Imogene is the ultimate history buff, who “finger-painted an accurate map of the Oregon Trail” as a preschooler. Her passion drives her to spruce up the town’s neglected Historical Society house and offer tours, but the townspeople aren’t interested. In fact, the announcement that the house will be torn down in order to build a shoelace factory creates little concern. In despair, Imogene wanders through the old building one last time and discovers a parchment note thanking the homeowner for hospitality, signed by “Your humble and obedient servant, G. Washington.” Her determination revitalized, Imogene locks herself into wooden stocks on the house’s front steps, keeping the bulldozers at bay and garnering attention all the way to the White House. Imogene’s strong stance and proactive behavior is kept from becoming too earnest by a convenient (and unlikely) denouement and her liberal use of famous quotes from U.S. history, from John Paul Jones to Martin Luther King Jr. (Ages 6–10)

Meet Imogene Tripp, a plucky girl with a passion for history. As a baby, her first words were “Four score and seven years ago.” In preschool, she finger-painted a map of the Oregon Trail. So it’s not surprising that when the mayor wants to tear down the long-neglected Liddleville Historical Society to make room for a shoelace factory, Imogene is desperate to convince the town how important its history is. But even though she rides through the streets in her Paul Revere costume shouting, “The bulldozers are coming, the bulldozers are coming!” the townspeople won’t budge. What’s a history-loving kid to do?

Filled with quotes from history’s biggest players—not to mention mini-bios—and lots of humor, this is the perfect book for budding historians.
 
“This girl-power story succeeds as an energetic—and funny—against-all-odds tale.” —The Horn Book Magazine, Starred