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Charlotte's Rose

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I will carry that baby to Zion,” I shout at them, “just see if I don’t!”

Well! I did it! I have left them all quite speechless.


In 1856, 12-year-old Charlotte and her widowed father are members of a Welsh handcart company on the Mormon Trail, so poor they cannot afford wagons but must push carts from Iowa City to Utah. When a woman in the company dies giving birth, and her husband is too distraught to care for the baby girl, Charlotte grandly offers to care for the baby, whom she names Rose. But taking care of Rose turns out to be much harder than Charlotte expected. She’s stuck; she can’t give Rose back. As she struggles along the trail with the infant, she comes to love Rose, and to dream of life with “her” baby, even though Papa and others remind her that she will have to give Rose back to her father when they part ways at the end of the trail.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2002

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About the author

Ann Edwards Cannon

16 books27 followers
My name is Ann Edwards ("A. E.") Cannon, and I write books for young readers, as well as a weekly column for the Deseret News. I also teach creative writing and work as a bookseller at the famous King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City. My husband, Ken, and I have five (count 'em) sons, two daughters-in-law, no grandchildren (not yet, anyway) two parakeets, one parrot, two cats, and two dogs. One of the dogs weighs (no kidding) 160 pounds.

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5 stars
231 (34%)
4 stars
282 (42%)
3 stars
131 (19%)
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18 (2%)
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3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews
Profile Image for Jessica.
Author 26 books5,924 followers
July 29, 2014
A beautiful book.

In simple prose, Cannon tells the story of 13-year-old Charlotte, who is emigrating from Wales to Utah with her father and other Mormon converts. From a poor mining community, they will walk across the plains carrying everything they have in a small handcart. But shortly into their trek a woman does in childbirth, and Charlotte volunteers to care for the child. A gentle and sincere book.
Profile Image for Jody Kyburz.
1,351 reviews17 followers
October 3, 2011
Wow! This book sucked me right in. But of course, it's HISTORICAL FICTION! I started to read this book aloud to my students in preparation for the author's visit, but I cannot continue. Although the author and I are members of the same Church, I feel uncomfortable reading aloud about Joseph's First Vision and other doctrinal things. It's too close to mixing Church and State. I was afraid I would be getting some phone calls from some parents. Also, the book mentions a woman who died from bleeding after giving birth, a thirteen year old girl's onset of mennstruation, and a woman's white breast while nursing a baby. None of these things was graphic or inappropriate to the book. I certainly wasn't offended. As much as I would like to share this book with my fifth graders, I just can't in a school setting. There are too many coming-of-age things that the parents might pounce on me about...do you other teachers agree? I can't risk this. However, I wish I could market this book or promote it for the author...I guess my best attempt would be by giving it 5 stars on Goodreads. I cried. I loved it. I felt so many emotions while reading it. Hence, it's a great book!
Profile Image for Beth Given.
1,550 reviews61 followers
March 26, 2013
This book is at the intersection of a couple of my favorite genres; it's both a pioneer story and a coming-of-age story. I liked following spunky thirteen-year-old Charlotte across the plains as she grows from a girl to a woman. She learns a lot about herself as she cares for a friend's baby, Rose. And there are plenty of other interesting supporting characters that help fill out the company: Charlotte's supportive and kind father, a widowed young mother who struggles with depression, a mysterious woman who is slowly befriended by Charlotte's family, and the "boy next door" who takes a fancy to Charlotte over "the Elizabeths."

While this is a book about the Mormon handcart pioneers, religion plays a rather neutral role in the story compared to other handcart pioneer books I've read (Gerald Lund's or Sandra Dallas's) -- the author was quite successful in making the story about the pioneers themselves and not about Mormonism or polygamy.

This book is appropriate and accessible to younger girls, but I found it to be well-written enough that adults would enjoy it as well -- a quick, enjoyable read. Thanks to my mother-in-law for gifting this one to me.
Profile Image for Karen.
453 reviews3 followers
November 17, 2008
This is one of my favorite comfort books--- books which I read multiple times, when I'm in the mood for an old friend. This book seems to be the perfect metaphor for how I feel about parenting. Starting out over-confident, not realizing how hard it would really be. Then once you discover the joy of it, you realize the children aren't really yours anyway.

This is also the best fictionalized story of the Mormon pioneer handcart history that I have ever read.
Profile Image for Kimberly.
146 reviews2 followers
April 7, 2019
Typically, I do not care for fictional pioneer tales. This story was unexpectedly good. Young Charlotte heading to Utah from Wales with her father and other members of her Welsh community lead the reader on a journey through the eyes of this young girl. Charlotte has a good imagination but cannot read or write to put her words onto paper. This line gives the reader the perfect visual, “My head is just a cupboard. I open it up and the stories are waiting for me on the shelves.” Charlotte is irreverent which makes the story even better, “Dear God. . . .I know I asked you to make Sister Roberts slip and fall on the deck. But a rat is a much better idea. Thank you.” Of course the journey is hard, but literally bearing the burden of a newborn strapped to the back of Charlotte, makes it even harder while being the heart of the story. Teenage readers will have a better understanding of the sacrifices, pain, and flat-out misery, of the pioneer journeys. The humor sprinkled throughout the book will add enjoyment to the reading experience.
110 reviews
January 23, 2022
This is a YA HF novel about the hardships and survival of a group of Mormon emigrants as they travel from Wales to Salt Lake City. It is based upon the true stories of the emigrants; pulling handcarts from Iowa City, IA across the plains to Utah.
Profile Image for SaraKat.
1,977 reviews38 followers
October 30, 2019
I read this book because it was listed in my children's literature textbook. It was mentioned as an example of unexpected insights that are revealed during reading. I was hesitant at first because I'm not really a huge fan of religious fiction, but I do love historical fiction and this book didn't preach too strongly at the reader, so I ended up loving it. It was interesting to learn a little of the history behind the Mormon church and basic teachings while following the group across the Great Plains pulling their little handcarts behind them. I thought Charlotte was a wonderful character and felt very real. She is part of a very religious group and she is faithful without being too tedious or didactic. Her whole group was great and well fleshed out and I loved her father as well.

It's always a miracle to me, the way my father loves me even when I don't love myself.


THAT! I never could have worded the love of a parent for a child as well. :) I am lucky to have had that miracle myself.

And the religious views portrayed in this book are very inclusive and not judgmental. The characters seem to be welcoming and friendly to all kinds. Charlotte remembers a Bible verse while wondering about their lives and how things would be different in Utah and worries about being accepted.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind.


Her father answers her worries:

I believe that God allows for differences in his children


Charlotte and her group are mostly Welsh and there is some long-standing bad blood between them and the English. I thought this was a nice lesson from Charlotte:

...Sister Bown's family was from England originally. I try to remember this sometimes when I am busy hating the English. Sister Bowen proves that there are good people from every country. I suppose.


Charlotte made me laugh with her youthful ideas of marriage and her future husband. She decided at different times to stay unmarried forever and also to marry and have many children and grandchildren. She considers the things they've heard of about men having more than one wife (none of her group practices this)

Really, how can two women share one man? Maybe it helps if you don't like him much but think he's useful when it comes to chopping firewood. I once overheard the Widow Rogers say she wouldn't mind marrying a polygamist when she gets to Utah because then she'd have other women to help her put up with the burden of living with a man.


The main thrust of the story is Charlotte's impulsive offer to take care of a newborn baby who was left without a mother. She is barely 13 and has no experience with younger brothers or sisters, so it is rather funny watching her fumble her way through some of the typical child-rearing mistakes. She doesn't believe everyone who says that the irritating baby who keeps her awake at night and is so much trouble will grow on her. She says she will be glad to get rid of her when they get there, but of course, the readers know that she will become attached. We don't realize how much until
Profile Image for Shauna.
354 reviews13 followers
May 28, 2008
We are enjoying this book about Charlotte Edwards, a thirteen year old, motherless Welsh LDS pioneer girl crossing the prairie with her father in a handcart company. Charlotte impetuously volunteers to carry a baby whose mother died in childbirth until the grieving father will claim her. Written in journal like format, the stories are funny and describe pioneer life and the work involved in carrying for an infant. This actually won some sort of book award, and is not typical LDS fiction. (Which I tend to avoid) The author (LaVell Edwards' daughter) gathers several pioneer stories and weaves them into her narrative. We are enjoying it because my family is Welsh and crossed the prairie in wagon trains and handcart companies, so it feels like we are reading about our own ancestors. My mother's maiden name is Edwards, so it may well be so!
Profile Image for Shelley.
2,509 reviews161 followers
August 12, 2007
Ran across the summary on a bib and tracked down the book. I couldn't put it down! I absolutely adored Charlotte and loved following her story. I did keep forgetting that she was only 13, but that's a minor quibble. It was so well characterized and written, I may track it down to buy and share with Claire, who also loves history.

It was a pioneer story, which I've been itching to read more of lately, but it was the story of Mormon immigrants, walking with their handcarts to Utah. Not a story I'm well familiar with, and I appreciated the insight into the religion and the followers. I'd have liked to read more about these characters.
Profile Image for Ann Woodbury Moore.
831 reviews6 followers
November 6, 2022
A children's book (middle-school) about Mormon pioneers crossing the plains to Utah in 1856. Cannon does an excellent job portraying the Welsh immigrants, converts to Mormonism, in plain, clear terms that a non-Mormon can understand. Her novel focuses less on religion than on their tedious, difficult journey pushing handcarts in high summer. Charlotte's group includes children and adults both old and young; widows and widowers, a single woman with a mysterious scar, the humble and the proud. When a wife dies in childbirth, Charlotte--coping with puberty and the challenge of being "in-between" a girl and a grown-up--declares to the doubting women that she will carry the baby she names Rose all the way, on her back. This proves more complex than Charlotte expected, and she has very mixed feelings about her oath, the baby, and her friend John. I liked Charlotte, who is no prim, sweet angel but a very real girl who often feels frustrated and confused, but also possesses courage and creativity. I loved her kind, gentle, patient father. And I appreciated a realistic pioneer story that managed to avoid both horrendous disasters and cheesy "lessons to learn." At book's end, one of the women throws her handcart and its meager possessions off a cliff so that she can enter "Zion" free of encumbrances. One of my ancestors--who also traveled to Utah via handcart, although from England--is reported to have likewise smashed her cart, but because she wanted to declare her independence from this trying experience! (The Utah Mormons sent out wagons to help bring her handcart company into Salt Lake, and she happily rode into Zion!) Interesting factoid--A.E. (Ann Edwards) Cannon was an English major at Brigham Young University at the same time I was, and I sat next to her once at an awards banquet. (It was a huge program, and I don't recall having any classes together.)
Profile Image for Cheryl.
1,314 reviews71 followers
December 28, 2017
My sister-in-law handed over a bunch of books she was done with so that I could give them away at book festivals in the spring. She told me that I had to read this one. This is a story of a young Welsh girl who is part of a Mormon handcart company making the journey to Utah in 1856. I grew up in Utah and am a Mormon, so Iam familiar with the basics of the story of poor families pushing and pulling their belongings across the prairies to their new home. Seeing it all through the eyes of 13 year old girl was enlightening. I cried through the last 50+ pages. It was a well told story and I see why my sister-in-law recommended it. I was surprised and pleased to see that the author (listed on the book jacket as A. E. Cannon) is someone I was acquainted with slightly shortly before the book was published. It is a reminder that writing a book is not out of the question for someone like me.
Profile Image for Deb.
543 reviews5 followers
October 20, 2024
This was a touching story about a young Welsh immigrant girl, Charlotte, who, with her father (her mother is dead), is crossing the plains to the Salt Lake Valley to be with others who had joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When a young mother dies on the trial leaving a newborn infant, and the baby's grief stricken father refuses to care for her, Charlotte volunteers to care for and cary the baby all the way to Utah. This was a lovely well-written story, and while it is a work of fiction, many of the events were based on the experiences of real Mormon pioneers. When I finished this book, I had a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye, and that means it gets 5/5 stars.
Profile Image for Tamsen.
200 reviews
February 6, 2018
Such a good book! A historical fiction about pioneer immigrants who are in a handcart company crossing the plains to get to Utah. It is a story of Love, loss, sacrifice,hardships and the strength of community. There are many great lessons to be taken from this book. It is a story about a young feisty welsh girl who after a mother dies giving birth to her baby offers to carry that baby on her back to Utah. Beautifully written.
Profile Image for Maria.
57 reviews
February 22, 2021
I liked a lot of things about this book. I liked that a young teenager took on a monumental task and learned and grew as she accomplished it. I liked that the whole group did whatever was necessary to help each other on the journey. I liked reading about how strong they became by the end of the story - physically and emotionally and spiritually. I like that it made me feel like I can do hard things.
31 reviews
July 2, 2020
Perfect pioneer story! I am mostly done with reading it to my 9 yr old daughter and together we have fallen in love with spunky Charolette. We read a chapter a night but I had to read ahead and finish it tonight. The book is delightful, moves at a good pace and is full of fun. It is inspiring for sure, I cried several times. Shhhhh . . . I’ll finish it with my daughter soon.
Profile Image for Susan Jane.
172 reviews
September 11, 2019
Love this book! It was given to me in early Jr High as a gift. Even though it’s written for a much younger audience, I loved pulling it out to read again. Fun, quick read if you’re looking for a Historical Fiction about the Mormon Pioneers.
Profile Image for Mandie Casey.
27 reviews
March 20, 2020
Beautiful coming-of-age story. One of my favorites. Chose the hard day today life that the pioneers faced crossing the plains as well as showing a girl willing to sacrifice part of her childhood for a baby who's father couldn't handle being a single parent just yet.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
5 reviews
July 29, 2025
This book was really cute, about a pioneer girl and a baby she takes care of. The girl is 12-13 in this book, so she deals with things typical 12-13 year olds deal with, which adds humor to this book. The ending of the book felt pretty abrupt, but I did enjoy it.
70 reviews
August 4, 2019
I loved this book. It's a sweet historical fiction, and I just fell in love with the main character.
Profile Image for Heatherterrybell.
680 reviews4 followers
March 22, 2020
Sweet little story that made me want to learn more about my pioneer ancestors.
Profile Image for Aleatha.
58 reviews11 followers
July 19, 2020
"This noble thing you have done will never be forgotten."

It's been many years since I've read Mormon fiction this enjoyable. Very well done.
Profile Image for Shay.
491 reviews47 followers
June 27, 2018
This is a special story. It touched my heart. Walking that many miles was treacherous. I don't know how Charlotte did it, and with a baby! Rose wasn't even her own, but she cared for her as if she was. That's an amazing feat. She was strong and stubborn.
Profile Image for Nora Winterton.
103 reviews1 follower
July 29, 2018
I really liked this book! It is the perfect book to read in July, because the story is told by Charlotte, a Welsh girl who is crossing the plains to get to Salt Lake City!
Profile Image for Doreen.
58 reviews1 follower
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June 21, 2010
Summary: This story tells about the experience of the pioneers that travelled from Wales to get to Zion in Utah. Charlotte narrates her feelings and the things that she sees as she travels with her dad. Shortly after starting their journey to Utah, one of Charlotte’s pregnant friends dies while giving birth. The husband of the pregnant woman is so grief stricken by the passing of his wife that he neglects the baby. The women that he is travelling with rally around him, and decide they will take care of the baby for him until he returns to normal. Charlotte, who is only thirteen, hears the women talking about the new baby and says that she will carry the baby to Zion all by herself. Along the way she receives help from her dad and the women. Charlotte names the baby Rose. As they head to Utah, Charlotte tells her thoughts of Rose’s father. The longer she is with Rose, the more she feels like Rose is her baby. When they are only a few days away from getting to Utah, Rose gets deathly ill and only by a miracle does she survive through the night. They finally get to Utah and Rose’s father approaches Charlotte telling him that he is ready to care for his daughter now. At first she refused to give Rose away; she was the one who cared for Rose and loved her all along the way. She soon decides that Rose’s rightful home is with her dad. After taking care of Rose, Charlotte no longer felt like a child, but a woman.

Comments: Charlotte kept feeling like she was forgetting the memories she had of her mother and did not want to give away Rose because she thought she would forget what she was like. When she said this in the book, I was reminded of one of the things she said in the beginning, “Why is it that the things you don’t want to remember stay with you like the throb of a toothache (pg. 40)?” As much as she probably would not like to remember her journey to Utah because of how hard of a trip it was, she would not be able to push away an experience as life changing as that. Because of this, I was convinced that she would not forget Rose when she finally decided to give Rose back to her father, and I believe she felt the same way too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Aida.
140 reviews
May 13, 2020
The first time I read this book, I was in the 4th grade, lying in a hospital bed, recovering from a particularly acute case of appendicitis. The recovery time was long, the time in the hospital punctuated by a lot of pain in different parts of my body, and not great food. BUT- there was this book.

It was a gift from a co-worker of my father, and that meant it was A NEW BOOK. Being someone who read voraciously meant that every new book was a call for celebration. They weren't always easy to come by, books that were new and belonged to me. I needed a lot of rest, so a book that would have taken me 2 days to read took me a week of recovery time, and I spent a lot of time alongside Charlotte as she cared for Rose and observed the difficulties of the trail to Zion.

This book, in comparison to 'Bound For Oregon', which I recently reviewed, is a far less preachy and much more nuanced perspective of the settlement period in the United States, and the Native American reaction to it. Charlotte is a Welsh immigrant, escaping the oppressive English governance. While she also reacts with fear initially to Native Americans in one encounter, she later comes to view them as the saviors of their party, when they arrive in the middle of the trail, as the only opportunity to trade for food, and also the providers of what they are able to trade in the first place.

The Mormon perspective on religion, Zion, and how they are received by Christians is taken here, but not in a way that's meant to convert. This is clearly a historical fiction, showing the strong beliefs of this group, the strength and joy their faith offers them, and the resulting culture they cherish. The emotional maturity and complexity shown in this book as we watch Charlotte grow up as she travels and cares for Rose touches me each time I read this book, and the guidance she receives from various adults, the open opportunity she has to mourn her mother with her father, and her ability to carry on in the face of everything, I think, gave me strength when I first read it, and gives me strength even now.
Profile Image for Toni.
100 reviews24 followers
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March 21, 2011
Charlotte Edwards kicks butt! She is now one of my favorite characters in literature. When the going gets tough, Charlotte gets tougher. Never mind being a teenage girl and the messy experience of the "first blood": add to that, leaving your homeland and crossing the American plains while taking care of a newborn baby and mourning your own recently deceased mother and enduring the teasings of the teenage boys and surviving a food shortage and proving the adults wrong. Whew! The odds are against her, but Charlotte triumphs as only Charlotte could.

Through Charlotte, Ann Cannon relates the inspiring true story of a young Mormon pioneer journeying to Zion in 1856. The dialogue is realistic and entertaining, as the travelers share humor and joy along the trail. I enjoyed the portrayal of Welsh pride as well as Charlotte's snarky comments about some of her fellow Welshmen. With a touch of magical realism, Cannon reveals the great faith and hope of the Mormon pioneers. In fact, she introduces the beliefs and values of the early Mormon church in such a way that she does not alienate her audience. In essence, as the characters who are newly baptized members learn about the church, so do the readers.

I would recommend this historical fiction to anyone interested in the beginnings of America and the pioneer legacy of the Mormon church. Or to anyone who wants to read about a girl who kicks butt!
Profile Image for Penny Johnson.
113 reviews7 followers
February 14, 2014
As a descendant of Mormon pioneers, I'm surprised I had never heard of this book. (My daughter tells me she owns it, so where have I been???) A.E. Cannon has presented an account that heightened my appreciation of my ancestors more than any 24th of July activity ever has. The characters in this story were human; with bitterness, grief, and depression they had to walk through just as certainly as they had to walk through the barren plains. Pioneer children did more than just sing as they walked and walked and walked.

Catherine Jones' entrance into the Salt Lake Valley made me cheer out loud. "[She] turns, gives her handcart a shove, and sends it crashing down the mountainside. 'Now I enter my new life as I entered my old one. With no possession to my name! With nothing but my stout heart!" How grateful I am for a stout-hearted heritage!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews

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