And Condors Danced

A moving coming-of-age story from three-time Newbery Medal winner Zilpha Keatley Snyder


The tenth day of June in the year of Our Lord, 1907. Mehitabel Carlton Hartwick becomes invisible . . .

Eleven-year-old Carly Hartwick lives a life of adventure on her family's ranch in Santa Luisa. No one has a clue about her secret life—not her strict father, her ailing, distracted mother, her older sister, or her older brother. Carly shares her adventures with her faithful dog, Tiger, and documents their exploits in her journal. She loves visiting her aunt Mehitabel and hearing the story of her Chinese servant's danger-filled immigration to California during the gold rush. And soon she and Tiger have a real-life mystery to solve: Who bombed a float during the annual Fourth of July parade?


This fateful summer and fall, two tragedies will test Carly's courage and forever alter her views on life and death.


Culled from Snyder's mother's memories of growing up in this slice of rural Southern California, And Condors Danced introduces a heroine with a big imagination and an even bigger heart.


This ebook features an extended biography of Zilpha Keatley Snyder.