One of my friends, Rae Yund, wrote this after my Flag Day presentation (okay, she exaggerated a bit, but still...): "We are all agog - can't believe that such a poised,  entertaining, engaging, erudite, effective and accomplished speaker is our friend. That an accomplished hostess, chef, Bible Study mentor, greeting card designer and just plain Prairie horse-back-paper-route-delivery-girl could hold four hundred discerning adult Lincoln Hills residents in rapt attention for over an hour is truly phenomenal."

Don't worry, she said I could use her name. In fact she made a good point, which is that if I did not give attribution people would thingI could have made it up myself and passed it off as a compliment from "someone."

Thanks, Rae!

This just came from Janet Larscheid in Wisconsin, and yes, she gave permission to use her name and her quotes. Thank you, Janet! She had many more great comments, including how she used bios in her classroom. In these quotes she refers specifically to GO FREE OR DIE and WALKING THE ROAD TO FREEDOM.


"I am on the Kids' Non-Fiction site and saw your comments, and, really, felt so happy to reach out to you and thank you.  The books were a springboard for our journey into the fight for justice of so many amazing people.  Each year, I looked forward to introducing such important women to my students.


"What I appreciated, being in a school based on a democratic philosophy of equality, equity, and the fight for justice, was to find your books at a reading level available to second graders (toward the end of the year) and third graders.  We did this, often, in a whole class approach, sometimes reading in unison, at times by individuals, and, also, often read by me.  I feel that my students were able to understand, appreciate, and empathize with these heroines.  The discussions that followed allowed for much exploration."

I was worried to death that about 30 people would show up in a room that holds 390. As it turned out 400 showed up. If I'd known there'd be THAT many I've have been even more worried! Luckily it went well – very, very well. Subject: People Who Made America Great. I had about 130 slides to go with, so it was quite the illustrated lecture. In fact, I'd say it was practically a graphic novel! 
Tomorrow it's supposed to be over 100 here in Lincoln, so I'm going out to ride about 7 a.m. Should be only about 90 then!

I wish you all lived here in the Sacramento, CA, area. On Thursday, June 14, I'm giving a (lively and fun and thought-provoking and altogether wonderful) presentation here in Lincoln on "People Who Made America Great!". Of course I'll be talking about NF research and writing, but mainly about the eleven people in my first eleven books. Come if you can!

Here's an announcement from a local newspaper: 

June 14 is Flag Day! The perfect day to learn more about our amazing American history. What more is there to learn, you ask?

Come to the Orchard Creek Lodge ballroom in Sun City Lincoln at 2 p.m., June 14, for
everything you always wanted to know about people who made America great!

Don’t miss hearing award-winning author Jeri Chase Ferris bring eleven people from 1776 on back to life (okay, not really). Don’t miss the good and the awful of researching  people’s lives.  Don’t miss her slide presentation on how an author gets the facts  – on an ice floe in the Arctic, for example, or …  well, come and find out. But don’t worry, she won’t be trying on eleven different sets of clothes.

Who wrote the best-selling book in the English language (after the Bible)? What IS that book? What did John Adams reply to Abigail’s “remember the ladies”?  Who wrote almanacs, built the first wooden clock in America, and more. Hint: first name Benjamin. Hint: NOT Benjamin Franklin.

Which Chief Justice turned his back on which President-elect when administering the oath of office? Why?

There are at least three hugely significant events tied to July 4, 1826. Do you know what they are? Can you tell us even more?

What escaped slave took one of God’s attributes as her last name? Why? And what WAS it?  What world-famous American singer could not …

What Native American …   What president …

You’ll know the answers on June 14. And you may want to add to the discussion yourself.
Come and celebrate Flag Day with people who made America great!

Here's more about what the Lincoln, CA, public library provides, and how the Friends of the Lincoln Library help. What can you add about YOUR library?
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Do you want or need to learn a new language? Check the shelves at the Lincoln Public Library at Twelve Bridges. I study Russian, and have been through all the books and tapes and cds on the library shelves. On a drive to Chicago with my Scottie Nasha, we listened to Pimsleur’s Russian lessons (from the library) for about 4,000 miles. I still can barely speak Russian. In fact I think Nasha (means “ours” in Russian) speaks it better than I do, but that’s not the library’s fault. My point? There’s all the help we could ask for right there on our Lincoln Library shelves. And all you need is a library card.

Want to catch up on some movies and don’t have Netflix? Check the shelves at the Lincoln Library. All you need is a library card.

Want to explore your family tree? We have millions of dollars worth of information available for free with your library card. We have, for example, Heritage Quest, an essential collection of material for genealogical and historical research dating back to the 1700s. We also have “Ancestry Library Edition,” one of the most important genealogical collections available, containing census, church, court, immigration records and more. All you need is a library card.

Want to fix your vehicle? For do-it-yourselfers with a library card we have an “on-call mechanic” (Chilton) available 24/7 with repair, maintenance, and service information for the most popular models. One of our librarians reports that a man recently fixed his ailing Saturn with Chilton’s help.

Want to get into college or find a scholarship or create a resume? Our “Testing and Education Reference Center” database has it all, including test prep books, online practice tests, resume builder, and more. You simply need a library card.

Are you brave enough to seek opposing viewpoints? Just go to the library’s “Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center” database. You’ll find resources covering today’s hottest topics, from terrorism to stem cell research to …  Well, just take a look. All you need is a library card.

How about the kids? For students from kindergarten through grade five the library has “Kids InfoBits,” with online information from books, magazines, newspapers, maps, charts, images, and more. Use your library card, do a key word search, and the info will be yours (or theirs).

Btw, these last five examples are available online 24/7.  You just need the number on your library card to access them all.

There really ARE good things for free in this world! At least in the library.