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The Great Railroad Race: the Diary of Libby WestKristiana Gregory

Children's fiction

The Great Railroad Race: the Diary of Libby West

by Kristiana Gregory

208 pages · First published 1999

Libby West travels with her family across the Great Plains in the 1860s as competing railroad companies race to build the first transcontinental line. Her diary records construction camps, new towns, dangerous work, and the rapid changes the railroad brings to Western landscapes and communities. The celebrated race appears exciting from a child’s viewpoint while also revealing the enormous labor and disruption behind the achievement. Kristiana Gregory’s Dear America novel uses a fictional girl’s experience to introduce the transcontinental railroad as both technological adventure and a force transforming the American West.

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No surprises at chapter twelve

Content notes

Violence, weapons, and peril

Alcohol-Free Pour

Birch & Maple Coffee

Rich coffee suits rugged adventures and wide-open settings.

What you'll need

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How to mix it

  1. Stir any sweetener, cocoa, or spices into the coffee until dissolved. Add milk or cream if desired and garnish as indicated.
  2. Garnish: Orange peel if for extra kick.
  3. Glassware: Mug (or highball glass if served cold).
21+

Cocktail Pour · 21+

Rhenian Honey Ale

For adults of legal drinking age. Please drink responsibly.

A mellow, malty pour suits rugged adventures and wide-open settings.

What you'll need

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How to mix it

  1. Pour the ale into a pint glass, stir in honey syrup gently, and express the lemon peel over the top.
  2. Garnish: Lemon peel.
  3. Glassware: Pint glass.

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