reederbooks@juno.com
Until recently, my life was defined by roles and passages. First, the daughter growing up in Washington, D.C., next the student at American University, and then the longest-held roles of all: wife, mother, teacher. I'm still a wife, but I'm an out-of-work mother now that my children are grown, and I've left my job as a reading teacher so I'd have more time to write. Today, instead of roles, I have facets—hiker, history buff, book lover, friend, theater goer, writer....
Now, writing is an important part of my life—an end in itself—but my first writing was simply an outgrowth of our family's hiking experiences in Shenandoah National Park. It all began when my husband and I wrote a non-fiction adult book about the mountain people who were displaced when the park was established. We worked together on two more books about the park before I began to write fiction for children.
All of my children's books are historical novels set between 1860 and 1945. They are read mostly by young people in grades 4-7, though Before the Creeks Ran Read is intended for grades 6-9. I'm often asked why I write historical fiction. Undoubtedly, all the times I read through the Little House books influenced me in that direction, but part of the reason is that I enjoy the research. Children stare at me in disbelief when they hear that, but the research is my excuse to talk to people I wouldn't otherwise meet, to take excursions to places that are off the beaten track, to read in depth on fascinating subjects—and to call it "work."
SHADES OF GRAY
Aladdin, $4.99
Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
An ALA Notable Book
A Notable Children's Book for the Language Arts
The Jefferson Cup Award
Jane Addams Children Book Award/Honor Book
Child Study Children's Book Committee Award
"Deserves a place among the best YA fiction written about the Civil war era. . . . Compellingly vivid."
~VOYA
"A thoughtful story told in uncomplicated fashion . . . leaves room for readers to contemplate the larger, thornier issues for which there are no easy answers."
~Booklist
GRANDPA'S MOUNTAIN
Aladdin, $4.99
A "Pick of the Lists"
"Historical facts surrounding the 1935 creation of Shenandoah National Park form the base on which Reeder convincingly overlays a fictional story rich in character delineation and development.
~School Library Journal
"Reeder recreates a 1930s Appalachian setting and characters with a deft hand and a swift narrative. The reader is drawn into complete sympathy with Carrie and her grandparents."
~Parent & Child
MOONSHINER'S SON
Aladdin, $4.99
The Joan G. Sugarman Children's Book Award
The Hedda Seisler Mason Award/Honor Book
"When the preacher's temperance-minded daughter, Amy, meets the moonshiner's son, Tom, during Prohibition in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, the resulting story is a struggle often humorous and sometimes tense, with unexpected conclusions."
~Horn Book
"This delightful and entertaining period novel is a good introduction to the time period and will appeal to a middle grade audience."
~VOYA
"With strong, memorable characters and a compelling plot, an unusually thoughtful and well-crafted historical novel of these mountain people."
~Kirkus
ACROSS THE LINES
HarperCollins, $5.99
Books for the Teen Age 1998
A Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
A New Jersey State Library Pick of the Decade 1995 – 2005
"Reeder returns to the era of the Civil War for this powerful, moving story of friendship, loss, and courage. . . . There are no easy answers in this clear-eyed evocation of the cruelty and dangers of a tragic war; Reeder casts problem after problem before her young protagonists, and allows them the strength and character to fend for themselves on the way to finding solutions."
~Kirkus
". . . There are few Civil War books for children that explore the reality of war or the subtlety of race relations as sensitively as this involving novel. . . . With believable characters and an eventful story, this novel offers a memorable, convincing view of the Civil War through the eyes of Simon and Edward."
~Booklist, starred review
FOSTER'S WAR
Scholastic, $4.50
A Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
"Reeder dexterously splices together Foster's views of the domestic battlefield with his experience of WWII, from his best friend's internment in a camp for Japanese Americans to scrap drives at school."
~Publisher's Weekly
"A vivid and compelling piece of historical fiction that also serves as a telling commentary on the effects an abusive parent has on his family."
~Kirkus
CAPTAIN KATE
Children's Literature, $6.95
Headstrong Kate has convinced her new stepbrother, Seth, that it's up to them to take the family's canal boat down the 184-mile long C&O Canal to deliver a cargo of coal. So with Kate at the tiller and Seth walking on the towpath beside the mules, they set off down the waterway.
"On the dangerous journey, prickly Kate must confront her worst fears and the worst parts of her nature, while Seth slowly earns her respect. . . . Kate's interior change is mirrored in the canal boat trip, another difficult journey with many steps, secrets, discomforts, perils, and unexpected pleasures. The setting makes this an unusual Civil War story for young people; the characters make it a rewarding one."
~Booklist
". . . a generous sprinkling of adventure starring a gutsy yet prideful heroine."
~Publisher's Weekly
"Reeder's detailed and realistic narrative of canal life provides a fascinating portrait of a period unique in history. The real strength of the novel, however, is in the depiction of the complex, tangled relationship that forms between Kate and Seth, and the emotional growth they experience as they struggle to reconcile their feelings about sharing a new family.
~Kirkus
BEFORE THE CREEKS RAN RED
HarperCollins, $ 16.99
Books for the Teen Age 2004
In a trio of Civil War stories, three boys in their early teens face confusion and overwhelming changes in their lives during the first half of 1861. Bugler Timothy Donovan lives through the bombardment of Fort Sumter, Joseph Schwartz is caught up in a riot in Baltimore, and Gregory Howard of Alexandria, Virginia, finds himself living in a city occupied by undisciplined enemy troops.
"Each story includes convincing period details, and the three protagonists emerge as credible individuals struggling to be true to themselves in times of fear and uncertainty."
~School Library Journal
"Just as the country stands uneasily on the brink of war, Timothy, Joseph, and Gregory stand on the brink of manhood, and Reeder deftly shows how escalating tension and violence in the outside world push each character to examine more closely his preconceptions, his actions, and his choices. A rewarding interpretation of the nascent war, when many people expected that the first land battle would also be the last."
~Booklist
THE SECRET PROJECT NOTEBOOK
Los Alamos Historical Society, $5.99
Fritz (aka Franklin) is determined to find out what makes the small southwestern town where he now lives so secret that it's not on any map—and why no one is allowed to say or write its name. He and his seventh-grade classmate Kathy join forces as they attempt to decode phrases like "tickling the dragon's tail" and to discover where their scientist fathers go when they disappear for days at a time. But it's a summer prank rather than their snooping that causes the military police to view Fritz and his friends as a threat to wartime security. . . .
"The Secret Project Notebook by Carolyn Reeder humorously and realistically weaves the history of the bomb project with the daily life of twelve-year-old Fritz, his family, and his friends. Of course, Fritz is interested in finding out what’s really going on, and he keeps the information he and his friends collect in a secret notebook. He also gets into trouble. A prank he and some friends play on the mail censor goes a little too far, but that’s nothing compared to what happens when he and a friend go horseback riding in a restricted area. A lot of the book is set at school—in the social studies class—and the characters’ assignments and discussions provide a believable forum for discussing the complexities and ambiguities of the war."
~Thereby Hangs a Tale
"Along with a colorful cast of friends that includes Kathy, a smart but emotional girl whose brother is fighting in Europe; Manny, a Spanish-American boy who knows the local traditions; and Jacob, a Jewish boy whose family escaped the Nazis, Fritz discovers a number of clues that he carefully records. . . . Eventually, the truth about the 'Secret Project' is revealed as the kids experience a unique and controversial piece of American history . . . ."
~Children's Literature
Visit ReederBooks.com for more information about me and my books or to print out Teachers' Notes for Across the Lines, Historical Notes and Photos for Before the Creeks Ran Red, and teaching aids for my other novels.
Visit ChildrensLit.com to order autographed copies of my books.
At www.patc.net you will find information about the three nonfiction adult books my husband and I wrote together - Shenandoah Heritage, Shenandoah Vestiges, and Shenandoah Secrets.
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