Caintuck Lies Within My Soul
Recipient of two awards for Historical Fiction – Royal Dragonfly (2020) and Incipere Awards (2021)
Amidst the forested hills of North Carolina, a girl, daughter of a long hunter, dreamed of a land beyond the Appalachians—a land called Caintuck. She envisioned its mountains that rolled into large meadows, cut by rock-bottomed streams and fast-flowing rivers—meadows covered with thick grass where buffalo, elk, deer, and turkeys grazed. She knew Caintuck as a land filled with the riches of nature and scarcely inhabited— the hunting ground of many Native American tribes. Lying beyond the Donelson Line separating the colonies from the Indian inhabited wilderness, Caintuck drew men to its beauty as well as its bounty. Having heard the stories from her father and uncle, among others, who had dared to cross the mountains into Caintuck, and despite the many dangers, Jemima hankered – yearned – longed to cross those mountains and live in that promised land of milk and honey.
Caintuck Lies Within My Soul tells the story of Jemima Boone, daughter of Kentucky pioneer Daniel Boone.
Suitable for upper middle grade readers, teens, young adults and adults.
Available in paperback and Ebook for Kindle and Nook.
For Younger Readers:
Greg’s already time traveled once. It worked out okay. This time, well, it’s not so good, since it’s 1778 in Kentucky! The Indians are hostile, Greg’s not sure how to get back to his time, and things are only getting worse. Despite all his attempts, his situation is growing more grim each day. Jump back with Greg in this adventure filled with history, humor, and a whole lot of action!
(Second in the Adventure in Time series – can be read independently)
Written for middle-grade readers and teens
Available in paperback and Ebook for Kindle and Nook.
Received the Literary Classics Seal of Approval and a Gold Medal for Middle Grade Historical Fiction in 2017.
Lesson Plans, puzzles, and other materials available at: http://cmhuddleston.com/lesson-plans.html
Other Kentucky Frontier History Books
Fiction:
My Blessed, Wretched Life: Rebecca Boone’s Story
by Sue Kelly Ballard
Ballard presents Rebecca Boone’s often solitary life with an open eye to the hardships placed upon her family by Daniel’s wanderings and the family’s many moves. I read this book as research before writing Caintuck Lies Within My Soul and found it to be professionally researched and quite readable. I highly recommend it.
Oh, Kentucky!
by Betty Layman Receveur
If all the copies of this book I have loaned out were returned, I would have to clear an entire shelf to house them. I have recommended this novel many times to those who wanted to learn about Kentucky’s early history without reading non-fiction, and I will continue to do so. It is a remarkable book. Since its’ publication in 1990, I have read this book several times. Enjoy, it is a remarkable work of fiction.
Sarah’s Courage: A Kentucky Frontier Kidnapping
by Karen Leet
Published in 2014, Sarah’s Courage is a fictional account of a young girl’s kidnapping by Native Americans on Kentucky’s frontier. The book also contains a brief narrative about Jemima Boone’s kidnapping and excellent descriptions of life on the frontier and Boonesborough. I highly recommend this book for younger middle-grade readers and teachers. It would be an excellent classroom addition.
A Bucket Full of Courage: Betsy Johnson of Bryan Station
by Geoff Baggett
Well-written middle grade book on the pioneer history of Kentucky and in particular the siege of Bryan Station in 1782. The protagonist is a young girl, Betsy Johnson. While I appreciated and enjoyed the story some historical inaccuracies diminished my rating of this book. I realize authors may take literary license to fit the facts to the story, but these could have easily been avoided. Still, it is a fun, illustrated story.
Nonfiction: Biography & Autobiography
Boone: A Biography
by Robert Morgan
I own several (too many?) biographies of Boone. This is my favorite and my go-to-reference for all things Daniel Boone. Need I say more? Plus it reads like a novel!
Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer
by John Mack Faragher
Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, this is my second choice for a Boone bio. Faragher includes an excellent chronology and maps.
Daniel Boone And Others on the Kentucky Frontier: Autobiographies and Narratives, 1769-1795
edited by Darren R. Reid
Reid put together many first-hand accounts of frontiersmen including Boone. As these were remembered and written years after the events told, many discrepancies exist. Any researcher should look to other sources before taking these narratives as fact.
My Father, Daniel Boone:
The Draper Interviews with Nathan Boone
edited by Neal O. Hammon
This book brings to print the interviews conducted with Nathan Boone and his wife Olive, in 1851. Excellent source of second and first hand accounts. Great genealogical charts and maps. This book provided much of the family story used in Caintuck Lies Within My Soul.
Daniel Boone’s Own Story
and The Adventures of
Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone and Francis Lister Hawks
Short work written by Boone, year unknown. Hawks first printed his book in 1844. It contains many errors and omissions.
The Buzzel About Kentuck: Settling the Promised Land
edited by
Craig Thompson Friend
Scholarly volume of research by respected historians. Excellent reference volume.
Other Kentucky Frontier History Books You Might Find Interesting:
Kentucky: A Pioneer Commonwealth by N.S. Shaler
Pioneer Life in Kentucky by Daniel Drake