Books like Tree of Freedom — picked by fans

I loved and identified with Suzanne, an imaginative dreamer in a practical family and greedy for learning.

1850s and ‘60s Iowa history is viewed through a family chronicle and a satisfying slow-burn romance. Song of Years was part of the inspiration for my first (practically unreadable) novel, written in high school with an antagonist named after one of Aldrich’s characters.

The poetic descriptions of nature and the details of food and clothing helped immerse me in that world. 

I loved Wilder’s entire Little House series and read them several times, but this was the most memorable.

I found Laura’s voice thoroughly engaging and identified with her shyness, and the realistic details of pioneer life, and in this case, of survival, fascinated me. I especially appreciated the Ingalls family’s ability to experience the joy of simple pleasures and activities. I had to laugh when Charles lamented their dependence on newfangled inventions like kerosene and railroads.

When I read it most recently, I found it even more meaningful after learning that one of my ancestors also lived in South Dakota during the brutal winter of 1880-81. 

I’ve read this at least twenty times and still love it, and it still makes me cry.

It’s the first of Thane’s Williamsburg series but easily stands alone. I was about eleven when my mother recommended it and my sister and I began reading it aloud to each other. I loved the characters, led by young Tibby Mawes and Julian Day, the schoolmaster she adores.

I also love the wealth of rich historical detail, including lavish descriptions of clothing and food, and of course, the romantic complications amidst the American Revolution. When I visit Williamsburg, instead of thinking about colonial history, I find myself saying, “Here’s the apothecary shop where Tibby went to buy medicine for Kit,” and “Here’s where Julian picked Tibby up after her arm was broken.”

I loved the story of sixteen-year-old Lizzie, who married Mister Stonecypher in 1837 because “she wouldn’t have hurt his feelings for the world.”

All of the classic pioneer story elements are here, as backdrop to the tale of Lizzie and Wash coming to know and love each other. I loved the grit and authenticity and the touches of humor. I felt compelled to keep reading, especially during a harrowing journey through a blizzard, and was emotionally engaged from start to finish. 

Lofaro portrays the other side of the coin, describing the amazing career of an American legend – the restless, fearless Daniel Boone, who took the settlers’ side during the relentless expansion westwards onto Native lands. After a personal exploration of Kentucky territory, Boone raised a large body of settlers, guided them to the territory, and created a community guarded by forts he helped to construct. Boone took the lead in fighting the Natives who objected to the intrusion.

To the American mind, this man is the epitome of the American frontiersman and Lofaro’s book reveals all sides of his complex personality while describing the Revolutionary War conflict in the mid-west. Notably, Boone was not without sympathy for the Natives’ plight. Of course, he crossed paths with many British partisans and their Native allies who vigorously attacked the Kentucky settlements. (Appropriately, this book was published in Kentucky.)

While learning letters youngsters can also learn about the most exciting two minutes in sports. Jaime Corum's illustrations are deeply moving and the action springs to life through them and the poetry that Helen Wilbur's words provide. Although a young reader wouldn't be able to read the book to themselves, that is actually a benefit. I love how the book demands that an adult sit down, slow time, and enjoy it with the youngster they are reading to. There is no more beautiful ride than that.

Kentucky is not a place many consider to have an adventure. Think again once you know what strange beasts lurk in its mountainous realms! Alex Gayhart is, full disclosure, a frequent collaborator of mine as an illustrator. Part of the reason I like working with him is that he understands that real life influences the fantastic because it’s often more bizarre than you can imagine. As a native of the state, his menagerie of invented Kentucky creatures draws from cultural jokes and hilarious satire in a way that makes one see myth in the most mundane places.

I was put off by the title of this book because of the name, Morrow Little. I mean, who has a name like that? Plus, I wasn’t a fan of stories set in the 1700s American frontier. But a friend insisted I read it, and yeah, my friend knew me well. I wanted to run away with this hero, but no spoilers here. Morrow Little embodies every woman looking for honest love and she has the courage to pursue it. Or follow it. You be the judge. Because of this story, I’ve read every other Laura Frantz book I could find. She has a way of capturing the setting and atmosphere and dropping you right in the middle of it.

I have long been interested in the history of US religion but a lot of religious history can be, well, boring. Harlow’s book is not. People interested in the Civil War often forget about the role religious belief played in the lives of 19th-century Americans, preferring to focus on military strategy or the politics of emancipation and Reconstruction. Harlow’s book foregrounds religion and shows how pro-slavery theology united Kentuckians even as they split over the war. And how that same theology helps explain why they turned their back on their wartime Unionism and embraced the Lost Cause version of events.

Jim Klotter, Kentucky’s preeminent historian, takes an obscure nineteenth-century Kentucky Superior Court Judge, Richard Reid, and uses his life and death to understand the tragic ways southern honor forced men to prove themselves. John Jay Cornelison attacked Reid at his law Mount Sterling law office in 1884, setting off an unexpected series of events. Reid’s story reveals the conflicts between old, traditional southern ways, and the new urban, industrial order, and Klotter tells it masterfully. The book is filled with suspense and sharp analysis, but it is also a quick read.