Crystal Brave

The day before Crystal Brave's thirteenth birthday celebration, her parents leave for the Taum Sauk Mountain to study petroglyphs, planning to return the next day. All plans are disrupted by the long-predicted New Madrid earthquake. The devastation in Southeast Missouri cuts off all communication, leaving Crystal desperate to find out if her parents are safe. True to Brave family tradition, Crystal takes the courageous step of going to find them herself. With the special relationship between her and a horse and a dog, the generous mentorship of those she meets along her journey, and strength from the love for her family, Crystal faces some of her worst fears, earning passage into her teen years and learning the meaning of her family name.

Brenda BK Bradshaw is a former elementary and middle school teacher, special reading teacher, and assistant professor of elementary education. She grew up surrounded by Iowa corn and alfalfa fields and traveled on family vacations into the Missouri Ozark Mountains. Later, she moved to Kansas City to attend college where she met her husband, and moved to the Ozarks near his family. She grew up riding and enjoying horses, but her oldest daughter's love of horses has kept her in the barn.