After the death of her mother, Texas sixth-grader Lina's grades and mood drop as she watches her father lose himself more and more in books, while her best friend uses Lina as an excuse to secretly meet her boyfriend.
Twelve-year-old Jessie resents her father's decision to move his family to San Antonio where they are caught up in the revolution of 1835-1836 including the siege of the Alamo.
Nine-year-old Isabella doesn't like to share, until a tornado destroys a neighbor's house and she realizes that the money she has earned to buy a swimming pool might be put to a better use.
Presents a biography Sam Houston, the first president of the Texas republic, and chronicles his childhood in Virginia, life among the Native Americans in Tennessee, service during the War of 1812, and involvement in the Texas war for Independence.
Sixteen-year-old Jenna gets a job driving the elderly owner of a chain of successful shoe stores from Chicago to Texas to confront the son who is trying to force her to retire, and along the way Jenna hones her talents as a saleswoman and finds the strength to face her alcoholic father.
Simple text and photographs introduce the life of Sam Houston, who served as governor of Texas after helping fight for the region's independence from Mexico.
An overview of the struggle between the Texan settlers and Mexico's General Santa Anna for control of Texas, with a detailed description of the 1836 siege of the Alamo. Includes biographical sketches and quotations of some of those involved.
Ernestine O'Reilly comes from Ireland to Texas as a mail-order bride, but when she meets the man she is supposed to marry, she ends up deciding to be a cowboy instead.
