Magic Tree House #51: High Time for Heroes features Jack and Annie back in Egypt, still seeking the secrets of greatness for Merlin. This time they will meet the great nurse, Florence Nightingale, on her trip to Egypt that served as the inspiration for the choices that made her both famous and beloved.
In The Shadow of the Lamp
It’s 1854 and sixteen-year-old Molly would give anything to change her circumstances as a lowly servant in a posh London house. So when she hears of an opportunity to join the nurses who will be traveling with Florence Nightingale to the Crimea, she jumps at the chance. The work is grueling, the hospital conditions deplorable, and Miss Nightingale a demanding teacher. Before long, the plight of British soldiers becomes more than just a mission of mercy as Molly finds that she’s falling in love with both a dashing young doctor and a soldier who has joined the army to be near her. But with the battle raging ever nearer, can Molly keep the two men she cares for from harm? A love story to savor, and a fascinating behind-the-scenes imagining of the woman who became known as “the lady with the lamp.”
Drummer Boy’s Battle (Trailblazer Books Book 21)
After their father dies, Robbie Robinson and his older brother, Peter, join the British army in order to make a living for their family. At first, army life is exciting, even fun. Then in 1854, they are sent to Russia to right in the Crimean War—Peter as a member of the famous Light Horse Brigade and twelve-year-old Robbie as a drummer boy. But the brothers are separated during the doomed charge of the Light Brigade, and Robbie fears for Peter’s life.
An injury to his left hand brings Robbie to Barracks Hospital in Scutari, Turkey, where he hopes to find Peter. Instead he meets Florence Nightingale, a nurse working hard to change for the better the way nurses do their jobs. Robbie becomes Florence’s “right-hand man,” running errands, delivering messages, and reporting alarming hospital conditions to her. But the doctors and officers running the hospital want to put a stop to Florence’s improvements. Will Robbie and his friend find a way to succeed in spite of the challenges?
Soldiers are dying all around him, and only Florence Nightingale can help save them!
An adventure story, ideal for readers 8-12 year of age.