The Golly Sisters Go West by Betsy Cromer Byars

The Golly Sisters Go West by Betsy Cromer Byars

A funny introduction to pioneer life, perfect for classrooms and homeschoolers

The Golly Sisters are heading west. They've got new dresses and the best show on either side of the Mississippi. But can they keep their act together long enough to get this show on the road? Find out in this hilarious tale of the old west

The Golly Sisters Go West by Newbery medalist Betsy Byars is a Level Three I Can Read, which means it contains a complex plot and challenging vocabulary--just right for the newly independent reader.

As Carol Hurst's BooksInTheClassroom site comments: Byars has the ability to construct believable, often loveable characters who face some of life's greatest hurdles. Her humor is visible everywhere as is her empathy with the difficulties faced by many children. She writes for many ages and her easy to read books are wonderful fare.

Betsy Byars began her writing career rather late in life. In all of my school years, . . . not one single teacher ever said to me, 'Perhaps you should consider becoming a writer, ' Byars recalls. Anyway, I didn't want to be a writer. Writing seemed boring. You sat in a room all day by yourself and typed. If I was going to be a writer at all, I was going to be a foreign correspondent like Claudette Colbert in Arise My Love. I would wear smashing hats, wisecrack with the guys, and have a byline known round the world. My father wanted me to be a mathematician. So Byars set out to become mathematician, but when she couldn't grasp calculus in college, she turned to English. Even then, writing was not on her immediate horizon.

First, she married and started a family. The writing career didn't emerge until she was 28, a mother of two children, and living in a small place she called the barracks apartment, in Urbana, Illinois. She and her husband, Ed, had moved there in 1956 so he could attend graduate school at the University of Illinois. She was bored, had no friends, and so turned to writing to fill her time. Byars started writing articles for The Saturday Evening Post, Look, and other magazines. As her family grew and her children started to read, she began to write books for young people and, fortunately for her readers, discovered that there was more to being a writer than sitting in front of a typewriter.

Making up stories and characters is so interesting that I'm never bored. Each book has been a different writing experience. It takes me about a year to write a book, but I spend another year thinking about it, polishing it, and making improvements. I always put something of myself intomy books -- something that happened to me. Once a wanderer came by my house and showed me how to brush my teeth with a cherry twig; that went in The House of Wingscopyright (c) 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780833547095
Title	The Golly Sisters Go West
Author	Betsy Cromer Byars
Series	I Can Read Level 3
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Turtleback Books
Year published	2003-02-18
Number of pages	64
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.