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The Ride

The Legend of Betsy Dowdy (With Audio Recording)

Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman

About The Book

One brave girl, one strong pony, one desperate ride to deliver a crucial message that would change the course of American history. Betsy is the girl power answer to Paul Revere.

Repeated for over two hundred years as an oral tradition, the legend of Betsy Dowdy is a classic American tale of a girl who simply believed she could be free. Inspired by the danger and daring of this ordinary North Carolinian girl, THE RIDE is a story about stepping up to help the cause you believe in, doing even what little you can, and building the United States of America.

About The Author

Kitty Griffin was born in Germany and adopted by Americans. She has traveled from one end of the USA to the other, living at twenty-eight different “permanent” addresses, with much of her childhood spent in Virginia. She has worked as a counselor, a mailman, a waitress, a secretary, and, of course, as a children’s book author. She teaches in the MFA Writing for Children program at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA. She lives in Washington County, Pennsylvania with her husband and assorted furry friends. She can also be found at www.kittygriffin.com.

About The Illustrator

Photo Credit:

Marjorie Priceman, illustrator of many acclaimed picture books, has won Caldecott Honors for her illustrations in Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin! by Lloyd Moss and Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the Frist Hot-Air Balloon Ride, which she also wrote. She lives in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

Product Details

Awards and Honors

  • CBC/NCSS Notable Children's Book in Social Studies

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this illustrator: Marjorie Priceman