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Miss Willie, first published in 1951, is part of Giles's Piney Ridge Trilogy. It tells the story of an earnest teacher who moves to the hills of Kentucky to teach in a one-room schoolhouse. Zealously, she tries to change the ways of the stubborn and proud Appalachian people, but to no avail. They listen to her ideas about sanitation and other foolishness because to argue would be rude. But in the end they quietly go about their accustomed ways. Ultimately, Miss Willie realizes that the hill customs have a beauty and dignity of their own and that some of her efforts to reform them were ill-conceived. Her warmth, generosity, and humor help her bridge the gap and find fulfillment in Piney Ridge. This is a story of reconciliation and the coming together of two different ways of life. Above all, it is a story of people and of the land to which they belong. SOFTBACK VERSION By Janice Holt Giles -
Authors represented in Appalachian Love Stories include:- Jesse Stuart
- Ancella R. Bickley
- James M. Gifford
- Jimmy Lowe
- James B. Goode
- Edwina Pendarvis
- Laura Treacy Bentley
- Bruce Radford Richey
- Ina Everman
- Danny Fulks
- Loyal Jones
- Billy C. Clark
- Linda Scott DeRosier
- Christina St. Clair
- Alexandra Combs Hudson
- Kate Larken
- Barbara Smith
- Carol Van Meter
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- Song of the River
- The Trail of the Hunter's Horn
- Riverboy
- Useless Dog
- The Mooneyed Hound
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This young adult historical novel is based on an exciting and little known incident in the life of the famed Kentucky frontiersman Daniel Boone when, after being captured by Shawnee Indians and subsequently adopted into their tribe, he then escapes and returns to Boonesboro, only to find himself charged with treason and court-martialed. In a brilliant display of ability, Boone defends himself at the trial and gradually the truth about what really happened emerges. A fascinating glimpse of Kentucky's pioneer period as well as a penetrating look at frontier courtroom justice. By Allan Eckert -
Taps for Private Tussie won the Thomas Jefferson Southern Award in 1943, and was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection that year, also. This tale about the Tussie family is a brimming mountain spring of hilarious fun and folklife. Yet never was a book read more eagerly to see what in the world will happen next. This tale is not just a story of poor white Southern mountaineers on relief. There is something universal about it. It reveals an attitude towards human life and its problems, found in people, places, and times that have no connection with Southern mountaineers. By Jesse Stuart -
Jesse Stuart brings Greece, both ancient and modern, to life with his well loved sense of humor, color, and poetic descriptions. Dandelion on the Acropolis is a unique account of Jesse and his wife Naomi's travels throughout Greece in 1962. Extensively illustrated with photographs taken by the Stuarts. By Jesse Stuart -
Appalachian Values is a series of essays written to counter the persistent negative stereotypes about Appalachian people. The stories used to illustrate various values are accompanied by powerful photographs of Appalachian people and settings. Covering values from our Early Appalachian forebears to today, the books speaks of freedom, religion, independence, self-reliance, pride, neighborliness, hospitality, familism, personalism, humility, love of place, patriotism, sense of beauty, and sense of humor. It gives a positive view of Appalachian culture that will serve students and a general audience, too. Essays by Loyal Jones Photography by Warren Brunner -
Jesse Stuart Junior Book Red Mule is the story of a friendship between a boy named Scrappie and a strange man called "Red Mule." Red Mule had worked with mules all his life and he loved them. Now tractors were coming into use and there was little work for mules. The whole town laughed. SOFTBACK By Jesse Stuart -
In 1780, the British launched a raid into Kentucky led by Captain Henry Bird to assist the Native Americans to reclaim their hunting grounds from white settlers. The raid targeted Kentucky's Ruddell's Fort and Martin's Station and captured approximately 350 white settlers comprised of men, women, and children. On June 26, 1780, the British and Native Americans marched the captives to Detroit on a 50-day march under brutal conditions, killing several of them along the way. The British marched 129 of these settlers, who were eventually released after the war of escaped. The remaining settlers held by the Native Americans were sold into slavery, adopted into a tribe, sold or eventually released. SOFTBACK VERSION Lewis D. Nicholls -
"God knew that it would take brave and sturdy people to survive in these beautiful but rugged hills. So He sent us His very strongest men and women." So begins the heartwarming story of Verna Mae and her father, Isom B. ""Kitteneye"" Slone, an extradordinay personal family history set in the hills around Caney Creek in Knott County, Kentucky. SOFTBACK VERSION By Verna Mae Slone -
Everything from gritty reality to the supernatural rears its head in Clement County: Tales of Mystery & Intrigue from Kentucky. The authors write of the fictional southeastern Kentucky county through an anthology drawn from their over 40 years of writing together. SOFTBACK VERSION By Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet -
By Ruby Miller -
Following World War I, our nation entered a decade of national prosperity. Businesses flourished, and the standard of living rose. Jobs were plentiful and Americans were better fed, clothed, and housed than they had ever been before. However, the prosperity of the roaring twenties did not filter down to the rural poor of Appalachia. When Jack Ellis was born to Lon and Dot Ellis in 1927, the family lived near Morehead, Kentucky in a dilapidated, leaky, rat-infested house with no screens on the windows and one room that had a dirt floor. By the time Jack entered grade school, America was mired in the Great Depression. During the 30s, his father was employed by the Civilian Conservation Corp. for several years, but his mother became discouraged and depressed after losing her teaching position in the Rowan County schools. By Jack D. Ellis -
He had reached an age well past the three-score and ten that the Scriptures referred to as the allotted span of man’s life on earth. So it was understandable that he spent more time these days looking back than he did in looking to the future. He wondered if others were affected by nostalgia as strongly as he was of late. For the third time in a week, he had come awake in the middle of the night, staring at the ceiling, tears flowing down the sides of his face and onto the sheet. Oh how he longed to see again the people and the places in that little Ohio River village where he spent his boyhood days. SOFTBACK By Sam Piatt -
Blue Jacket’s popularity inspired Allan W. Eckert to write Johnny Logan, the true story of a Shawnee who became a U.S. spy, and it was first published in 1983. Logan was one of the greatest Indian friends the white man ever had on the American frontier; and he was the only Native American buried with full United States military honors. By Allan Eckert -
A reprint of Stuart's 1952 poetry collection with a new afterword by Jim Wayne Miller. By Jesse Stuart -
Looking through the pages of this amazing book is like traveling back in time. The brilliant black and white photography of Joe Clark and a forward and descriptive text by Jesse Stuart, makes these rural Tennessee images come more alive than a Norman Rockwell painting. There is something so refreshing in this age of digital photographic trickery and enhancements to see the purity of these incredible images. Do yourself a favor and check out this book. Whether your interest is photography, nostalgia, or history, you will not be disappointed. By Joe Clark Foreword by Jesse Stuart -
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Within the pages of this book, more than sixty-five local combat veterans of World War II share their experiences. There are stories of life in the foxholes, on the beaches, having ships torpedoed out from under them on the deep oceans, and bailing out of burning bombers behind enemy lines. Soldiers and sailors and airmen saw their young friends die beside them but found no time for mourning. They spent sleepless nights with artillery shells exploding all around. They were scared and homesick. Sam Piatt, calling on his thirty years of experience as an award-winning daily newspaper reporter, relates these stories so poignantly that at times it seems the reader can actually hear and feel the battle as they are described. Men of Valor is a book that will keep the reader riveted to the combat stories of World War II veterans from Ohio and Kentucky. SOFTBACK By Sam Piatt -
Stuart's autobiographical account of much of his educational career. This great Kentucky novelist, short story writer, poet, and teacher writes about his boyhood, his elementary school and high school experiences, and his days at Lincoln Memorial University. He tells of teaching in a one room rural schoolhouse, his experiences as a county school superintendent, and his stay as a teacher at American University in Cairo, Egypt. He explains what classroom methods worked best, and why, and speculates on what has gone wrong with American schools. By Jesse Stuart -
Junior High and High School teachers who wish to introduce their students to Jesse Stuart have a unique teaching tool available in A Jesse Stuart Reader. This 352-page book was designed as a classroom text, and consists of eighteen stories, twenty-six poems, and excerpts from three autobiographical books — God’s Oddling, The Thread That Runs So True, and The Year of My Rebirth. An additional study and teaching aid is Ella DeMer’s 31-page “Commentary and Study Questions” section at the end of the book. Schools ordering 30 or more copies may purchase the book at $9 per copy, a 40% discount. Although most classroom sets are purchased for grades 7-12, this book is effective at the collegiate level, too. Please contact the JSF directly to take advantage of bulk discounts. SOFTBACK By Jesse Stuart -
Winning of the West: Book 1 This riveting book may well be the most historically accurate and detailed telling of the 1846-47 Donner-Reed Party's traumatic journey to California. Of the hundreds of wagon trains traveling west, only the Donner Party left an indelible imprint on our national imagination, the wagon trains fame sealed by its terrible fate. Eckert's masterful telling brings alive the Donner Party's 88 members and the fates of the eleven families and numerous single men who risked all, of whom just 51 survived. He enriches the compelling tale with vivid descriptions of the colorful characters, both in the party and among those they met: mountain men, native peoples both hostile and helpful, and more. This poignant and dramatic account provides a rigorously accurate and comprehensive telling of one of America's great pioneer sagas. SIGNED HARDBACK By Allan Eckert -
Winning of the West: Book 3 Gold Fever focuses upon the early phase of the Gold Rush era, beginning in early 1848 and concluding in September, 1849. Allan Eckert, a widely admired historian, relates in compelling detail the intriguing chain of developments in this great national obsession, including the following profoundly influential ones:- Gold's initial discovery
- The early-spring local gold rush
- The entire country's evolving response to the California gold rumors
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Jesse Stuart Junior Book By Jesse Stuart -
A retired publisher shares the wit, wisdom and real-life observations of his most popular newspaper commentaries in East Kentucky. SOFTBACK VERSION By Keith Kappes
