A Newbery Medal Winner In 1756, New York State was still a British colony, and the French and the Indians were constant threats to Edward and his family. When his father was called away to watch for a raid from the north, only Edward was left to protect Mama and little Trudy. His father had shown him how to use the huge matchlock gun, an old Spanish gun that was twice as long as he was, but would Edward be able to handle it if trouble actually came? This classic, first published in 1941, has an updated, kid-friendly format that includes the original black-and-white illustrations.

Story, told in beautiful poetic prose, of the training of a present-day Navajo Indian boy who feels a vocation to become a medicine man.

Newbery Awards.

This is a book about the famous Uesugi-family and their history from the 15th century until the fall of the shogunate. What makes this book truly unique is that it also takes an indepth look at the history of the Japanese matchlock. The Uesugi lords and their retainers managed to develop a quite unique style of matchlock which would serve them from the Siege of Osaka in 1614 until the very end of the Edo period. This development took place in the old castle-town of Yonezawa which was home to the Uesugi-clan. This is one of the first books ever written in English that focus on the Japanese matchlock and how it influenced the samurai who lived and fought under the shadow of their famous ancestor Uesugi Kenshin. This is a book for everyone interested in samurai history. The content is based on four years of research and several trips to the region.

Originally published in 1938 by Holiday House.