The North Star Kids is an adventurous, heart-centered series for young readers who love mystery, courage, and discovery. When ordinary kids encounter extraordinary challenges, they are drawn into journeys shaped by real historical events and places, brought vividly to life through fast-paced storytelling. Each book presents authentic history in an engaging, accessible way—blending action, friendship, and suspense with lessons drawn from events that actually happened. The stories are based on true history, carefully adapted for juvenile and young adult readers, and woven with themes of integrity, resilience, belonging, and moral choice. With relatable characters and immersive settings, The North Star Kids invites readers to learn from the past while discovering how bravery, curiosity, and leadership can light the way forward.
Showing all 3 results
-
Twisting Trails
Twisting Trails is a young adult historical adventure set on Minnesota’s northwest frontier during the fur trade (1831–1837). Alexander Whitney, a fictional Fort Snelling soldier, and Angelique Reaume, a Métis girl with Ojibwe and French-Canadian roots, meet and form a bond amid real history and famous figures of the era. Their travels range from Fort Snelling to Lake Itasca, maple sugar camps and wild rice beds, the Red River Trail bison hunt, and the Dakota pipestone quarry—culminating in Mendota during the Treaty of 1837 negotiations.
brilliantly synthesizes a compelling fictional adventure story with nonfictional historical personalities and events
—Haderslev. Review on Amazon -
Water Wheels
Water Wheels is historical fiction following two immigrant teens in 1870s Minnesota. Halvor Dahl, the son of poor Norwegian Lutheran farmers in the Cannon River valley, and Emelia Meier, daughter of German Catholic merchants in St. Paul, meet and set off on adventures across the state by train, steamboat, and buggy. They face blizzards, fires, crimes, swarms of insects, and a comet while witnessing sweeping social and political change. Along the way they cross paths with figures like James J. Hill, Theodore Hamm, John Pillsbury, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Jesse James.
gives the reader insight into early farming and early merchant life from 1868 to 1882
—Barbara Parrish, review on Amazon -
Thunder Birds
When war erupts on the Minnesota frontier, childhood ends in a single terrible season. Thunder Birds follows white and Dakota boys and girls whose lives are shattered by the U.S.–Dakota War of 1862, sparked by hunger, broken treaties, and betrayal. Through young eyes on both sides, neighbors become enemies—yet friendship and hope endure. Grounded in extensive research and featuring leaders like Little Crow, Henry Sibley, and Alexander Ramsey, the novel blends history with character-driven emotion for readers, classrooms, and book clubs.
Although written for young adults, Barnes’ thoughtful, accurate, well-crafted story will engage readers of any age.
—Susan Thurston, award-winning author of Sister of Grendel
