Prairie Winter

January 1, 2010
Gr 4-6-In this sequel to "Prairie Summer" (2002) and "Lessons" (2005, both Houghton), sixth-grader Rachel is once again the narrator. She and her sisters contend with ordinary concernsfriends, promises, choresand with the challenges of a brutal 1955'56 winter on the Great Plains. Rachel loves school, dislikes farm work, and does not look forward to snow days. Yet snow it does, and as it continues to block the highways, the Johnson girls are flown into town and housed at the local hotel for weeks so that they may attend school. Lack of a phone keeps them from knowing whether or not their parents and younger siblings are safe. The sisters grow in their ability to cooperate, and Rachel gets a more realistic look at town life. This is a heartwarming glimpse at a dimming past."Kathryn Kosiorek, formerly at Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2009
Grades 3-6 Like Prairie Summer (2001) and Lessons (2005), this third novel is based on Geiserts own childhood on a South Dakota farm in the 1950s. Now in sixth grade, Rachel loves school, but she hates farmwork. After a giant snowstorm, she is excited when she and her two older sisters are moved into town so that they can continue to attend school, and she is thrilled not to have chores. Still, she worries about how her parents and younger siblings are coping. The brutal winter is the drama here, and so is the honest view of leaving home.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)