Set against the historical background of an incident in the author's family, book one in Dale Cramer’s “The Daughters of Caleb Bender” series shows the simplicity, spirit and dedication of his Amish forbears.

A prequel to Levi’s Will, a 2006 Christy Award winner, Paradise Valley begins in Ohio, where the Amish are imprisoned for refusing to allow their children to attend public school, even though it is now the law in 1922. Caleb Bender defends the right to school his children according to his religious convictions, uttering the words, “Your honor, I am not a citizen of this world.”

When a real estate agent presents the Amish community with a flyer describing a land tract called Paradise Valley, Caleb determines to move his large family across country by train and wagon with pioneer grit and heart. Their choice leads them to the country of Mexico, where a different set of challenges await.

Paradise Valley encourages readers to take a second look at some hard-won freedoms. Fans of Amish fiction will appreciate this well-crafted story based on the heritage Cramer’s father left behind.

—Jennifer Toth

Paradise Valley

Dale Cramer

Bethany House (Baker Publishing Group)

softcover, 368 pages, $14.99

978-0-764-20838-6

January 2011