Emily's Fortune
Emily's Fortune
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Annotation: While traveling to her aunt's home in Redbud by train and stagecoach, quiet young Emily and her turtle, Rufus, team up with Jackson, fellow orphan and troublemaker extraordinaire, to outsmart mean Uncle Victor, who is after Emily's inheritance.
 
Reviews: 4
Catalog Number: #43915
Format: Perma-Bound Edition
Special Formats: Inventory Sale Inventory Sale
Publisher: Dell
Copyright Date: 2010
Edition Date: 2011 Release Date: 11/08/11
Illustrator: Collins, Ross,
Pages: 147 pages
ISBN: Publisher: 0-375-84492-9 Perma-Bound: 0-605-43398-4
ISBN 13: Publisher: 978-0-375-84492-8 Perma-Bound: 978-0-605-43398-4
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2009013096
Dimensions: 20 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

Newbery Award winner Naylor claims that she tries to never write the same kind of book twice, and although she has written westerns before, including Walker's Crossing (1999), this could be seen as her first of the rootin'-tootin' variety. When her mother and the wealthy woman she works for are killed in a carriage accident, meek Emily sets out to find her loving aunt. Trouble is, the wealthy woman left a considerable fortune to Emily, and her villainous uncle Victor would sure like to get his hands on all that cash. Most of the story takes place on a stagecoach out west as Emily and fellow orphan Jackson muster all their cunning and pluck to outwit Victor, and a good deal of the appeal comes from Naylor's feisty chapter cliff-hangers: "What in shootin' shivers would Emily do now?" It all makes for a fun, bouncy ride, though one might wish for a few more of Collins' scene-stealing pencil sketches. As there simply aren't many westerns for young girls, this happily plugs a hole in the genre.

Kirkus Reviews

Naylor takes readers on a rollicking ride to the Wild West in this comedy-adventure starring a tiny, extremely shy eight-year-old orphan, Emily, her pet turtle, Rufus, and a wild boy named Jackson who comes to her rescue. When Emily's mother and her wealthy lady employer are killed in a carriage accident, Emily chooses to go to her sweet Aunt Hilda in the West instead of her awful Uncle Victor. On her stagecoach ride west, Jackson, another orphan, helps Emily keep steps ahead of the terrible Child Catchers, but worse danger looms when Emily learns she's inherited a fortune, and greedy Uncle Victor shows up on the stagecoach looking for her. Collins provides lively line drawings that capture the action, while the author provides real suspense and comedy with her population of verging-on-caricature characters. Can Emily escape her Uncle? Can she stay with Rufus? At the end of each chapter, direct-address questions in huge type and alliterative archaic phrases launch readers into the next chapter. Emily comes across as a fully developed and appealing character. Great fun. (Historical fiction. 7-10)

School Library Journal Starred Review (Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

Gr 3-6 When timid, eight-year-old Emily Wiggins is suddenly orphaned, her neighborsMrs. Ready, Mrs. Aim, and Mrs. Fireare about to put her on the next train to live with kindly Aunt Hilda, her father's sister-in-law. Then Miss Catchum of the Catchum Child-Catching Services shows up, intent on collecting a "super-duper-dinger-zinger" bonus for depositing Emily with her closest next of kin, reprehensible Uncle Victor, who is fixated on finding Emily. With just her pet turtle for company, Emily embarks on an adventure through the Wild West, complete with dastardly villains and gold-digging distant relatives. She soon meets fellow orphan Jackson, and she has to decide whether or not to trust him to help her escape from (hot on the trail) Miss Catchum and Uncle Victor. The story is a real humdinger of a page-turner and will keep reluctant readers engrossed, eager to see if Emily arrives at Aunt Hilda's safely. And what will become of poor Jackson, who has yet to find a loving home? The local vernacular is lively and fun and the characters are well developed. Cliff-hangers between chapters are written in large boldface to keep readers hooked. "But how in the ding-dong dickens could she really trust him?" Simple, black-and-white illustrations complement the unfolding story. A rip-roaring good time that will be devoured by both boys and girls. Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
Wilson's Children's Catalog
ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)
Kirkus Reviews
School Library Journal Starred Review (Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)
Word Count: 21,813
Reading Level: 5.2
Interest Level: 3-6
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 5.2 / points: 3.0 / quiz: 137894 / grade: Middle Grades
Reading Counts!: reading level:5.5 / points:7.0 / quiz:Q50067
Lexile: 840L
Guided Reading Level: V
Fountas & Pinnell: V
Painted on the door of the carriage was a sign that read
 
Catchum Child-Catching Services
Trumpet Junction Branch
Orphans, Strays, and Roustabouts
Rounded Up Quickly
 
Emily jumped behind a mail cart so fast that she bumped into a boy in a faded brown jacket.
 
"Hey!" he said. "Watch where you're going!" And then, "You're an orphan too, aren't you?"
 
"How did you know?" she asked him.
 
He shrugged. "Saw you trying to hide from the Child Catchers, just like I used to do."
 


From the Hardcover edition.

Excerpted from Emily's Fortune by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Emily Wiggins is poor and timid, without a drop of self-confidence. When unexpectedly orphaned, she is left all alone except for her turtle, Rufus. What in blinkin' bloomers should Emily do? Emily's neighbors, Mrs. Ready, Mrs. Aim, and Mrs. Fire, have the answer. Emily must travel by stagecoach to honorable Aunt Hilda. What a hootin', tootin' grand idea! But Miss Catchum of the Catchum Child-Catching Services will get a big bonus for making Emily live with her next of kin, vicious Uncle Victor. How in ding dong dickens will Emily escape Miss Catchum? It will take all the gumption and cunning of fellow orphan and traveler, Jackson, to help Emily find her confidence, conniving spirit, and the truth behind why Uncle Victor wants to claim her. But how in flippin' flapjacks will Emily outsmart Uncle Victor?


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