The Minstrel's Melody

· Mysteries through History Book 11 · Open Road Media
5.0
1 review
Ebook
167
Pages
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More

About this ebook

A twelve-year-old aspiring performer follows her dream in a novel that culminates at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair

Orphelia Bruce lives in rural Missouri, the corner where Illinois, Iowa, and her home state come together. She can sing and play the piano better than anyone in Lewis County. So when Orphelia’s mother forbids her from taking part in a traveling minstrel show looking for new talent and starring her idol, Madame Meritta, she runs away to join their troupe.
 
But life on the road isn’t what she expected. She misses her family, even her annoying older sister, Pearl—Momma’s favorite. And it’s not nearly as glamorous as Orphelia imagined. The group performs in a different town every night, which means long hours of travel. Despite her fame, Madame Meritta still has to work hard to keep her band fed and clothed. But performing at the St. Louis World’s Fair could be Orphelia’s big chance. When a long-buried secret changes everything she thought she knew about her family, will she still get to live her dream?

This ebook includes a historical afterword. 

Ratings and reviews

5.0
1 review

About the author

Eleanora E. Tate was born in Missouri, where The Minstrel’s Melody takes place. Of her ten books, her newest is Celeste’s Harlem Renaissance, a recipient of the AAUW North Carolina Book Award for Juvenile Literature and the IRA Teacher’s Choice award. The Minstrel’s Melody is a Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. Tate’s other books include The Secret of Gumbo Grove (a Parents’ Choice Award winner); Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!; and Front Porch Stories at the One-Room School.

Ms. Tate is a former president of the National Association of Black Storytellers and a winner of the 1999 Zora Neale Hurston Award. Her short stories and essays have appeared in numerous magazines, including American Girl and Scholastic Storyworks. She teaches at Hamline University and at the Institute of Children’s Literature. Visit her website at www.eleanoraetate.com.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.