Storyteller

By: Patricia Reilly Giff

When a business trips sends her dad out of the country, Elizabeth must stay with an aunt

she barely knows.  At her aunt's home, Elizabeth is captivated by a drawing of a colonial girl hanging on her aunt's wall.  Suddenly, she realizes the girl in the drawing looks almost exactly like her!  Elizabeth's aunt shares that this girl was known as Zee and is an ancestor of hers from the time of Revolutionary War.  Then, staying with her aunt didn't seem so bad as Elizabeth tried to learn everything she could about Zee.

Mrs. Senechal says:
The author tells this story in two parts - from the perspective of Elizabeth in modern times and from the perspective of Zee in the late 1700's.  It is really interesting to see how each perspective adds details to the story and helps solve the mystery of who Zee was.  The author does include some of the historical challenges and tragedies that were a part of the Revolutionary War.  However, she also captures the fierce spirits of the colonists as the fought for their freedom.