Kirsten and her family celebrate their first Christmas in their new home on Uncle Olav's farm in mid-nineteenth-century Minnesota.

When Samantha's tenth birthday party is spoiled by the boy next door, Aunt Cornelia and her young twin sisters try to ease Samantha's disappointment by inviting her and Grandmary to visit them in New York City.

Ten-year-old Kirsten is proud and excited when she finds a bee tree full of honey, one of the natural treasures of her Minnesota frontier world, but she exposes herself to great danger by trying to harvest the honey by herself.

Christmas in Williamsburg means a dancing party at the Governor's Palace for Felicity, but her mother becomes very ill and cannot finish the special blue gown.

During a visit to her grandfather's plantation in Virginia during the summer of 1775, Felicity's loyalty is torn between her father and Ben, her father's apprentice who needs her help as he runs away to join George Washington's army of Patriots.

Addy and Harriet feud over everything, including fund-raising plans to help the families of freed slaves, but tragedy finally forces them to stop fighting and work together.

In 1864, after her father and brother are sold to another owner, nine-year-old Addy Walker and her mother escape from their cruel life of slavery in North Carolina to freedom in Philadelphia.

In the spring of 1865, Addy finds inspiration from a new friend and chooses a birthday for herself as she and her parents try to shape a new life of freedom in Philadelphia despite the racial prejudice they encounter throughout the city.

Growing up in colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, nine-year-old Felicity is a spunky girl dealing with everyday life as the Revolutionary War looms on the horizon. But while she wades through her childhood, the American colonies and England are growing further apart. As war approaches, and loyalties change, Felicity finds herself facing numerous crises within her circle of friends and her very own family.--

After her brother joins the family in Philadelphia at the end of the Civil War, Addy wants to be with him as much as possible, so she is jealous when he starts spending time with her friend's cousin. Includes information about the life of African Americans in Philadelphia in the 1860s and a recipe for letter cookies.