Emily's Fortune

by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Narrated by Lee Adams

Overview

From Newbery Award winner Phyllis Reynolds Naylor comes a witty tale of the Wild West filled with comical cliffhangers and featuring a cast of plucky orphans and dastardly villains.*Emily Wiggins is poor and timid, without a drop of self-confidence. When she is unexpectedly orphaned, she is left all alone except for her turtle, Rufus.*What in blinkin' bloomers should Emily do?*Emily's neighbors, Mrs. Ready, Mrs. Aim, and Mrs. Fire, have the answer: Emily must travel by stagecoach to the home of her honorable aunt Hilda.*What a rootin' tootin' grand idea!*But Miss Catchum of the Catchum Child-Catching Services will get a big bonus for delivering Emily to her next of kin, the vicious Uncle Victor.*How the ding dong dickens will Emily escape Miss Catchum?*It will take all the gumption and cunning of fellow orphan and traveler Jackson to help Emily find her confidence, her conniving spirit, and the true reason Uncle Victor wants to claim her.*But how in flippin' flapjacks will Emily outsmart Uncle Victor?

Editorial Reviews

School Library Journal

Gr 2–5—Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's latest story (Delacorte, 2010) is set during the time of westward expansion, gold rushes, and stagecoaches. Emily Higgins is orphaned and without a friend in the world except for her pet turtle, Rufus. She's been sheltered most of her life and must rely on the help of three neighborly women to help her figure out what to do next. They help her get started on her way to her kind Aunt Hilda's, but her shifty Uncle Victor and the Catchum Child-Catching Services are hot on her heels. Soon Emily meets Jackson, another young orphan traveling by stagecoach, and she learns about friendship and how to fend for herself. Twists and turns, literally and figuratively, keep this story bouncing along with suspense and humor. Narrator Lee Adams enhances Naylor's brilliant use of vernacular, giving many characters weathered voices that speak of the past. An entertaining tale.—April Mazza, Wayland Public Library, Wayland MA

NOVEMBER 2010 - AudioFile

Newly orphaned Emily Higgins, 8, is on the run from her villainous Uncle Victor. He's after the fortune she recently inherited, but he doesn't care a whit about her. Listeners will care as the sheltered yet spunky Emily flees by stagecoach to her Aunt Hilda in Redbud with her new friend, fellow orphan Jackson, who convinces her to masquerade as a boy. Lee Adams delivers this story with a distinctly Western sound, which gives it the feel of a tall tale. The story moves sure-footedly from one dusty stagecoach stop to another as Emily discovers the independent spirit she’s always had inside. M.M.C. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

Naylor takes readers on a rollicking ride to the Wild West in this comedy-adventure starring a tiny, extremely shy eight-year-old orphan, Emily, her pet turtle, Rufus, and a wild boy named Jackson who comes to her rescue. When Emily's mother and her wealthy lady employer are killed in a carriage accident, Emily chooses to go to her sweet Aunt Hilda in the West instead of her awful Uncle Victor. On her stagecoach ride west, Jackson, another orphan, helps Emily keep steps ahead of the terrible Child Catchers, but worse danger looms when Emily learns she's inherited a fortune, and greedy Uncle Victor shows up on the stagecoach looking for her. Collins provides lively line drawings that capture the action, while the author provides real suspense and comedy with her population of verging-on-caricature characters. Can Emily escape her Uncle? Can she stay with Rufus? At the end of each chapter, direct-address questions in huge type and alliterative archaic phrases launch readers into the next chapter. Emily comes across as a fully developed and appealing character. Great fun. (Historical fiction. 7-10)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169495188
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	06/08/2010
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

Painted on the door of the carriage was a sign that read Catchum Child-Catching ServicesTrumpet Junction Branch
Orphans, Strays, and Roustabouts
Rounded Up Quickly Emily jumped behind a mail cart so fast that she bumped into a boy in a faded brown jacket. "Hey!" he said. "Watch where you're going!" And then, "You're an orphan too, aren't you?" "How did you know?" she asked him. He shrugged. "Saw you trying to hide from the Child Catchers, just like I used to do."  

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