  | Moving the Millers' Minnie Moore Mine Mansion : a true story Author: Eggers, Dave | |
| Price: $24.48 | ||
Summary:
John "Minnie" Moore built a mine in Idaho and sold it to Englishman Henry Miller. Henry married a local named Annie and built her a mansion, hence the "Millers' Minnie Moore Mine Mansion." After Henry died and Annie was hoodwinked, she and her son took to raising pigs in the yard, but the town wanted those pigs out. Who could have guessed that Annie and her crew would remove the whole mansion instead--rolling it away slowly on logs--while she and her son were still living in it?
| Illustrator: | Sarda, Julia |
Download a Teacher's Guide| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: LG Reading Level: 4.70 Points: .5 Quiz: 521893 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (05/01/23)
School Library Journal (+) (11/10/23)
Booklist (05/01/23)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (+) (00/05/23)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 05/01/2023 “Moving house” takes on an unusual meaning in this tale of a nineteenth century mansion that was transported four miles—intact, with a family living inside—outside of an Idaho town in 1914. Substituting insistence that “This. Actually. Happened.” for source citations, Eggers offers a mannered account of how the house came to be built near the Minnie Moore mine and how, when the town objected to having the owners raising pigs in the yard, it was shifted onto logs and rolled off to a new site. The main draw here is likely to be the pictures as, using a palette of sepia and earth tones, Sardà offers glimpses of expressively drawn horses, pigs, and people around stylized but architecturally exact views of a tall wood-frame house rising in its first location, standing through the years and changes in family fortunes, and being rolled in dignified elegance to its current spot by workers with major facial hair. Even if at least some of the finer details are invented, the episode has more than just local appeal. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 11/10/2023 Gr 3–6—"Like all of the best stories, this takes place in Idaho." Eggers's utterly enjoyable new offering opens with this tantalizing proclamation and proceeds to weave a wry tale of mining, real estate, unscrupulous bankers, and pigs. The book is based on the true story of pioneer-era widow Annie Miller who, upon finding herself in difficult circumstances, made the rather unusual decision to move her entire home four miles from its original location. This is a story of old-fashioned ingenuity told in a cheeky modern voice and the result, like the author's other nonfiction for young readers, is delightful. Packed with texture, detail, and quiet humor, Sarda's illustrations of this complex undertaking pair perfectly with the book's elegant prose. Though the illustrator uses a subdued color palette to depict hardscrabble scenes of the Old West, her art manages to appear lush and lively, and the scenes go a long way toward telling this little-known story. VERDICT It's a book that will be enjoyed by many: the elementary schooler with an interest in history, architecture, or engineering; the teacher trying to bring the past to life for their students; the librarian trying to sell a reluctant reader on nonfiction. Highly recommended for school libraries.—Kate Newcombe - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
