Land of the Buffalo Bones: The Diary of Mary Ann Elizabeth Rodgers, An English Girl in Minnesota, New Yeovil, Minnesota 1873 (Dear America Series) - Hardcover

Bauer, Marion Dane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0439220270 ISBN 13: 9780439220279

Publisher: Scholastic Inc., 2003

Synopsis

After following her father from their home in England to the plains of Minnesota, Mary must summon the strength to face the challenges and heartbreaking losses that she and her family encounter.

"Land of the Buffalo Bones" is the diary of Mary Rodgers, known as Polly. Promising religious freedom and fertile land, Polly's father, Reverend Rodgers, moves their Baptist community from England to the Minnesota prairie. After a treacherous journey across the sea and across this country, Polly finds that it is no paradise at all. Written with incredible heart and compassion, insight and sensitivity, Marion Dane Bauer has created one of the most sophisticated and courageous characters DEAR AMERICA has seen.

About this title

From Booklist:

Gr. 4-8. This Dear America book is unusual in that it is based on real people and events in 1873. Bauer's great-grandfather Reverend Rodgers led his family and congregation from England to Minnesota, the jumping-off point for this fictional diary, narrated by Rodgers' oldest daughter, Polly, age 14. The long and unpleasant voyage and the settlers' horror at their barren and inhospitable new land are vividly set down, and it is the latter that forms the backbone of Polly's story. She describes the family's sod house, the ineptness with which the town-bred English attempt to build and farm, and the endless oppressive heat, unendurable cold, and plagues of locusts. No wonder the settlers eventually vote to reject their pastor! Accompanied by photos of the Rodgers family and scenes of the settlement, this is an engrossing look at the hardships faced by many pioneers. Eva Mitnick
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About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0439220270
• ISBN 13: 9780439220279
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224