Susan Marlow has a genuine enthusiasm for writing, and this shines through in Andrea Carter’s Tales from the Circle C Ranch. This short story collection serves as a bridge between the Circle C Beginnings and Circle C Milestones series of books. Inspired by questions from her fans, Susan wrote Tales from the Circle C Ranch as a companion book to Andi’s other adventures.
The short story format of Tales from the Circle C Ranch is ideal for young readers, and the longer stories are even divided into short chapters. The divisions in the book make it manageable for bedtime reading. I haven’t read the other Circle C books, but it was easy to read Tales from the Circle C Ranch as a stand-alone book. The characters and plot are developed fully, and background information is provided to get readers up to speed on who’s who in the series. Susan’s beautifully descriptive writing pulls you into the story and immerses you in the setting. These elements make this book not only a wonderful companion book to the series, but also a nice introduction to the series for newbies:
My friendship with Virginia Foster, the schoolmaster’s daughter, started warming up a little after I saved her life. I convinced the escaped convict, Jed Hatton, to take me hostage instead fo Virginia. That was a scary time, and losing my memory for three long weeks afterward did not help (p. 96).
Set in the 1800s, much of the storyline revolves around horses and outdoor fun. These stories are geared toward girls, but like many other books with a female main character (the Little House series for one) boys can certainly read and enjoy these books as well. My son has read some of the Goldtown Adventures books by Susan Marlow, and Tales from the Circle C Ranch is similar in style and theme. He particularly likes the story, “Prince Loco, Chad’s Crazy Horse” in this volume. This is a fun time period to read about, and the wholesome nature of Susan’s books means they are a pleasure to share with my kids.
The publisher sent me a review copy of Tales from the Circle C Ranch.
Leave a Reply