Ida Early Comes Over the Mountain is a simple but enjoyable read for children who are beginning to read chapter books. The storyline is easy to follow and tells of a simpler life in the Appalachian mountains. Children will be entertained by Ida Early's tall tales and mourn when she leaves the family she works for to discover another adventure. The story ends happily with Ida Early returning to the family who has her heart.

I loved this book when I was a kid; I rate it highly almost purely for the nostalgia factor. My teacher read it to us in 3rd or 4th grade, I think.

Ida Early is like a Mary Poppins of the Appalachian Trail; she can weild a lasso among many other feats of physical prowess and skill - the children she's taking care of, the Sutton family, are in awe of her. When she's mocked by the local townspeople for her unladylike ways, the children don't defend her; Ida Early is offended and trys to become more ladylike. Soon the children realize they should have stood up for their awesome friend! All ends happily.

To be honest, the book seems so much more slight than when I first heard it. It's odd - the books that grab us as children.Maybe I built this one up in my mind through a nostalgic lense into a weighty tome of awesome adventure and/or my child mind made much more effective use of my imagination in order to be enraptured with Ida Early's world.

But it's still a good read. ( )

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