The slightly true narrative of how a brave pioneer father brought apples, pears, plums, grapes, and cherries (and children) across the plains. Apples, ho! When Papa decides to pull up roots and move from Iowa to Oregon, he can’t bear to leave his precious apple trees behind. Or his peaches, plums, grapes, cherries, and pears. Oh, and he takes his family along too. But the trail is cruel. First there’s a river to cross that’s wider than Texas, then there are hailstones as big as plums, and then there’s even a drought, sure to crisp the cherries. Luckily Delicious (the nonedible apple of Daddy’s eye) won’t let anything stop her father’s darling saps from tasting the sweet Oregon soil. A hilarious tall tale from the team that brought you Fannie in the Kitchen that’s loosely based on the life of a real fruiting pioneer.

Distributed by the University of Nebraska Press for Caxton Press Blazing a Wagon Trail to Oregon is the story of a determined group of American pioneers who set out to move their families on wheeled vehicles from the settled frontier in Missouri to the far Pacific shore. Their incentive was simple enough. Times were tough in 1843, and they had heard of a lush new land existing in a place called Oregon, a land ready to be settled by hard-working farmers. Although a new life seemed to await them just over the horizon, none of them suspected how formidable that horizon really was. Diaries, letters home, and later reminiscences tell their stories and document their emotional responses to their experiences. Beginning with the earliest assembly of wagons outside the frontier town of Independence, Missouri, the reader follows "this grand adventure" to its conclusion six months later in Oregon. By introducing the various participants through a weekly chronicle, the author enables readers to view these shared experiences from sometimes revealingly different angles of vision. In effect, readers themselves become vicarious members of the train.

Lesbian Fiction: Historical Fiction - "Luke" Hamilton has always been sure that she'd never marry. She accepted that she would spend her life alone when she chose to live her life disguised as a man. After working in a brothel for three years, Nora Macauley has lost all illusions about love. She no longer hopes for a man who will sweep her off her feet and take her away to begin a new, respectable life. But now they find themselves married and on the way to Oregon in a covered wagon, with two thousand miles ahead of them.

Explores the social and natural history of eastern Oregon, including central Oregon.

A new American journey.

"Basing her story on the published accounts of her true-life heroine, Mary Ellen Todd, Van Leeuwen describes a family's tumultuous journey along the Oregon Trail in 1852." --Publishers Weekly With only a guide book to show them the way, the Todd family sets out from their Arkansas home on a two thousand mile trek to claim unchartered Oregon Territory. Crossing rough terrain and encountering hostile people, the Todds show their true pioneering spirit. But as winter draws near, will the Todds have the strength to complete their journey? And if they make it, will Oregon fulfill their dreams? “This is a convincing picture of a pioneer journey that does a good job of showing the tremendous sacrifices people made to follow their dream of a better life.” –School Library Journal

"Ore­gon contains multitudes, for this is a state that spans a tremendous range of people, cultures, and terrains. It’s a range that this book seeks to illuminate, along with Ore­gon’s spectacularly beautiful and varied landscape." —Nicholas D. Kristof, from the foreword Oregon is a big, beautiful state filled with mountains, valleys, deserts, cities, towns, an amazing coastline, and much more. From the high desert of Central Oregon and the scenic vistas of the Columbia River Gorge to awe-inspiring Crater Lake and the forest and farms of the Willamette Valley, its natural wonders abound. In Oregon, My Oregon, the award-winning team of pho­tographers at Photo Cascadia have captured this mag­ical place in a stunning book that will be embraced by locals and visitors alike. Oregon, My Oregon includes a foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former Oregonian Nicholas Kristof, who captures the breadth and beauty of the state and this must-have book.