Moving the Millers' Minnie Moore Mine Mansion: A True Story
CCBC Review:
“Like all the best stories, this takes place in Idaho.” Deadpan humor sets the tone for this droll recounting of historical events that culminated in a four-mile, month-long house relocation. A silver mine discovered in the 1870s by John “Minnie” Moore, later purchased by Brit Henry Miller, became the site of a three-story luxury home built for Miller’s bride, Annie. After Henry’s death, Annie “was tricked by a crooked banker,” lost her money, and began to raise pigs for income until confronted by a city prohibition against livestock. Unwilling to leave her home or abandon her pigs, Annie and her son Douglas elected to move the house outside the city limits, a complicated process that involved shifting the structure onto huge logs and hitching it to a team of horses. After rolling the house six feet forward on the logs, workers would stop, move the logs at the back to the front, and begin again. Reportedly, Annie and Douglas lived in the house during the move, along with their cook. “The pigs, we assume, followed along behind.” Earth-toned, whimsical, Gorey-esque illustrations are a pitch-perfect accompaniment to the story. ©2023 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Julia Sarda
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 4–8
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
19th Century
History (Nonfiction)
Humor
Problem-Solving
U.S. History
Publisher:
Candlewick
Publish Year: 2023
Pages: 48
ISBN: 9781536215885
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 979 Eggers