Dear Diary, 

We took a nice long break but we're back with another season and a new book! This week we're reading the first half of Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell. It was written by Kristiana Gregory and it was published in 1997. This marks our first repeat author! 

In the book, we are introduced to Hattie Campbell, a young girl traveling the Oregon Trail with her family. Hattie learns many valuable lessons during her journey, including overcoming prejudice and the importance of caring for community.

We're excited to be back!

Yours Truly, 

Cate and Jen

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook and Instagram

Edited by Danny Heck  

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage 

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry  @_likethefruit

Dear Diary, 

We finished our first season with a great chat with Paul Ringel! Paul is a history professor at High Point University, and an author of books including Commercializing Childhood: Children's Magazines, Urban Gentility, and the Ideal of the Child Consumer in the United States, 1823-1918 and Kid History, Inc.: Selling Children the American Past. 

We talked about Emma and Clotee's stories. What they did well and what they could have done better. We also talked about how to write history for kids that is both engaging and historically accurate. Tune in to hear Paul's thoughts on these Dear America books and hear more about his projects. 

See you again soon for season 2! 

Yours Truly, 

Cate and Jen

Check out Paul Ringel's website paulbringel.com

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Edited by Danny Heck  

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage 

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry  @_likethefruit

Dear Diary, 

We finished recapping A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl by Patricia C. McKissack, and what an incredible story! So much happened: we learned more about the abolitionists and Spicy's history, and Clotee figured out what freedom looked like to her.

An engaging and essential read. Tune in to hear more! 

Yours Truly, 

Cate and Jen 

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Join our Facebook Group!

Edited by Danny Heck  

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage 

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry  @_likethefruit

Dear Diary, 

On to a new book, and boy, this one is different than the last! A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl was written by Patricia C. McKissack and was published in 1997. (a very good year!)

Clotee is a clever 12-year-old girl who works in the Big House on a plantation in Virginia and teaches herself how to read and write. She writes candidly about her opinions on slavery and those who participate in it and about her friends and loved ones. It's a good read! 

Yours Truly, 

Cate and Jen

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Edited by Danny Heck  

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage 

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry  @_likethefruit

Dear Diary, 

We're back for part 2 of our discussion of When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson written by Barry Denenberg. Is it better than the first half? Wellllll...... on the plus side, there's more action! 

Tune in to find out what's in store for Emma, Tally, and Cousin Rachel. What happens when the Yankees come to town? Most importantly, should we care?

Yours Truly, 

Cate and Jen

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Edited by Danny Heck  

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage 

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry  @_likethefruit

Dear Diary, 

We've reached book 3 in the series! And it's... certainly something! Author Barry Denenberg tackles a big topic with When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson. 

We have a lot of thoughts about this book, namely, why did they choose to focus on a slave-owning white girl from the South? Tune in to hear our hot takes, bad southern accents, and odes to Ken Burns' docu-series, The Civil War. 

Yours Truly, 

Cate and Jen 

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Edited by Danny Heck  

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage 

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry  @_likethefruit

Dear Diary, 

Now that we're done reading The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, we got to talk to a park ranger from Valley Forge National Historical Park! 

Ranger Beth Dhunjisha shared with us some great information about the history of the Continental Army's winter encampment of 1777-1778. We talked about myths versus reality and about teaching history to kids at a national park! 

We hope you enjoy it!

Yours Truly, 

Cate and Jen

Find more information about Valley Forge National Historical Park on their official website

For show notes and book recommendations, visit RibbonBookClubPod.com

Or find us online 

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Edited by Danny Heck  

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage 

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry @_likethefruit

Dear Diary, 

This week we finished recapping The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart. We learned about Baron Von Steuben training the Continental Army, Elizabeth learned what happened to her bounty coat, and we had a lot of feelings about George Washington and Lucy's parents! 

Tune in to hear all that, and stay tuned until the end for a very special reading of a very real diary. 

Yours Truly, 

Cate and Jen 

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Edited by Danny Heck  

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage 

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry  @_likethefruit

Dear Diary, 

On to book two! This week we're recapping the first half of The Winter of Red Snow: The Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart written by Kristiana Gregory and published in 1996.

In Abigail's diary, we learn about the winter encampment at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-1778. We meet George Washington and Abigail's friend, Lucy. Topics of discussion include an 18th-century recipe for egg nog, bounty coats, and historical inaccuracies! 

We hope you enjoy!

Yours truly,

Cate and Jen 

ribbonbookclubpod.com for reading notes and book recommendations

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Edited by Danny Heck  

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage 

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry  @_likethefruit

Dear Diary, 

We had our first guest on the show! Tom Begley from Plimoth Patuxet Museums spoke to us about what he does at the museum, life in the early Plimoth settlement, and writing historical fiction for young readers. We had a lovely conversation, and we hope you enjoy listening to it! 

Yours truly, 

Cate and Jen 

P.S. You can find Plimoth Patuxet online at https://plimoth.org/

and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Edited by Danny Heck  

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage 

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry  @_likethefruit