Michaela MacColl

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Pagoda Hill

I’ve been away for a long time because I’ve been under contract working on a book for Calkins Creek. It’s a family story about an ancestor of mine from Shanghai, China. She came to America as a little girl and lived in upstate New York.  She was homesick and her father arranged for an artist to paint an enormous pagoda on the family barn.

I’ve discovered my ‘family story’ is actually one that resonates with the immigration debate today. Nina, my ancestor, came here just a few years before the United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.  This is the only law that prohibited immigraition based solely on nationality.  It was not repealed until 1943! Nina was OK because she was the daughter of an American and therefore American herself. But you have to wonder how she felt coming to a country where the dominant refrain was “Chinese Go Home.”

Here’s the barn and Nina!

Freedom’s Price is a New Book for Missouri Students

The Missouri State Teachers Association has selectee Freedom’s Price to be recommended book for Missouri students.  The heart of this book is about Eliza Scott, daughter to the famous Dredd Scott, fighting to get an education in St. Louis MO in the 1840s.  I’m delighted that kids in Missouri will be directed toward this book!

 

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Booklist Loves The Lost Ones

Booklist Online Exclusive: September 29, 2016

The Lost Ones.

Casita and her family thought their village of Lipan Apache, in Mexico, would be safe from U.S. Cavalry raids. But one fateful day in 1877 proves how wrong they are. Casita witnesses the brutal murder of her mother and the destruction of their village before she is forcibly relocated to Fort Clark in Texas with her younger brother and other survivors. While most survivors are exiled to reservations, Casita and her brother, Jack, are looked after by a kindhearted military family until they are wrenched away again, this time to the Carlisle Industrial Indian School in Pennsylvania. Haunted by the past yet still looking for a future, spirited, sensitive Casita navigates the confusing white world while still holding to her Apache identity. Readers will cheer her determined spirit in the face of shattering loss. Highly engaging historical fiction and based on actual people, MacColl’s Hidden Histories series tale is powerful storytelling and an excellent prompt for classroom discussion of Indian policy.

— Anne O’Malley

The Blog Tour stops at Bloglovin’

My favorite line from this review:

“Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a real delight to read! I highly recommend it to fans of Jane Austen, but also those who are not quite familiar with her history because this book allows you to understand a bit more about one of the greatest literary writers ever. MacColl has also included an author’s note (which I really appreciated), about the differences from her book and history & she’s included a bibliography (yay!).”

 

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“A Charming Historical Mystery” SLJ Loves Secrets in the Snow

I am in love with this review of Secrets in the Snow — so rarely does a reviewer get exactly what you were trying to do:

Secrets in the Snow

School Library Journal

October 1, 2016 

“A charming historical mystery.”—School Library Journal                     

Nineteen-year-old Jane Austen—yes, that Jane Austen—finds herself entwined in some serious intrigue when the War Office suggests that her cousin, whose French aristocrat husband lost his head to the guillotine, might be engaged in traitorous activity against England. Jane is determined to get to the bottom of the situation, even if it means veering into unladylike territory. Adding to the drama, a gentleman studying the law has entered Jane’s social circle—and all of her family members are eager to encourage a marriage match regardless of his condescending first impression. MacColl’s fidelity to Austen’s biography and family, with a bit of creative license woven in, results in a charming historical mystery. Her playfulness with Austen’s voice is a delight, and she peppers the story with hints at characters and plot points from the author’s oeuvre—nothing that distracts from the narrative, but tidbits that serve as inside jokes to readers who have already dived into her works. These elements more than make up for a somewhat rushed conclusion. Readers whose interest in Austen is piqued will enjoy the biographical back matter. VERDICT A solid addition for fans of cozy mysteries and literary reimaginings.

I’m Grateful to the Grateful American Prize

Freedom’s Price has been awarded the Honorable Mention by the Grateful American Prize.

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Here’s the criteria:

The GRATEFUL AMERICAN™ BOOK PRIZE is the only award for excellence in writing, storytelling and illustration for children’s historical non-fiction and fiction focused on the events and personalities that have shaped the United States since the country’s founding.

I’m so flattered to say that this is the second time one of my books has been so honored. Last year, The Revelation of Louisa May was the recipient.

Freedom’s Price Reviews

“History comes alive in this imagining of the life of Eliza Scott, one of the daughters of Dred Scott, the slave at the center of a landmark case in American history…. Not much is known about the real-life Eliza, but these authors’ depict her as brave, headstrong, and intelligent…. this book is a compelling and exciting narrative as well as a window into a possible history…. A great choice to support school curriculum.” —School Library Journal 

“MacColl and Nichols paint a vivid picture of slavery’s brutal yoke… (e)xpect a savvy, energetic fighter in Eliza, and suspenseful plotting in this fine piece of historical fiction from the Hidden Histories series.” –Booklist