I was entranced by this book as a kid. How fun it must be, I thought, to be in a traveling magic show! I cheered the family on as they traveled. I kept thinking a bustle was a bustier, but misspelled. It is quite a different garment altogether. Whenever I read the part about Jane telling the sherriff she'd brush the filly every day, I always interpreted it as her trying to flirt. Now that I'm an adult, that part just comes off as creepy. Jane, you are twelve. The sherriff is much older! I don't remember when I outgrew this book, but I did. I thought it'd be fun to read it again. Over time, it turns out that I'd forgotten enough of the book to think that three separate subplots were actually entirely different novels on their own. No, it's all in one.

This is a quick read, and it's--boring. It's definitely for children, but I don't intend to be derisive. It's just odd to return to, when I remembered something so different. Much was made of Jane wanting to wear her hair up, not in a braid, and I--okay, sure. I don't know a lot about the history of hairstyles. I figured the reason Jane has to wait until she's fifteen is probably because that's when girls started being called on or courted. As a kid, I tried to start an Abracadabra Day in my household. My parents were not amused. As an adult, I remembered Paul's Abracadabra Day vaguely, but that was it. What a treat it was to read about Anne's and Jane's! How clever, and well-characterized. Anne's made me laugh, and I actually read the passage twice. But I wasn't attached to anyone in the book. I didn't care overall. There were interesting moments, and I'm glad I read it again. But if I want to read about a family on a wagon trail, I'll stick to "Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie" of the Dear America series. ( )