Cañon City Public Library

"Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is one of America's most beloved writers, most known for his short stories of mystery and horror. He was also an accomplished poet and tough literary critic. Much like the drama and fiction, Poe's life was full of hardships. Orphaned at a young age, he was raised by a foster family. As a young man, he developed problems with gambling, debts, and alcohol, and was even dismissed from the army. His love life was marked by...

Eleven-year-old Elijah lives in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves near the American border. Elijah's the firs child in town to be born free, and he ought to be famous just for that-not to mention for being the best at chunking rocks and catching fish. unfortunately, all that most people see is a "fra-gile" boy who's scared of snakes and tends to talk too much. But everything changes when a fromer slave steals money from Elijah's friend,...

"From the intimate perspective of three friends and neighbors in mid-nineteenth century Auburn, New York-the "agitators" of the title-acclaimed author Dorothy Wickenden tells the fascinating and crucially American stories of abolition, the Underground Railroad, the early women's rights movement, and the Civil War. Harriet Tubman-no-nonsense, funny, uncannily prescient, and strategically brilliant-was one of the most important conductors on the underground...

When a slave-owning family decides to go to California to mine for gold, twelve-year-old Clementine, whose mother calls her Hope, travels with them, which ultimately leads her on a journey to freedom.

Sophie Broadmoor adores fancy balls, beautiful gowns, and expensive jewelry. Indeed, she enjoys everything the Broadmoor wealth provides and has earned a reputation as the wildest of the Broadmoor cousins. During a trip to England, she falls head over heels for Wesley Hedrick, a wealthy widower who promises her the world. But Wesley's promises never seem to come true, and soon Sophie finds herself in a very compromising situation. Why does it have...

A collection of forty-five short stories by Louis L'Amour that are set in the American West. Here are timeless stories of danger and daring, wanderlust and heroism, Filled with ordinary men and women facing life-threatening challenges with courage, dignity and honor.

Living with seven brothers and her father, who thinks girls are useless, a thirteen-year-old Finnish American farm girl is determined to prove her worth when a enterprising gentleman tries to purchase their cash-strapped family settlement in Washington State in 1900.

"In January of 1848, the discovery of gold at Sutters Mill in California sparked a nationwide frenzy, fueling the dreams of Americans from coast to coast. By 1849, hundreds of thousands of fortune hunters from across the globe headed west to stake their claim. Armed with pan or pickaxe, driven by greed or glory, every last one of them was determined to strike it rich—or die trying. . . . For Cord Bennett, it was more than a dream. California was...

"The rebels will be hanged at dawn, and their brotherhood is already plotting revenge. Stephen Doyle, an Irish-American veteran of the Civil War, arrives in Manchester from New York with a thirst for blood. He has joined the Fenians, a secret society intent on ending British rule in Ireland by any means necessary. Head Constable James O'Connor has fled grief and drink in Dublin for a sober start in Manchester, and connections with his fellow Irishmen...

A captivating retelling of Mark Twain's classic adventure story. True to the original in plot, character, themes and style, this is an excellent way for a young reader to meet Tom Sawyer for the first time. Tom Sawyer is a respectable boy in a little Mississippi River town. Huck Finn is a freedom-loving, neglected outcast. What better playmate could Tom want? One night, innocent games of pirates and Robin Hood turn serious when the boys witness a...