Carol Estby Dagg, shown right, is back on San Juan Island with a new book and program to be hosted by the San Juan Island Library and Griffin Bay Bookstore on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 7 p.m. at the library. A book for the young and young at heart, “Sweet Home Alaska,” is an engrossing historical novel that explores family bonds, the pioneer spirit, cooperation, and the meaning of home.
This pioneering story is based on actual events, and introduces readers to a little-known chapter of American history when one of FDR’s New Deal programs created a colony in Alaska for 200 families, providing them with land and loans, so they could become self-sufficient farmers during the Great Depression.
The plucky Terpsichore can’t wait to follow in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s footsteps … now she just has to convince her mom. It’s 1934, and times are tough for their family. To make a fresh start, Terpsichore’s father signs up for President Roosevelt’s Palmer Colony project, uprooting them from Wisconsin to become pioneers in Alaska. Their new home is a bit of a shock—it’s a town still under construction in the middle of the wilderness, where the residents live in tents and share a community outhouse. But Terpsichore’s not about to let first impressions get in the way of this grand adventure. Tackling its many unique challenges with her can-do attitude, she starts making things happen to make Alaska seem more like home. Soon, she and her family are able to start settling in and enjoying their new surroundings—everyone except her mother, that is. So, in order to stay, Terpsichore hatches a plan to convince her that it’s a wonderful, and civilized, place to live… a plan that’s going to take all the love, energy, and Farmer Boy expertise Terpsichore can muster.
“Sweet Home Alaska” is a Junior Library Guild Selection.
About the Author
Carole Estby Dagg is also the author of the middle-grade historical novel, “The Year We Were Famous.” She was born in Kansas City, Miss., and has lived in Washington, Idaho and British Columbia. She has degrees in sociology, library science and accounting. Her real-life adventures include tiptoeing through King Tut’s tomb, sand-boarding the dunes of western Australia, riding a camel among the Great Pyramids, paddling with Manta rays in Moorea and smelling the penguins in the Falkland Islands. She is married with two children, two grandchildren, a husband, and a bossy cat who supervises her work. She splits her writing time between her study in Everett, Wash., and a converted woodshed on San Juan Island.
