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Twelve-year-old Mary and her older brother and sister tend the family farm on Michigan's Mackinac Island while their father is away fighting the British in the War of 1812.Tags
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Member Reviews
Once On This Island is a very nicely done YA story about how one family was affected by the war of 1812. There are three children, the oldest a girl of sixteen, a brother, and the youngest sister, Mary, twelve, who is the narrator of this story. Their mother died giving birth to Mary, and now they and their father are working their family farm on Mackinac Island. But there was trouble across the ocean, and it was heading their way. Papa takes up arms to resist the British, expecting to leave his children in charge of the farm for the season.
The lilacs of Mackinac Island are now calling to me, and I must visit.
The lilacs of Mackinac Island are now calling to me, and I must visit.
It is the summer of 1812 and war has erupted between England and the United States, casting its dark shadow as far as remote, beautiful Mackinac Island. There, young Mary O'Shea suffers many losses. British troops conquer the island. Her beloved father joins the American army on the mainland. And her best friend Gavin, an Indian orphan raised by white settlers, leaves his adoptive home to return to his tribe.
-from the back cover of 'Once On This Island'
A great book if you're looking for a fun read mixed with history! Be sure to read the next two books in the series 'Farewell to the Island' and 'Return to the Island'
Good for any age.
-from the back cover of 'Once On This Island'
A great book if you're looking for a fun read mixed with history! Be sure to read the next two books in the series 'Farewell to the Island' and 'Return to the Island'
Good for any age.
Particularly good because it is set during the War of 1812, an event sorely neglected in most grade school education.
Signed by the author.
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Honey For a Child's Heart
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Author Information
70+ Works 12,380 Members
Gloria Whelan was born on November 23, 1923 in Detroit, Michigan. She took a strong interest in reading early in life when she was bedridden for a year with rheumatic fever. She dictated stories to her sister who would then type them. She then went on to writing poetry and later editing her high school newspaper. She attended the University of show more Michigan and earned her B.S.degree and M.S.W. degree. She began working as a social worker in Minneapolis and Detroit. She soon became tired of Detroit's hectic pace and moved to a cabin in northern Michigan.This peace was disrupted by an oil company 's desire to drill on her property. Because she did not own the mineral rights, the drilling proceeded. This experience inspired Gloria Whelan to write her children's novel, A Clearing in the Forest in 1978, which was about a boy working on an oilrig. Gloria Whelan has written several works of fiction for children and adults, many set in rural Michigan. She has also written stories set in exotic places like China and India. She won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2000 for Homeless Bird - the story of a young woman in India abandoned by her mother-in-law. show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
Notable Lists
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Once on This Island
- Original publication date
- 1993
- People/Characters
- Mary O'Shea; Gavin, Jacques' friend
- Important places
- Mackinac Island, Michigan, USA; Michigan, USA
- Important events
- War of 1812
- Dedication
- For Barbara and Mike
- First words
- We live on an island and the world comes to us over the water.
- Quotations
- Napoleon was marching across Europe. The English were boarding American sailing ships, taking American sailors away and forcing them to become members of the British navy.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)In the spring the gulls would return over the water, and so would Jacques and Gavin and someday Angelique. For on an island the world comes to you over the water.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Kids, Children's Books
- DDC/MDS
- 813.54 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PZ7 .W5718 .O — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 540
- Popularity
- 55,067
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (3.88)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 9
