Maggie Among the Seneca

Bread Sister Trilogy #2

by Robin Moore

Maggie Callahan journeys across the rugged Pennsylvania frontier to find her kin but, just before she reaches her destination, she is taken captive by a band of Seneca warriors and forced to travel with them along the war trail.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens

104 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Robin Moore has made his living as an children's book author and traveling storyteller for more than thirty years. He grew up in the mountains of Central Pennsylvania, where his Scots-Irish ancestors have lived for more than 200 years. He served as a combat soldier in Vietnam, earned a Journalism Degree from Pennsylvania State University and worked as a newspaper reporter and magazine editor. He was written more than a dozen books, published by the world's largest publishers and was named Author of the Year by the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association. He was presented more than 5,000 Storytelling programs and workshops and has told stories to more than one million people. He was named National Storyteller of the Year. Robin holds a Masters Degree in Oral Traditions and serves on the faculty of The Graduate Institute.

Reviews

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

More adventure in even less pages! Heading West to find her Aunt Franny, Maggie is almost immediately captured by Seneca warriors and taken to live in their tribe. She's married off to a blonde Native American who doesn't speak English, but apparently is handsome?? They spend four steamy nights together on an island in the middle of winter and I guess that's love.

Except, the day after their Love Weekend, Maggie's new husband is D E A D when his foot bitten off by a wolf. Just bitten clean off! But no time to mourn because 9 months later their son is born and 1 month after that, he's kidnapped by a the village weirdo.

Will Maggie find her baby? Will she find her aunt? Will she ever bake bread again? Was her recently deceased husband even a good kisser?? Can't wait for Book 3.

[Joanna Teodosio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book! It is great historical fiction for the chapter book reading kid crowd, and I had the pleasure of being Robin's student back in 2012 as part of the Oral Traditions graduate program at The Graduate Institute in Bethany, CT. It was funny reading it only because I could hear his voice as a storyteller, relaying Maggie's adventures. He is a wonderful storyteller, and this book flows just like a good story should!

I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series, and I am fortunate enough to have gotten him to sign my copy of Maggie.

[Sara James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I met the author when I was a child, and he signed a copy of this book. While I was interested in pioneer times and understanding Native American culture, I found this book very sad and depressing. I did read it several times as I grew up, but the separations that occur really bothered me. Perhaps if I'd read the other books in the series, that would have helped, but because I didn't like the way this one ended nor other things about the story, I never sought them out. Still, it stuck in my mind all these years, though I no longer own my copy. It's an appropriate read for children wanting to learn more about Native American culture and its intersection with the pioneers.

[Natalie Waddell-Rutter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine enough book, but I felt like it was a bit simple for us. If I had read it five years ago when the kids were younger, it would have worked better for us. The sentence structure and vocabulary was definitely chosen for a younger audience. The simplicity was particularly noticeable because we'd just finished reading "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". That is anything but simple.

It was an interesting story from a perspective I don't often see, particularly in a middle grade book. There was a bit of woodcraft and a fair amount of the Seneca culture. Maggie took a long time to adjust to living with the Seneca. She usually didn't know what was going on, so we don't get too in depth a discussion of Seneca culture.

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story would give young readers an insight into American history during that period when Native Americans were joining in the French and Indian Wars against the Colonists. The Seneca nation was organized with a matriarchal society, and quite different than our modern day society.