A Flower Blooms on Charlotte Street

Ociee Nash #1

by Milam McGraw Propst

The only remaining female in the George Nash family, Ociee chooses to view herself as more brother than sister. Her favorite outfit is soft, worn dungarees and her brother Ben's old shirt that Mama made. Ociee's hair is a wispy web of curls and, dreadfully, it usually falls in her face when her self-tied ribbons slide down her back. Her gray eyes sparkle as she delights in jumping on moving boxcars and chasing strangers who dare to wander upon her frontier Mississippi farm.This same little tomboy also goes to great pains to cook and clean and make a home for her beloved Papa and brothers Fred and Ben. She tries valiantly to fill the hole her Mama's death has left in the family. She fingers Mama's locket and hopes the touch of it will make things feel better.

Ociee endears herself to all while she moves from her mother's traumatic funeral and its repercussions to a personal celebration of her own young life. Her eyes learn to see beyond stereotypes and traditional viewpoints as she looks into the hearts of people and finds only what is strong and joyful within them. Ociee giggles as only an innocent child can giggle; yet her youthful spirit carries what would seem to be the wisdom of an older soul.

Ociee triumphs over the sadness, fear, and anxiety of the painful occurrences of her early life. In doing just that, she will bloom in a new garden and weave her charm into the fabric of those who come to know her in a new home on Charlotte Street.

Genres: Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Christian

170 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 1999

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice uncomplicated read with likable characters and no earth-shattering complications (just what I needed after many of the recent books I've read and left feeling depressed). I look forward to enjoying the second book. Unfortunately, that's probably as far as I can go with the series, because I can't find a library in this country that has books #3, #4 and #5!

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely gorgeous! Ociee was such a lovely character and I am definitely going to read on in the series :)

[LadyCalico · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, is this book bad! It establishes a whole new standard of boring. I thought it was short enough to read in a night, but it cost me almost a week of my reading life to force myself through this drivel, a few unbearable pages at a time. I kept pressing on, waiting for it to become interesting, but, alas. The author's sad attempt at dialogue isn't worth the proverbial plugged nickel--it is so forced and phony that you can't even begin to imagine real people holding such unnatural conversations. You might say I don't appreciate it because it is a book just for children. If true, it was written to teach children to hate reading; kids are generally even less tolerant of unnatural and phony than adults. What is the author trying to do with all the weird dialogue? It certainly isn't story-driven since there's no plot to speak of, and you can't say it is character-driven, since the characters are so weak they couldn't drive anything. If it was supposed to be some kind of Anne of Green Gables or Little House imitation, it fails miserably in the attempt. Thank goodness this ordeal is now over and I can move onto a decent book.

[Melissa Sewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is suitable for readers of all ages. The dialog is to be expected for a story set in the late 19th century, in the south. It's a simple story about life, kindness, respect and love, as told by a main character who is only 10 years old. Ociee has a keen ability to empathize with just about everyone she meets, which makes her quite endearing.

It wasn't until I got to the end of the book that I realized that Ociee Nash was a real person and the author is her granddaughter. There was also a movie released in 2003 called "The Adventures of Ociee Nash" co-starring Ty Pennington and Keith Carradine, among others. The movie is available to watch instantly via Netflix.

[Rebecca Cecil · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story about a girl named Oicei whose mother had died and it was only her dad and brothers. She like to run, climb, Chase boxcar and jump on them, Chase anyone down who came upon their Mississippi farm. She is a irregular girl who wears the jeans and thinks of herself as one of the boys. She also cooks and cleans the house trying to do what her mom would do if she was still there. Her life changes she needs to learn how to be a girl, whatever that means.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

After watching the wholesome movie upon which this book is based with my granddaughter, I decided to read the book and enjoyed it as a fast read. I recommend it as historical fiction with moderate adventure and basic life lessons for elementary readers.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this!! It makes me want to watch the Ociee Nash movie

[Adele Clagett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a cute little story. It was not fast paced and exciting, just a nice story about a period of time in the life of a young girl in the late 1800's. She was an exceptional young lady, very brave and polite. She had hardships in her family but did all she could to make the grownups in her life proud. I believe this is a series based on a real person, don't think I'll be reading the other books though.

[Luckngrace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I began this book to support North Carolina authors. I really enjoyed the peaceful ambience created by old-timey values, horse-drawn carriages clopping along glorious mountain scenes, the cozy home of Aunt Mamie who papers each room with flowers. All this serves as background for the healing of a 10 year old girl's heart. This is the perfect book for reading by chapter to a child at bedtime.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

haha, you can tell this is a kindle freebie, lots of marked to read and bad comments to the ones that read it..........i'm giving it a shot!

This was a cute read, kind of like a Little House on the Prairie, nice to read these types of books every once in awhile.

[Carla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sigh...well, there goes a few hours of my life that I won't get back. Sweet enough story I guess, but overall a mindless read that in few ways (ok, maybe no way) left me better off for having read it. Thrilled it was a free kindle download.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

i know this was based on a true story of her grandma when she was young, but it was a really slow read. i almost gave up on the book but stuck through. i felt like i was on the verge of something exciting to happen, but nothing ever did.

[Shanyn Money · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book for older kids or teens, but if I were in that category, I'd think it was great. It was quite simplistic for an adult reader.

[Susie]

for Annie to read

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would be a great story if I was 5. Must read free kindle descriptions better before downloading.

[Kathi Olsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series that would probably be fun for girls about 10 years old. It is actually more of historical fiction as the stories are based on the life of the author's grandmother.

[Gwynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read fir children. Ociee had wonderful adventures.