Alice Across America by Sarah Glenn Marsh

This book made me miss taking road trips with my friends! But it also made me laugh, thinking of how my friend and I used to worry about being “two ladies” while driving down the California coast. 

Alice Ramsey and three friends drove across the country in 1909, when hardly any women drove cars. In fact, only a few men had driven across the country at that time. Ramsey made thirty more cross-country drives after this one. She knew how to take care of her car, crank it, change tires, and more.

I know how to do all of those things, in theory... but actually doing it? I haven't practiced. So it was admirable to see this woman learn when she didn't have to. She traveled without a phone or help line, and often didn't stop in cities. They camped in the car some nights. It's really interesting to compare and contrast that with how things are now.

Beverly Cleary Author Study: Ribsy

Illustrations by Louis Darling, though my copy

has a revised cover by JoAnn Scribner.

This is my original copy of the book but I didn't remember the story at all, so it was a nice read. I loved (and fondly remember many random details about) Socks (1973), so I knew Cleary had a great way of writing animals, but I was especially drawn to Ribsy after being with him so much in the Henry Huggins books.

Ribsy gets lost from the Huggins family on a rainy day so he has trouble picking up their scent to find his way home. Another family takes him home, further away from Henry's house than Ribsy has ever been before. It seems like it'll be impossible for Ribsy to find his way back because different people keep taking him in. Every chapter has a lot of adventure and suspense.