Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson, copyright 2006
To keep myself company, I'd taken to conducting chore-time conversations with God. My self-imposed rule was that each conversation must start on a thankful note. Sometimes that kept the discussion from really getting going. I lifted my petticoat out of the wash basket.
"Lord, I do thank you for that warm wind and the promise of spring." I bent for another clothespin to secure the petticoat. "And I am very thankful that my wash load is small." Here I thought of Perilee, washing for her family of five. "I count it a true blessing that there are no diapers in my wash." I shuddered to think of that. "Now, you know I've been working on keeping a sunny lookout on life, but I must speak to you about Violet, who is more devil than cow."
Kirby Larson's Hattie Big Sky, a Newbery Honor Book, is the kind of story I've loved to read my entire life: a young woman sets out for places unknown in search of adventure and her own place in the world. Sixteen year old Hattie, who describes herself as Hattie-Here-and-There because she has lived with a long list of relatives since her parents died, inherits her uncle's claim in Eastern Montana as 1917 draws to a close. She leaves Iowa with her cat, Mr. Whiskers, her few earthly belongings (mostly books!), her life savings ($400 minus the train ticket and some warmer clothes), and takes the train westward.
In addition to the hardships of "proving up" the 320 acre claim in the nine months left on the three year term (fencing and crops), Hattie is troubled by the community's growing prejudice against people of German descent, including her dearest friends and neighbors, the Muellers. With a land-hungry rancher on one side and unpredictable weather on the other, increasing violence against those deemed "unpatriotic," and concern for her childhood friend Charlie who is on the battle front in France, Hattie's list of worries is lengthy. But in the fashion of a truly great writer, Larson pens an epic tale of friendship, determination, hard work, and historic fact as she tells the story of early twentieth-century homesteaders through the eyes of a lovable and very human protagonist.
That the story is based on her own great-grandmother makes the story that much more enjoyable.
I highly recommend this for anyone who loves the Little House on the Prairie books (though the themes in this are for readers a bit older, in my opinion), the Anne of Green Gables series, Sarah Plain and Tall, and the historical fiction of Karen Cushman.
"Lord, I do thank you for that warm wind and the promise of spring." I bent for another clothespin to secure the petticoat. "And I am very thankful that my wash load is small." Here I thought of Perilee, washing for her family of five. "I count it a true blessing that there are no diapers in my wash." I shuddered to think of that. "Now, you know I've been working on keeping a sunny lookout on life, but I must speak to you about Violet, who is more devil than cow."
Kirby Larson's Hattie Big Sky, a Newbery Honor Book, is the kind of story I've loved to read my entire life: a young woman sets out for places unknown in search of adventure and her own place in the world. Sixteen year old Hattie, who describes herself as Hattie-Here-and-There because she has lived with a long list of relatives since her parents died, inherits her uncle's claim in Eastern Montana as 1917 draws to a close. She leaves Iowa with her cat, Mr. Whiskers, her few earthly belongings (mostly books!), her life savings ($400 minus the train ticket and some warmer clothes), and takes the train westward.
In addition to the hardships of "proving up" the 320 acre claim in the nine months left on the three year term (fencing and crops), Hattie is troubled by the community's growing prejudice against people of German descent, including her dearest friends and neighbors, the Muellers. With a land-hungry rancher on one side and unpredictable weather on the other, increasing violence against those deemed "unpatriotic," and concern for her childhood friend Charlie who is on the battle front in France, Hattie's list of worries is lengthy. But in the fashion of a truly great writer, Larson pens an epic tale of friendship, determination, hard work, and historic fact as she tells the story of early twentieth-century homesteaders through the eyes of a lovable and very human protagonist.
That the story is based on her own great-grandmother makes the story that much more enjoyable.
I highly recommend this for anyone who loves the Little House on the Prairie books (though the themes in this are for readers a bit older, in my opinion), the Anne of Green Gables series, Sarah Plain and Tall, and the historical fiction of Karen Cushman.
Comments