Ellen Howard

Summary
After burying Ma and moving to a new Little House with no dairy, Pa goes out hunting, and seemingly doesn’t come back. Now, with the wind and snow roarin’ mighty fierce, how are the kids (and Gramma) gonna stay warm till pa comes back?

Personal Opine
A cute story that shows a nice picture of pioneer life and surprisingly opens with a death. A mother death, no less. It’s a passable story, with nice art to help it along.

Class extension ideas
1. Have a discussion with the kids bout show more pioneer life, and how dangers it was.
2. Have each kid draw a quilt patch however they like. Then assemble the quilt on the wall with all the patches! show less

Kind of a pain to read aloud (since it was a little heavy on the vernacular) but my 10yo daughter loved it. It offered a unique perspective on English canals, and the universal difficulty of life for many people in the 18th-19th centuries.

This book is about a pioneer family that, after leaving their deceased mother behind, moves on to a new unknown place. When the harsh winter winds come, the youngest daughter, Elvirey, and her brother and sister help to seal up the house to keep out the chill for themselves, their father, and their grandmother. When their father goes out on a hunt and does not return, the children are left in the log cabin that is not as sealed up from the cold as they thought. Using scraps of fabric their show more grandmother intended on using for a quilt, Elvirey thinks of a very clever way to keep the cold out and in doing so, makes the log cabin a home as her mother would have done. When her father returns, he is filled with joy at what Elvirey has done and for the first time in a long time, speaks of his late wife.
I would recommend this book to young children (approx. ages 6-12) because of its beautiful pictures and sweet story of loss, family, and love. It is very well written and thought out and would likely touch the hearts of anyone who read it. show less

Elvirey moved to the Michigan frontier from the Carolinas with her father and grandmother after the death of her mother. The women of the community all want a church. Elvirey doesn't really remember church. The Carolinas to Michigan is not a migration pattern one would typically anticipate; however, I checked the 1850 census for Michigan via Ancestry.com and found 808 persons born in North Carolina residing in Michigan and 188 persons born in South Carolina there. While the numbers aren't show more great, they do support some migration from that part of the South to the upper midwest. The story line did not grab me like I thought it might, and the illustrations fell a little flat. The book, however, does illustrate the fact that churches usually came along after a group of settlers arrived and banded together to have one established. show less