Tree of Freedom
Rebecca Caudill
 The novel tells the story of the Venable family, Jonathan, Bertha, and their five children, who in 1780 walk from North Carolina to Kentucky to homestead on 400 acres. There they build a cabin, plant crops, and raise livestock; 13-year-old Stephanie grows an apple tree which she calls her "tree of freedom". They are dismayed to discover that there is a rival claim to their land made by a British sympathizer. As the war comes closer, Indian raids increase, Stephanie's older brother Noel becomes a courier for the Governor of Virginia, and Jonathan joins an expedition against the Indians with George Rogers Clark.