Mama says we must be ready,
ready for that angel coming.

High in the hills of Kentucky, a little girl eagerly awaits the arrival of a very special visitor -- an "angel" who, she is told, will come riding up the mountain on horseback, carrying a baby sister or brother in her saddlebag.

Li'l sis is what I'm wanting.
Li'l sis is what I'll call her.
I'll braid her hair right pretty,
brush it out most every night.

But the "angel" is not exactly what the young narrator imagined, and neither is the precious bundle that comes when she least expects it.

This gem of a story highlights a little-known piece of American history: the Frontier Nursing Service, a pioneering group of women who came to be called "angels on horseback."

 

This book has been graded for interest at 3-6 years.

There are 40 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2011 by Simon & Schuster .

Heather Henson lives on a farm in Kentucky with her husband and three children, and is the author of several critically acclaimed picture books and novels, including the Christopher Award-winning That Book Woman and Dream of Night. Susan Gaber has illustrated a number of picture books, including When Winter Comes, The Stable Where Jesus Was Born, and The Very First Thanksgiving Day. She lives with her family in Huntington, New York.