Showing results by author "Susan K. Marlow" in All Categories

When the Circle C ranch decides to host a rodeo competition with two other ranches, dozens of cowboys are eager to prove they're the best riders and ropers in the valley. But they're not the only ones who want to show off their skills. Andi aims to lasso her way to the prizes, even if big brother Chad says the contest isn't for kids.

The summer after Andi Carter turns nine the circus comes to town. She can't wait to get in line to see the elephants, acrobats, and - most of all - the champion bareback rider. What could be more thrilling than riding your very own horse under the big top?

Thirteen-year-old Andi Carter wants to surprise her mother with the perfect birthday gift. But keeping her plans to earn money a secret from her family is easier said than done. It takes time, but at last, one of Andi's ideas is working out...until the day she witnesses a back-alley crime that places a beloved citizen at the scene.

When a winter flood in Fresno closes school temporarily, Andi is outraged when she's sent to live with a spinster aunt in San Francisco, doomed to finish the winter term of school at Miss Whitaker's Academy for Young Ladies. But her new roommate, the equally untamable Jenny, and the timid but tenderhearted Lin Mei, a young girl who works at the school, expose her to a whole new world. Soon these three new friends find themselves in more trouble than they can handle.

When innocent horseplay temporarily lands Andi and her friends in jail, they decide that a trip into the mountains will leave their troubles far behind. Accompanied by big brother Mitch and armed with a map showing old gold diggings, they can't wait to strike it rich. What could be better than two weeks of camping and horseback riding? But instead of gold they find heaps of trouble - trouble that leaves Mitch gravely wounded. Andi needs help fast. But who can she trust? And what good is a bag of gold when her beloved brother lies near death in the middle of nowhere?

When Jem Coulter is caught in a miners' riot, he learns the worst: The Midas mine is no longer producing the gold the town relies on to stay alive. Will, the son of the mine's owner, tells Jem the only way to get the Midas working again is to blast deep into the ground.

Twelve-year-old "Andi" Carter attracts trouble the way her palomino horse, Taffy, attracts flies on a hot summer day. Lately, she can't do anything right, from forgetting important chores to putting herself in danger with her brother Chad's wild stallion. After a particularly scary incident where Andi gets in trouble once again, she wonders if her family would be better off without her. So she saddles up Taffy and leaves the Circle C ranch. But her escape quickly leads to frightening encounters with a horse thief and a vicious young lady.

It's 1864, and 12-year-old Jem Coulter knows that Goldtown, California, has seen the last of the gold rush. But the flecks of gold he, his sister Ellie, and an old prospector Strike find in their played-out claim on Cripple Creek spur their hopes of striking it rich. When Pa becomes sheriff of the lawless gold camp, Goldtown, the kids fear his badge will become a target for outlaws. Then the creek dries up, and Strike disappears.

In Andi's Lonely Little Foal, Taffy is growing up too quickly. Soon, the little foal will have to leave her mama and stay by herself at night. When a mean boy tells Andi about the scary things that happen when a foal is separated from its mother, Andi wonders if she can keep her little horse safe!

Andi's holiday is spoiled when a grumpy, bossy visitor arrives. No more running. No catching spiders. No wearing overalls. Can Andi do anything right? But just when Andi thinks the fun is lost forever, she learns that she can help this unwelcome guest in a way she never imagined....

In book four of the Circle C Beginnings series for ages 6-8, Andi doesn't think she's afraid of anything until her first day of school. School means being away from the ranch, away from her family, and away from Taffy - and having to sit next to a boy who throws dead flies at her. Being sent to the corner for something that wasn't even her fault is the last straw. Andi is leaving. And she's not going back.

It's not fair! In book three, if Andi can't take her new foal, Taffy, to the 1874 California State Fair, she doesn't want to go. What fun is a fair if Taffy can't win a blue ribbon? But the fair turns out to be so exciting that Andi is glad she came...until big brother Chad tells her she can't keep the prize she won fair and square!

It's just a made-up story...or is it? It's the summer of 1874. Andi wishes Riley had never read her that scary old dime novel to her. Now, she can't stop thinking about being captured by Indians. Then, one hot day when she and Riley ride up to the creek, Andi hears something moving in the bushes. Is it a rabbit? Is it a skunk? Or is it...Indians?

No more ponies! Andi lives on a ranch in 1874 California. She wants a horse of her own more than anything. But Mother says Andi has to ride pokey old Coco. Andi is sure she's big enough for a horse - even if she's not so good at remembering to care for Coco. Can Andi show her family she's ready for her own horse? Or will she always be stuck riding a worn-out, hand-me-down pony?

Is escape even possible when you've been shanghaied? Jem Coulter, his family, and Strike-It-Rich Sam journey to San Francisco with the newfound gold to see if surgery can fix Nathan's broken legs. The uncertainty of Nathan's recovery leaves Jem bored and worried, so he heads how to the waterfront to explore. The merchant ships look exciting--where could they be sailing?

Jem Coulter and his friends celebrate the end of the Civil War in their town with firecrackers, parades, and anticipation for a bear-and-bull fight. But chaos ensues when a bull breaks loose, causing wood splinters and fence posts to rain down and break his cousin Nathan's legs. With the Coulter family unable to afford a San Francisco surgeon, the family and their friend Strike-It-Rich Sam devise a plan to raise money. Jem, his sister Ellie, and Strike embark on a quest to recover lost gold.