|
Loading... Hattie Big Skyby Kirby Larson
I loved this book, which chronicles Hattie's attempts to prove up a homesteading claim, right up until the rushed and seemingly hastily written ending. 90% of the book is just grand, the situations fascinating, the history accurate, the people compelling. The last bit is as annoying as standing in a shower when the hot water runs out. (  ) satyridae | Apr 5, 2013 |  by Kirby Larson Hattie Inez Brooks, having been orphaned at an early age, has spent most of her life being shuffled from one relative to another. Now, at sixteen, she is about to be pulled out of school when an unexpected letter arrives. Her Uncle Chester has died and left her his homestead in eastern Montana. Determined to build a life and home of her own, Hattie sets out for Montana alone. Kirby Larson obviously did an impressive research job for this book but she also manages to avoid the throw-everything-in approach which can haunt historical fiction. I really liked the fact that she did not feel the need to over-explain the homesteading system. I had no idea that homesteading had continued into the 20th century, so that aspect was fascinating to read about. The characters, with the possible exception of Aunt Ivy, all felt delicately handled and well rounded. I still don't know what I think about Trask Martin. Which is to say, he felt human. I also liked the resolution of the story which wove a delicate balance between realism and hope. I'm not wild about the cover though. The girl doesn't look like Hattie, nor does she look accurate to the period. I think it would have been more effective with only the sky and the land. But maybe that's just me. And...I don't know why, but I didn't LOVE this book. I liked it. I would recommend it as a different view into a certain period of history. I liked a lot of aspects. I'd say it deserves its Newbery Honor. But something kept me from fully engaging. It's entirely possible this reaction is me and not the book. I really don't know. Book source: my school library Recommendation source: Leila ( ) maureene87 | Apr 4, 2013 | by Kirby Larson Hattie Inez Brooks, having been orphaned at an early age, has spent most of her life being shuffled from one relative to another. Now, at sixteen, she is about to be pulled out of school when an unexpected letter arrives. Her Uncle Chester has died and left her his homestead in eastern Montana. Determined to build a life and home of her own, Hattie sets out for Montana alone. Kirby Larson obviously did an impressive research job for this book but she also manages to avoid the throw-everything-in approach which can haunt historical fiction. I really liked the fact that she did not feel the need to over-explain the homesteading system. I had no idea that homesteading had continued into the 20th century, so that aspect was fascinating to read about. The characters, with the possible exception of Aunt Ivy, all felt delicately handled and well rounded. I still don't know what I think about Trask Martin. Which is to say, he felt human. I also liked the resolution of the story which wove a delicate balance between realism and hope. I'm not wild about the cover though. The girl doesn't look like Hattie, nor does she look accurate to the period. I think it would have been more effective with only the sky and the land. But maybe that's just me. And...I don't know why, but I didn't LOVE this book. I liked it. I would recommend it as a different view into a certain period of history. I liked a lot of aspects. I'd say it deserves its Newbery Honor. But something kept me from fully engaging. It's entirely possible this reaction is me and not the book. I really don't know. Book source: my school library Recommendation source: Leila ( ) | Apr 4, 2013 | edit | I chose to read this book as part of a project to catch up with children's and young adult books by reading the Newbery Medal winners and honor books. It was an Honor Book in 2007. I was delighted to find that it gave me insight into some of my husband's family history, as well. Like the heroine, several of his family members homesteaded in Montana in the early years of the twentieth century. And his grandfather, a Danish-American Lutheran pastor, ran into some trouble in Iowa during World War I when wartime xenophobia forbade any public use of foreign languages (Danish, Norwegian and Swedish were proscribed along with German). Similar occurrences in Montana are a centerpiece of the book. Hattie, the protagonist, is an orphan who has been bounced from relative to relative all her life. She's ended up with a distant cousin, "Uncle" Holt, and his starchy wife, "Aunt" Ivy, in a small town in Iowa. Her best friend, Charlie, has enlisted and is fighting in France. Aunt Ivy wants her to quit high school and go to work as a chambermaid at a local boarding-house. Then a letter arrives, notifying her that her real uncle has died and left her to prove his claim in eastern Montana. Away she goes to a host of new experiences, some good and some bad. Fellow homesteaders and other residents of the area become friends and helpful neighbors, but there are problem people too. Hattie learns to deal with wolves, wild horses, drought, hail, and other hardships; helps deliver a baby and helps neighbors sick with the dread Spanish influenza. She writes letters home which end up giving her some income as they are published in the local paper in Iowa. The book does not have a typical happy ending, but it does end on a hopeful note. Highly recommended. (  ) auntieknickers | Apr 3, 2013 | I have no idea why it took me so long to read this, I've had a copy for years. Hattie is a strong, independent character and her struggles are realistic. It is a vivid description of the hardships of living in Montana. The secondary characters are also very interesting. ( ) matamgirl | Apr 3, 2013 |
 Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, March 2007 (Vol. 60, No. 7)) There’s not much future in Iowa for sixteen-year-old Hattie Brooks, whose guardian aunt is urging her to quit school and take a domestic job, so the opportunity to prove up a Montana homestead claim left to her by a deceased uncle seems a longshot worth taking. She’ll have the better part of one year to complete the fencing, bring forty acres under cultivation, and raise the nearly forty-dollar fee to own the property free and clear. Neighbors welcome her and assist wherever they can—advising on crop choice, stretching fence wire in spare moments, donating a few chickens, sharing heaving equipment, and offering moral support and friendship. But Hattie’s particular closeness with the family of German immigrant Karl Mueller and his American wife, Perilee, catches the attention of Traft Martin, scion of a wealthy ranching family and head of a nativist contingent of townsfolk who whip up anti-German sentiments as World War I rages in Europe and claims the lives of American soldiers. Martin keeps Hattie wary and off balance—charming her with hints of romance one moment, cajoling her to sell her farm the next; reasoning with her about making ill-advised friendships, and then turning to thinly veiled threats. Hattie’s determination and loyalty to the Muellers is unshakable, but just when it looks like she will succeed, Nature throws a knockout punch worse than anything Martin or his ilk could devise. Larson’s tale is inspired by an ancestor who, as a single young woman, did prove up a Montana claim, but she turns to more common experiences of failure to fashion Hattie’s fictional story. With the literary Great Plains overpopulated by plucky 1800s girls on covered wagons, it’s refreshing to bring the homestead experience into the twentieth century and meet a strong-willed young woman who meets failure with dignity, shoulders her debts with good-natured resolve, and plans her future with cautious optimism. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2006, Delacorte, 289p., $17.99 and $15.95. Grades 6-9.
References to this work on external resources.
|
 Google Books — Loading...Popular coversRatingAverage: (4.12)
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2
1
Wikipedia in English
1