Thatcrazyhikerlady

Relates the incredible adventures of Professor William Waterman Sherman who in 1883 sets off in a balloon across the Pacific, survives the volcanic eruption of Krakatoa, and is eventually picked up in the Atlantic.

In the winter of 1856, a storm delays the lighthouse keeper's return to an island off the coast of Maine, and his daughter Abbie must keep the lights burning by herself.

Clara's dream of enriching her rough life on the family farm is fulfilled when a horse-drawn book wagon visits with the country's first traveling library.

A baker's son, who dreams of becoming a riding master at Vienna's Spanish Court Riding School, is admitted as an apprentice and achieves his desire under the tutelage of both two-legged and four-legged masters.