It was April of 1912. Sam Harris had been staying with his grandparents in England. Now, his mother had remarried and wanted Sam to join his new family in America. He was sailing on the Titanic with his slightly older best friend, Bucky Kingsbury. Bucky was an expert on everything about the new giant vessel which was about to set out on its first voyage. Among other things, Bucky knew the ship had a dog kennel on board. Sam, dog lover that he was, couldn't wait to visit the kennels the first thing after boarding.

Phineas MacDougal, the cabin boy in charge of the kennel, was only too happy to have Sam volunteer to help out with the dogs. As for Bucky, he had other interests, including suggestions for the ship's designer on how to improve the Titanic. Sam was especially excited by the arrival of a beautiful Irish setter with a burnished red coat. The setter reminded him of a dog that had belonged to his deceased father in past years. He found out that the setter was a champion show dog. The owner was a wealthy businessman who was bringing the dog to America to use in an advertising campaign.

Because of a white splotch of fur on the dog's chest, Sam named the dog "Star." Once the voyage began, he two spent as much time together as possible. At about 12:30 A.M. on Monday, April 15th, passengers were awakened and told to put on warm clothes. Supposedly, it was a lifeboat drill. All the passengers were being handed life jackets and told to fasten them on over their clothes. Sam was already aboard a lifeboat when he slipped off to go in search of Star. By this time, Sam knew it wasn't a practice exercise. Something was really wrong.

Sam found Star and released him from the kennel. He tried to keep Star on a leash. It was then that he heard that the Titanic was sinking. He was shocked to hear that there were not enough boats for all the passengers. Certainly, no dogs would be allowed in a lifeboat. Suddenly, the ships deck tilted and Star slid over the side and Sam was right behind him. In the freezing cold water, Sam tried to slip out of his heavy coat. When he reached out to grab a line, it turned out to be the leash on Star. Sam's life vest helped keep him afloat, but it was holding on to Star that enabled him to come close to a lifeboat. The crewmen tried to pull Sam aboard, but he would not let go of the dog. Finally, they realized if they were to save the boy they were going to have to bring the dog aboard also.

Lifeboat number 4 was in the water several hours before a rescue ship arrived. The ship was the Carpathia, a much smaller ship than the Titanic, but big enough to take those passengers aboard who had been lucky enough to escape in lifeboats. Sam made it aboard along with Star. Star's owner was aboard but he was so shocked by the disaster that he showed no interest in the dog. Sam wondered if he could take Star ashore when the reached home. Would his mother and new stepfather allow him to keep the dog? After all, Star had saved his life.

A mother leaves her family because she wants
to become a famous actress

Eleanor (Ellie) Dingman lived in the small town of Spectacle, New York with her family. Ellie was the oldest of three kids and was about to enter middle school in the fall. It was 1963, the year John F. Kennedy was assassinated, that was the year the Dingman family began to fall apart. Doris, Ellie's mother, who called herself "Doris Day" Dingman, entered a contest at Bosetti's Supermarket. Even though what she won was a five-minute shopping spree, Doris dressed and acted as if she had won a beauty contest. Ellie was glad her mother won the contest but was embarrassed by the way she had over-dressed and put on so much make-up for the shopping spree. Ellie also had been shocked that her mother cheated and filled out twenty-five entry blanks and dropped them in the box before the contest.

It was true that Doris was probably the prettiest woman in Spectacle. That was how she had gotten to be the Spam Spread Girl outside the A&P and to play all the princess roles in the local community theater productions. After winning the Bosetti's Supermarket contest, Doris tried to get a job modeling clothes at the local department store. She tried to promote a holiday parade in which she would be the queen, wear a crown, and ride in a convertible while waving to the crowd. She showed less and less interest in her kids' activities and in keeping house.

In looking back, Ellie believed that it was the Kennedy assassination and her mother's focus on the widow, Jackie Kennedy, that led her mother to decide to leave home to pursue an acting career in New York City. While all of this is going on with her mother, Ellie is having problems at her new school. A clique of popular girls begins to treat her cruelly. Ellie feels she has no one to talk to about the cruelty - her mother or even the teachers in the school. At the same time, more and more of the chores at home are becoming Ellie's responsibility as her mother secretly prepares to leave the family.

The Dingman family lives on a dead-end street named Witch Tree Lane. There are only four houses on the street and some of the people in other parts of town make fun of the little neighborhood. Interestingly, Ellie finds some of her best support coming from the neighbors on Witch Tree Lane. You need to read "Here Today" by Ann M. Martin to find out how Ellie manages to overcome her problems and help her family member's endure after losing a mother to her show-business ambitions.

A girl is forced to leave school to work
a dangerous job in the cotton mill

The year is 1910. The location is North Pawnal, Vermont. Just about everybody in that small town works in the cotton textile mill. The mill owners own the town as well - the houses, the store, the school. So the workers who work long hours for low wages also have to give their money back to the mill owners for rent and for food and supplies. It is a hard life and just about impossible for anyone to get ahead.

Grace Forcier is twelve-years-old. She lives with her family - her father, mother, Delia, her older sister, and Henry, her younger brother. Her grandfather, Pepe, also lives with them. Pepe is no longer able to work and spends most of the time in bed. Like many of the mill worker families, they are French Canadians who moved from their farms in Canada to take jobs in the textile mills of New England.

When their story begins, Grace is attending school in the one room schoolhouse. Miss Leslie is the teacher. Grace knows she is the second best reader in the class. Arthur is the best one. One morning when the class is reading, a manager from the mill shows up. He demands that Arthur come with him. He is needed to work in the mill. Even though the teacher protests, the boy is forced to go.

Just about all the grown-ups in town work in the mill. As soon as kids appear to be able to work, they are also brought into the mills to work. Because money is so short, the families need the little bit that the kids are paid for working the long hours. The work is dangerous and it is not unusual for workers to lose fingers or even arms and legs. Actually the kids aren't supposed to be hired until they are fourteen years old. But, papers are easy to fake and the mill owners don't care how old the workers are, just so they get the job done.

Although Grace is only twelve, she, using fake papers, is hired. She has a hard time because she is left-handed and the job is designed for a right-handed worker. Still, Graces tries hard and is thrilled to be earning money. Arthur, however, hates the work and deliberately injures himself so he no longer has to work in the mill. The teacher, Miss Leslie, is horrified at what is happening to her children. She helps the kids write a letter inviting authorities to come and investigate what is going on in terms of kids illegally working in the mill.

Eventually, a man shows up in town with a camera. His name is Lewis Hine and he quietly begins to take pictures of the workers. The mill owners are unaware at first that Lewis Hine is a reformer who wants to see that child labor laws are rigidly enforced. By the time the owners catch on, Hine has slipped out of town with his pictures and the details of what they depict. Miss Leslie is fired and it appears that the school will be shut down.

Grace has always hoped that someday she could go away to study and become a teacher. Since the authorities are forcing the mill owners to quit employing children who are too young, possibly Grace can be the temporary teacher at the school. At least, she can teach them to read.

Author Elizabeth Winthrop based "Counting on Grace" on actual historical facts as much as she could. The pictures used on the cover and in the book are pictures of real persons from the 1910 era.