The Petticoat Party Books in Order

The Petticoat Party follows the Brown family and a wagon train headed from Missouri toward Oregon in the mid-1840s. At the center is Phoebe Brown, a lively young girl with a sharp eye for trouble and very little interest in being told that adventure is not for girls.

The series begins with Go West, Young Women!, as a group of families leaves Independence, Missouri, for Oregon Country. The trip is hard from the start. The trail means miles of dust, difficult crossings, scarce supplies, illness, and the constant need to keep moving. Phoebe's family is part of a wagon train where the women soon have to take on jobs that are usually left to men.

They do not wait around to be rescued.

In Phoebe's Folly, the party faces a fresh problem when the men are injured. The women must learn to hunt and protect the group while still trying to finish a journey that stretches far beyond anything most of them have known. Phoebe's confidence can get her into trouble, but it also helps her see what needs doing.

By Oregon, Sweet Oregon, the Browns have reached Oregon Territory and are trying to turn a claim near the Willamette River into a home. The trail may be over, but settling is its own kind of work. The family clears land, builds, plants, and adjusts to a new community. Phoebe misses the freedom and excitement of travel, while her older sister Amelia has ambitions that do not fit neatly into pioneer life.

The final book, Gold-Rush Phoebe, sends Phoebe toward California during the Gold Rush. Older now, she disguises herself as a boy and travels with her friend Robbie in search of opportunity. The setting shifts from Oregon's farms to crowded, fast-changing San Francisco and the rough country around the gold fields.

The books are historical adventures with a comic streak. Karr keeps the practical details of trail life in view, but the heart of the series is Phoebe's growing independence. She makes mistakes, takes risks, and pushes against the narrow choices available to girls of her time.

Read the four books in order. Each one moves Phoebe and her family into a new stage of life, from the first leap westward to the difficult question of what kind of future she wants for herself.