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Louisa by Elizabeth Bowne  The Story of a Southern Girl's escape in 1864. |
Cocha by Elizabeth Bowne illustrations by Cathy Morrison  The Story of a Uru Indian boy who lives on a floating island |
Elizabeth Bowne was born and reared near Bainbridge, Georgia, USA, at "Curry Hill." That ante-bellum home passed down in her family from her father's side. Her mother descended from Louisa Varnedoe, about whom Louisa was written. Elizabeth held writer's retreats at "Curry Hill" every year. She taught Creative Writing classes at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS, where she lived with her husband, research chemist, Dr. James Minn.
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| Elizabeth Townsend Bowne, 1944 |
Anika - Set in northern Romania
Shiva - Set in Central India
Pong - Set in northern Thailand
Our Email Address:
bowne@shore.intercom.net
Frank and Laura Bowne's Homepage
Geographic Location of the Story:
Southern Georgia during the Civil War
The American Civil War brought tragedy and devastation on an entire nation. We have read the facts in our history books, but now we can experience the Civil War through the eyes of 12-year-old Louisa Varnedoe.
In Louisa, The Story of a Southern Girl's Escape in 1864, Elizabeth Bowne tells of her ancestors' journey across Georgia as they attempt to escape from Yankee raiders. Circumstances along the way force young Louisa to take charge. Readers will be captivated by Louisa's courage as she faces the enemy and incredible odds in her effort to reach Thomasville safely.
Ms. Bowne presents the facts and horrors of the Civil War from all sides allowing readers to draw their own conclusions about the issues and people involved.
The Mississippi Writer's Association endorses Louisa and
"believes... it to be an excellent addition to Southern
literature set during the War-Between-The-States."
Reverend G. Lundin, Ph.D., author of Contemporary Religious Ideas
comments:
"Bowne gives us insight and understanding of other people, cultures, and nations..."
The teacher's guide for Louisa was written by Margaret S. Tolbert, a classroom
teacher from El Dorado, Arkansas. This easy to follow guide is full of ideas for using Louisa in your
4th - 8th grade classroom.
In the guide, you will find:
lesson plans that integrate social studies, reading, writing, and math
background information on events leading up to the Civil War
extension activities for music, art, and physical education
critical thinking activities
record-keeping ideas
Cochà - a Uru boy who becomes a man in order to save his family and tribe.The Wise One - The oldest man in the village who prays to the ancient gods for wisdom in this crisisThe Strong One - Who learns almost too late that a boy can be braver and wiser than the men of the villageMr. Stone - A strange white man who tries to understandJuan Carlos - A mestizo who finda a way to helpPilar - The little girl who is slowly starving because of tribal prejudiceCocha's Father - On his deathbed, he sees a vision of the incredible fate that awaits his only sonIn our world there are beautiful resort islands, hot jungle islands, deserted desert islands; there are cold ones of glacier ice and others of volcanic ash. Some are flat, some hilly, and many are mountain peaks jutting up from the ocean floor. But there is one group of islands, the largest of which is only about three feet thick and three hundred yards wide, that float around, taking their Indian inhabitants wherever the wind and water wishes to carry them. Over the years, as these people ate the roots of the reeds that grow in the lake and threw the stalks back into the water, the reeds drifted together until they became thick enough for the Indians to move from their balsa boats and build huts on the floating stalks. These are the Uros Islands, which drift far out on Lake Titicaca.
This huge lake is about 110 miles long and 1214 feet deep. It lies at an altitude of about 12,500 feet, high in the Andes mountains between Peru and Bolivia in South America.
This is the major setting of the story, the major events of which are true.