Stagecoach Sal: Inspired by a True Story by Deborah Hopkinson, pictures by Carson Ellis, Disney Hyperion Books, 2009
Old West charm characterizes this story of Sal, who loved to drive the stagecoach and sing for the passengers. Who would have thought that her ability to sing would help her outsmart and capture the famous 'Poetic Pete", the most polite bandit in all of California? She became known as "Singing Sal, the Stagecoach Gal". Based on the life of Delia Haskett Rawson (b. 1861), who was "possibly the first and only woman to carry the US mail by stagecoach." Poetic Pete is based on a real character as well: Black Bart.
The book's language and song verses are reminiscent of yesteryear, and help create a "picture" of this time period in America's history. The author gives a reference for the Kids' Pages of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences if you want to hear some of Sal's favorite folk songs.
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