Downs Syndrome. On top of all of this her uncle comes to live with the two children to manage their affairs, and brings Pringle's annoying Aunt and spoiled little cousin with him. The diary goes back and forth between present day (for Pringle) during which she and her brother have left their old home and are heading for Chicago to hopefully stay with a friend of their mother's, and memories of the days and months after her parents died up until it catches back up with Pringle on her cross country journey.
What I liked about it: I love the Dear America books because they give you a first person perspective of the time each of the girls is writing in. With Pringle I was drawn into the story of her life and its sadness but also encouraged by her want to do what is best for her and her brother despite all their hardships. The book was both entertaining and educational and made me want to read more of the other books to learn more about other times in American history. One of the other things I like about it is while Pringle is not a real girl, there is a non-fiction section in the back of the book talking about what life was like with pictures and illustrations from the time.
Language: None
Romance: Pringle strikes up a friendship with a boy a few years older then herself that she meets one day while visiting her mother and father’s graves and becomes a bit infatuated with him and there is one brief kiss but it never goes anywhere after that as she soon leaves him and the city behind.
Violence: Each of the Dear America diaries are written to help kids learn more about a particular time and/or place in American history. The Diary of Pringle Rose takes place in 1871 and mainly in Chicago during the time of the great Chicago fire of 1871. As such, Pringle witnesses the fire and its destruction but it is never overly graphic.
Magic: None
Recommended Age: Pringle is 14 and I would say 12-13 is a good age to read this and any of the other Dear America Diaries.
There are quite a few Dear America Diaries, some of which are no longer published as well as several newer ones written around the time of Down the Rabbit Hole. The currently published books cover times from the pilgrims to the civil rights movement and are:
The First Pilgrims: Dear America: A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620
The Salem Witch Trials: Dear America, I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembly, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1691 (this one is a bit more mature)
The life of a Quaker girl taken captive by Lenape Indians: Dear America: Standing in the Light, The Captive Diary Of Catharine Carey Logan, Delaware Vally Pennsylvania, 1763
America during the revolutionary war: Dear America: The Winter of Red Snow, The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777
Dear America: Cannons at Dawn, The Second Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1779
The Organ Trail: Dear America: Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie, The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, The Oregon Trail 1847
Pre-American Civil War slave life: Dear America: A Picture of Freedom, The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl, Belmont Plantation, Virginia, 1859
The American civil war in both the north: Dear America: A Light in the Storm, The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin, Fenwick Island, Delaware, 1861
And South: Dear America: When Will This Cruel War Be Over, The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864
The Life of a former slave post American Civil War: Dear America: I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly, The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871: Dear America: Down the Rabbit Hole, The Diary of Pringle Rose, Chicago, Illinois, 1871
A Gold Mining town California in the 1880s: Dear America: Behind the Masks, The Diary of Angeline Reddy, Bodie, California, 1880
The great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906: Dear America: A City Tossed and Broken, The Diary of Minnie Bonner, San Francisco California, 1906
The Beginning of the Labor Union Movement: Dear America: Hear My Sorrow, The Diary of Angela Denoto, a Shirtwaist Worker, New York City, 1909
The Voyage of Titanic: Dear America: Voyage on the Great Titanic, The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R.M.S. Titanic, 1912
The Spanish flu epidemic of 1918: Dear America: Like the Willow Tree, The Diary of Lydia Amelia Pierce, Portland, Maine, 1918
Christmas during the Great Depression: Dear America: Christmas After All, The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1932
World War II in the North West USA: Dear America: The Fences Between Us, The Diary of Piper Davis: Seattle, Washington, 1941
The Civil Rights Movement in the 50s and the desegregation of schools: Dear America: With the Might of Angels, The Diary of Dawnie Ray Johnson, Hadley, Virginia, 1954
Besides these recent publications many libraries still have some copies of the out of print diaries which are also very good.
If you finish these and want more there are the Royal Diaries which are fictitious diaries of famous woman rulers over history, and My Name is America which are about both boys throughout American history, and My America which is for younger children (1st-4th grade as opposed to Dear America which is more 5th grade +)
For those Living outside the USA there are also over 30 Dear Canada Diaries, which are set throughout Canadian History as well as over a dozen I am Canada books which are about Canadian boys living in Canada and helping around the world in events concerning their country.
For the UK their is both My Story: Girls and My Story: Boys which are about Children both in England and a few across the world throughout history.
For Australia there are over 25 books in the My Australian Story Series. Which are books about both boys and girls during important events in Australian history.
There is also My New Zealand Story for those living in New Zealand which like the other series has fictional diaries of boys and girls set during important events in New Zealand’s history. There are also over 25 of these.
I can’t speak for the ones set in other countries but I will say this the original Dear America books are really good and a fun way to introduce kids to American History so if the ones for the other countries are even just half as good as them they will also be amazing books for kids anywhere to read to become more knowledgeable about their country's history.
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