These is My Words by Nancy E Turner

These is My Words by Nancy E Turner

Inspired by the author's original family memoirs, this absorbing novel introduces students to the questing, indomitable Sarah Prine, one of the most memorable women ever to survive and prevail in the Arizona Territory of the late 1800s.aRich in authentic details of daily life and etched with striking character portraits of very different pioneer families, this action-packed novel will immerse students in the heartbreak and wonder of the frontier experience.aSarah's incredible story leads readers into a vanished world that comes vividly to life again, while her struggles with work and home, love and responsibility will resonate with the students of today. These Is My Words is a passionate celebration of a remarkable life, exhilarating and gripping from the first page to the last.aQuestions for class discussion are included. For instance: aAlthough she remains -quaintly unsophisticated' throughout her life, Sarah's thirst for education fuels much of the plot. How does her education change her and those around her? What other themes are woven through the novel?aaFrom These Is My WordsaDecember 25, 1881aI climbed up inside and found the dearest treasure I think I have ever seen. The wagon bed was lined with boxes of books. Books and books, stacked and packed in rows...Some of them were story books, some of them seemed to be schoolbooks, and were about things I don't know of, and one is a magical book, with a big D on it, a book of words to learn to spell and what they mean.aSeptember 1, 1888aApril's first day at school. I walked with her almost all the way there...When she was gone, a strange feeling came over me, and I sat at my kitchen table and put my face in my hands. I am terribly envious of my own child. She has no idea what a blessing is being handed to her, and I can only dream of what I might have learned if I had ever lived near a school.

TURNER was born in Dallas, Texas, and now lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband. Sarah's Quilt, a finalist for the Willa Cather Prize, and the bestselling These Is My Words, winner of One Book Arizona in 2008, are the first two books in the Sarah Agnes Prine trilogy.