The Ballad of Lucy Whipple

by Karen Cushman

A witty, engaging historical fiction novel depicting frontier life for women and children. Young Lucy and her family have left their comfortable life in the east to relocate in a rough mining community in California. Lucy is not happy about the move and saves every penny for a trip back east. Can she ever accept life in this difficult, new environment?

In a starred review, Publisher's Weekly called this book "a coming- of-age story rich with historical flavor." And School Library Journal ended their review by saying "Cushman's forceful writing combined with a narration in which the characters live and breathe make this a first choice."

Reading Levels

Interest Level: Gr. 5-8 DRA Level: 50 Lexile Measure: 1030L
Grade Level Equiv: 5.5 Guided Reading: T

Available Covers

Below are the three available book covers for this book. The most recent edition is the gray one in the middle (the cutest, in our opinion :) ).