Nine for California by Sonia Levitin is a happy-go-lucky telling of a journey across the country in a stage coach. A mother with five children join a banker, cowboy, and teacher on a twenty-one day trip to California. The mother fills a large bag with supplies in the way some monthers just know how to do.
What's in the bag? There's a rag to mop up a baby's spit-up. She's packed sugar lumps to quiet the five children and string to play cat's cradle. This mom prompts her family to recall the names of plants, animals, presidents, states, countries, and oceans. They all sing, first in English and then in pig Latin. This mom has corn pone to give attacking Indians and licorice for everyone. I didn't know that a jar of red pepper would cause a herd of buffalo to sneeze and change direction!
It's a long, adventure filled ride. When silliness is called for, this book fits the bill. Illustrations by Cat Bowman Smith border on the cartoonish, which is appropriate for this version of history.
