Sid Johnson and The Well-Intended Conspiracy by Frances Schoonmaker
What's It About?
Frances Schoonmaker and her books should be a part of every child’s library!Author and educator Frances Schoonmaker doesn’t shy away from educating teenage readers about the important and troubling parts of American history. She tells riveting tales of historical fiction about slavery in Sid Johnson and the Phantom Slave Stealer and the displacement of Native Americans in her new book, Sid Johnson and the Well-Intended Conspiracy.
Still grieving the loss of their farm, we return to find Sid and the rest of the Johnson family heading west to California. As rumors spread about the dangers of “Injuns”, Sid learns a hard lesson firsthand that the thing more fearsome than the Indians along the trail is the disease.
Daring Historical Adventure
With smallpox making its way through the wagons on the trail, Sid is taken ill and mistaken for dead. In his head, he is shouting that his mother doesn’t need to be digging a grave, he’s alive!
As Sid’s fever begins to fade and he wakes up, his brother asks him about his fever dream ramblings, something about “Essie Ban’s cross.” Suddenly, everything comes back to him. He wasn’t saying Essie Ban’s cross but Esteban’s Cross, and he remembers a letter he was given to deliver in Santa Fe!
According to Mr. Gallagher — a stranger who crossed paths with Sid and entrusted him with the letter — it contains important information about his wife’s family history that is more valuable to her than gold. But to the men trying to intercept the letter, it is believed to be the key to finding the forgotten Spanish Treasure. Sid doesn’t know much, but he does know he trusts Mr. Gallagher and needs to keep the letter safe from the men who he soon learns are willing to kill for it.
Suspenseful and Eye-Opening
Schoonmaker’s Sid Johnson and the Well-Intended Conspiracy is a captivating tale of courage, adventure, and a look into the history of the displacement and near-extermination of Native Americans, specifically the Kanza Nation.
While this book is a work of fiction, the topics surrounding the history are very detailed and well-researched, making it great for teen readers to open a discussion and raise important questions about our country’s history while keeping the reader engaged with adventure and suspense.
Frances Schoonmaker and her books should be a part of every child’s library! Sharing historical events through the eyes of Sid Johnson will leave your teen reader thirsting for knowledge, truth, and a deeper understanding of our country’s history.
About Frances Schoonmaker:
Frances Schoonmaker is author of The Last Crystal Trilogy and winner of the 2019 Agatha Award for Best Middle Grade/Young Adult Mystery. As an elementary school teacher, Schoonmaker drew on imagination and the arts to engage children in learning about and making sense of the world around them. As a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, she directed the graduate program in elementary and middle school education, a program drawing heavily on story and children’s literature. She has taught, lectured, and consulted internationally, particularly in the Middle East and in Asia.
Curiosity about places and interest in people and their cultures inform Schoonmaker’s fictional writing. She lives with her family in Baltimore. When she’s not writing, she is likely to be found in the garden, on a long walk, sketching, reading or wondering what is beyond the next hill.
