Moving the Millers’ Minnie Moore Mine Mansion: A True Story

Gr 3-6–“Like all of the best stories, this takes place in Idaho.” Eggers’s utterly enjoyable new offering opens with this tantalizing proclamation and proceeds to weave a wry tale of mining, real estate, unscrupulous bankers, and pigs. The book is based on the true story of pioneer-era widow Annie Miller who, upon finding herself in difficult circumstances, made the rather unusual decision to move her entire home four miles from its original location. This is a story of old-fashioned ingenuity told in a cheeky modern voice and the result, like the author’s other nonfiction for young readers, is delightful. Packed with texture, detail, and quiet humor, Sarda’s illustrations of this complex undertaking pair perfectly with the book’s elegant prose. Though the illustrator uses a subdued color palette to depict hardscrabble scenes of the Old West, her art manages to appear lush and lively and the scenes go a long way toward telling this little-known story.