The second book in the Doris Free series is now an ePub book. You can enjoy A Harverst of Friends on your Kindle for only .99, and it will be available in additional formats soon for this same low price.  Buy Now on Amazon.com.

Life on a Wisconsin farm in the 1930s isn’t easy. Doris Free and her family are struggling because of the Depression, and the whole town is on edge as they work to survive. When a new family moves to Tomah to manage the general store, everyone is curious. And when the new family introduces Cole, the first black man most of the town’s people have ever seen, conflicts begin to build. Doris is determined to help Cole fit in with the people of Tomah.

But how can a ten-year-old girl change the way a town believes? Can she help Cole before it’s too late? As the summer cools down, tempers heat up, and the situation grows dangerous. Doris brings together the people who believe in equality, and together they fight for unity. They learn that sometimes a small action, or a small girl, can bring about the biggest change.

Sample

Additional novels in the Doris Free series will be coming soon. In the next title, Giving Thanks, Doris will help the town of Tomah through a frightening outbreak of the flu. 

Doris is shy, but filled with determination and creativity.  Her first adventure in 'Neighbor to Neighbor' is a great introduction to life in the 1930's.  Her family faces the struggled of daily life, but they also realize how fortunate they are.

When Doris unexpectedly befriends a thief, her life becomes complicated.  In order to help her struggling neighbor, she must keep secrets from her family.

The pure desire to do good brings together not only Doris' family and their neighbor, but the entire town of Tomah.

This is my favorite part of the story.  Yes, Doris is a real person, she was my Grandma.  She was born Doris Marie Freemore in Tomah Wisconsin where she lived for most of her life.  The story of Doris and Danny is not a true story, but many parts of the story came from things my Grandma used to tell me.  Often she told me stories of her childhood while she cut up old rags to make rag rugs.  I loved the colorful balls of rags and really enjoyed using this image in the Doris Free books.  When I was a little girl I sat on the rag balls, they were twice the size of a bowling ball.

There really was a cow named buttercup and a stray dog did chew off the tip of her tail!  Rain-in-the-face and Smokey were real horses in my family's history.  Can you guess what other things in the story were part of the real Doris' life?

Doris Marie Puttkammer-Freemore with Cara Marie Brookins   --   2003