Ellen Howard

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

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.

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

A lovely book about a family that travels to a new area and gathers in fellowship to worship.