Callahan Crossroads

CALLAHAN CROSSROADS

by Anola Pickett

Grown-ups said us kids could help our country win. Eat more corn. Give up sugar. Buy Thrift stamps. Collect prune pits. After a whole year doing this sissy stuff, we still hadn’t won.

I wasn’t old enough to enlist, but this summer I’d do something dangerous. Something tough and brave.

Twelve-year-old George’s family won’t take him seriously. He’s ready to fight like a man on the front lines of the Great War, but instead he gets stuck on the home front, with nothing more exciting to do than look out for his younger sisters and elderly neighbor, Mrs. Schmitt.

But with no sign of victory in Europe, things are getting more and more tense at home, especially after George’s older brother makes a startling announcement.

Set in 1918 Kansas City, this old-fashioned family drama brings you to the heart of the World War I home front. Issue-driven and entertaining, it’s a coming-of-age story that will still resonate with readers today.

About the Author

Anola Pickett is a Kansas City native, and although she’s lived in Chicago, St. Louis and Massachusetts, she’s always come back home. The oldest of six children, she grew up in a family that emphasized the importance of reading and education. She began writing stories in the third grade and went on to become a teacher and school librarian. Now retired from the classroom, she devotes a big part of her day to writing and research for historical novels for young readers. She especially prizes the stories her parents and grandmother told about their growing-up years in Kansas City.

Pickett enjoys school and library visits to talk about her books and about the craft of writing. She and her husband Peter Doyle enjoy traveling, especially to Hong Kong, where they visit their son and daughter-in-law and a beautiful red-haired granddaughter!