A Girl's Life in the Rural West Before the Electronic Age Captured our Children Inside

Neva Andrews, published by iUniverse, Inc. releases her third book in the Jo Barkley Series. A Mule Will Do takes her main character Jo to a new school where the boys and girls spend their free time riding horses. She has to gentle one of her dad's work mules to have something to ride.

A Girls Life in the Rural West Before the Electronic Age Captured Our Children InsideThe Story of Jo Barkley a Free-spirited Young Girl, living in the Magic Valley of southern Idaho in 1936 Denver, CO, January 28, 2003.

Neva Andrews, published by iUniverse, Inc., the leading provider of publishing technology solutions for authors, announced today the release of her third book, A Mule Will Do. It is common these days to wonder what ever did children do before television, computers and video games?" In this wonderful and interesting book, A Mule Will Do, author Neva Andrews answers that question. Jo Barkley has an inquisitive mind, a loving, supportive Christian family and spends as much time as she possibly can out-of-doors.As the story opens in A Mule Will Do, the year is 1936 and Jo Barkley and her family have moved from Utah to a farming community in southern Idaho. Jo has had to leave behind her pony, her dog Tippy, and her beloved grandpa. On her first day of school, Jo meets Kate who immediately establishes her animosity towards Jo; Egbert, who is disabled with a bad leg and sits on the sidelines writing poetry; and Alvin, who Jo thinks she may be able to befriend. Jos father has purchased a team of mules, Pete and Jenny, for farm work. Jos mission is to gentle Pete, who has been abused, so that she can join with her schoolmates horseback outings. Pete throws her the first time she tries to ride him.In their new home, chores are established for Jo and her brother Clyde. A Mule Will Do illustrates amply the hard work that was a part of everyday life in the rural West during the depression. Jos chores include chopping sagebrush to fuel the cook stove and heater in the home, drawing water from the coulee for washing and laundry, and feeding the mules. She uses the temptation of feed to lure Pete to her side and within ear scratching distance.

Throughout A Mule Will Do, Andrews writes with great knowledge and care about Jos relationships with animals. Her gentling techniques used with the mule Pete could be a training manual on their own.Kate continues to antagonize Jo, making her life miserable and causing her to question her Christian teaching to Do Unto Others As You Would Have Others Do Unto You." Jo misses Grandpa and her talks with him about these troubling subjects. Pete is allowing Jo to ride him. Her insistent, gentle training techniques are working, usually. Kate does not want Jo and her mule to accompany the rest of them on their horseback riding outings, but Alvin says, Oh Kate, A Mule Will Do!" Father loses his job; the work has run out. They hunt ducks for Thanksgiving dinner and Mom makes pies from a pumpkin someone has given them. Thanksgiving is good and peaceful. Sadly, the next day a telegram arrives announcing Grandpas death. Father must use their savings to go help his mother and bury his father. Jo is stunned and grieves. She confides to Mrs. Martin that she is afraid she will not see her Grandpa in Heaven because she is having such a hard time liking Kate and is struggling with being kind and forgiving.While Father is gone, Jo and Clyde must go out to jerk sagebrush to replenish their dwindling firewood supply. The work is dangerous, the weather cold and threatening. But Jo handles the team well and Clyde works the chain for jerking the sagebrush. They are almost done and getting ready to go, when a coyote comes over the hill, spooking the mules, causing them to run. Clyde is hurt and Jo must go for help. In this catastrophe, as throughout A Mule Will Do, Jo operates with a clear mind and strength of character that presents a great role model for adolescent girls. Her strength and intelligence carry the day. Her confusion at the problems of life make her an empathic protagonist. Young girls will love her determination and understand her need to achieve, qualities that havent changed over the decades.

The struggle Jo has to bring her Christian beliefs to reality in her life are lessons families will recognize as real and pressing in our modern world.A Mule Will Do is full of accurate historical detail and the natural setting is easily pictured. The coulee, the Emerald lakes, the canyon all come to life in colorful detail in Andrews writing. She of course is drawing on her experience growing up in southern Idaho to give her story an aura of reality. Her love of horses and her ability to handle them are quite evident. Adolescent girls everywhere who love horses will love to read about Jo Barkley and her adventures in the rural West of the 1930s.Andrews preceding two books about Jo Barkley, Wild Horse Summer and The Secret of Tabby Mountain have been sold to school libraries and used as texts in English as a Second Language classes as well as being sold to the public. ESL teacher, Jerry Shea, speaking of Wild Horse Summer, commented, Some of the appeal of the book is it is so universal, especially in the scenes of the family. There is something so tender and touching about the whole story." He adds, I knew the book would be perfect for teaching language and grammar, but I had no idea it would spawn the in-depth class discussions it did."Neva Andrews and her husband Ed live in Colorado. Neva has been a horsewoman all her life and still rides once in a while, although at 77 it becomes a little more difficult to mount. She writes a column, Over the Back Fence, for the local paper where she talks about her years as a Christian missionary on an Indian reservation in Nevada and about her strong faith in her Lord. Neva also loves to garden, plays the dulcimer and enjoys her children and grandchildren as often as she can.

A Mule Will Do, ISBN 0-595-24762-8, was published in 2002 by Writers Club Press, an imprint of iUniverse, Inc.
Order on line from amazon.com or
by phone 303-654-9858, or
email . Price $11.95

About iUniverse

iUniverse puts the power of publishing into the hands of companies and individuals, allowing them to publish and distribute professional quality books and documents -- on demand, in print or electronic format. As a digital publishing infrastructure provider, the company offers a unique Publishing Commerce Platform to empower individuals, companies and publishers to maximize the value of their content through seamless assembly, production and delivery. Its changing the rules of publishing. A record 750,000 books have already been printed and sold by iUniverses over 8,500 strong author base. The company has a wide range of customer and partner relationships with industry leaders including Adobe, Barnes & Noble, Hungry Minds (formerly IDG Books) and the Authors Guild. iUniverse maintains operations in Campbell, California; Lincoln, Nebraska; New York, New York; and Shanghai, China. The company is headquartered in Campbell, Calif. For more company news and information, visit www.iuniverse.com.

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Media Contact:Neva Andrews(303) 654-9858neva@jobarkley.com