An Outlaw Thanksgiving

Heading west by train in 1896 to join her father, young Clara finds herself a guest at a most unusual Thanksgiving dinner in this engaging work of picture-book historical fiction. When their train is stopped in its tracks by snow, Clara and her mother accompany another passenger, Mr. Jones, to his friends' home in Brown's Hole, Utah, where they are treated to a lavish dinner. Only Clara recognizes that one of their hosts - the unassuming Bob - is in fact the famous outlaw, Butch Cassidy...

Author/illustrator Emily Arnold McCully, who won the Caldecott Medal in 1993 for Mirette on the High Wire, based her story in An Outlaw Thanksgiving on an actual Thanksgiving Day feast thrown by Butch Cassidy and the other outlaws of Brown's Hole. She show more simply added the fictional characters of Clara and her mother, in order to provide a child's-eye-view of the proceedings. I found the story here engaging, but what really lifted the reading experience were McCully's lovely illustrations, done in watercolor and tempera. One really gets the feeling of falling into the past, while perusing the artwork here! Recommended to picture-book readers looking for unusual Thanksgiving stories, or for tales of the outlaws of the Wild West. show less

Borrowed from my local's suggestion shelf, intended as a road trip read for the kids. (Uncertain either read it.)

I read after Thanksgiving, it's quick and I wondered if it would be saccharine and/or a rehash of the typical U.S. Thanksgiving origin story. It isn't, instead offering up trains, a nice 1890s vibe, and an unpredictable story between a naif and the residents of Brown's Hole, Utah.

Clara was a dynamic character because her opinion of outlaws changed during the story. She starts on her journey with her mother across the US to go meet her father in California. She is warned by her father to keep her eyes open for the adventure before her. Clara sees a poster of Butch Cassidy an outlaw in 1896. She wonders about how violent and mean he must be. The train gets snowed in and Clara and her mother take a sleigh with some cowhands to a city called Brown's Hole in Utah. They are stuck there for several days during Thanksgiving. There is a huge feast and thanksgiving party that they were invited to. Clara recognizes one very polite man from the poster at the station, Butch Cassidy, Her mother is unaware and doesn't tell her show more that she knows. He gives her a new coin to remember their thanksgiving banquet and the adventure. She keeps it too herself and probably told her father when they arrived. It was an interesting historical book about a true thanksgiving banquet held in 1896. show less

Author and illustrator Emily Arnold McCully's picture book tells the story of a railroad journey to California in 1896 through the eyes of a young girl. When their train is blocked by snow, the girl and her mother unknowingly celebrate Thanksgiving with outlaws including Butch Cassidy. The author includes information which illuminates the public's growing anger with California's "Robber Barons".

Another great book by Emily Arnold McCully. She based the story on an actually Thanksgiving feast held by the notorious outlaws. It's a historical fiction book so it could be a fun addition to a class while studying the time period and the "Wild West". The artwork is really great and ads to the feel of the time period the book takes place in.

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