White Ox, The
ILLUSTRATED BY
Ages: 9–11
Pages: 40
List Price: $18.95
Cover: Hardcover
Published: 4/1/2009
ISBN: 1-59078-555-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-59078-555-3
Emily Swain Squires was so tiny at birth she would have fit in a teacup. Now she is ten years old and feels just grown up enough for her first big adventure. Emily will leave her family behind in England and travel the sea and across a continent to Zion, her new home. But Emily will discover that big adventures can leave you feeling small all over again. And sometimes you need a friend to help you get home.
Author Ruth Hailstone based Emily’s story on family accounts. Dan Burr’s well-researched paintings capture Emily’s determined spirit during her long and difficult journey to her new home.
Reviews
"From the vivid cover art…to the last double-page spread…the art is the star of this book. Hailstone's serviceable narrative describes the real-life journey of ten-year-old Emily Swain Squires (her great-great grandmother), who traveled ahead of her family from England to Salt Lake City around 1863. … Children will be swept up by the lovely art and the tale of Emily's remarkable journey."
—Kirkus Reviews
"[T]he tale has heft as well as heart, and the telling makes it real through details of the journey... Dramatic and often beautiful, the double-page paintings also bring the characters and settings to life."
—Booklist
Here is what Kirkus Reviews writes about Ruth Hailstone's The White Ox in its March 1, 2009 issue:
“From the vivid cover art…to the last double-page spread…the art is the star of this book. Hailstone's serviceable narrative describes the real-life journey of ten-year-old Emily Swain Squires (her great-great grandmother), who traveled ahead of her family from England to Salt Lake City around 1863. … Children will be swept up by the lovely art and the tale of Emily's remarkable journey.”