Hardscrabble - Hardcover

Dallas, Sandra

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1585363758 ISBN 13: 9781585363759

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press, 2018

Synopsis

2019 Wrangler Award for Outstanding Juvenile Book Winner 2019 Spur Award - Western Writer's of America Finalist In 1910, after losing their farm in Iowa, the Martin family moves to Mingo, Colorado, to start anew. The US government offers 320 acres of land free to homesteaders. All they have to do is live on the land for five years and farm it. So twelve-year-old Belle Martin, along with her mother and six siblings, moves west to join her father. But while the land is free, farming is difficult and it's a hardscrabble life. Natural disasters such as storms and locusts threaten their success. And heartbreaking losses challenge their faith. Do the Martins have what it takes to not only survive but thrive in their new prairie life? Told through the eyes of a twelve-year-old girl, this new middle-grade novel from New York Times-bestselling author Sandra Dallas explores one family's homesteading efforts in 1900s Colorado.

About this title

About the Author:

Sandra Dallas is the author of numerous titles, including Prayers for Sale and The Diary of Mattie Spenser, and the middle-grade novels The Quilt Walk and Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Skies. Her awards include two Western Writers of America Spur Awards and four Women Writing the West Willa Awards.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 4–6—In the early 1900s, the Martins move to Colorado, where Father plans to earn free land by farming government acreage for five years. Twelve-year-old Belle and her family endure a series of harrowing events: baby Sage survives an encounter with a rattlesnake; Belle's sibling Becky dies, as does Mama; a blizzard threatens the entire family; and an invasion of grasshoppers must be fought off. Later lighter moments, such as Belle playing matchmaker for her widowed father, lessen the tension. The author's careful attention to historical detail can be found in her vivid description of the Martins's "soddy" home. A cast of believable characters with distinct personalities brings this slice of U.S. history to life; particular attention is given to how the difficulties of frontier life impact the children. The Martins neighbor Lizzie, an independent woman who homesteads alone and offers the Martins valuable support, is a strong and memorable character. VERDICT Dallas's latest work of historical fiction (Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky; The Quilt Walk) conveys the importance of family and the value of neighbors helping one another. A fine selection where fiction about white U.S. frontier life is in demand.—Lynn Vanca, Freelance Librarian, Akron

About this edition

• Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1585363758
• ISBN 13: 9781585363759
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 264