From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6?In the third entry in this series, Rose, age eight, adjusts to life in the Ozarks with her parents, Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder. Readers experience the year 1895 along with Rose as she picks apples at the neighbors' farm and helps to prepare sorghum molasses. They feel her jealousy as the hired hand, Abe, goes courting, and join in her dilemma when she is unsure whether she is poor or rich. When Rose's father makes her a sled for Christmas, she is overjoyed. Then she discovers that Abe's little brother has received nothing as both his parents are dead. Can she sacrifice her joy for Swiney? The characters are finely drawn; the era and the setting are alive as well. The simple charcoal drawings are compatible with the slow, quiet thread of the narrative. This book is a must for anyone who enjoys Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" series (HarperCollins) and wishes to follow up with this contemporary installment, but it also stands on its own quite well.?Katrina Yurenka, Jaffrey Public Library, NH
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Gr. 3^-7. The third entry in the series about Rose Wilder Lane's childhood follows her family from the fall of 1895 through the summer of 1896. The farm at Rocky Ridge is on much firmer financial footing after a year of operation, and nine-year-old Rose has made some new friends. MacBride describes typical farm activities (making sorghum molasses, moving a beehive, and rescuing young apple trees from the ravages of a winter ice storm) and holiday celebrations, but the richly developed characters that gave such depth to the two previous novels are strangely flat here. Except for a few childish indiscretions from Rose, MacBride leaves the impression of a perfect family leading an idyllic life. Despite these shortcomings, Wilder fans will eagerly absorb this latest offering, and a few of the chapters (such as "Treasure Hunt," about exploring a forbidden cave full of bats) will make terrific read-alouds.
Kay Weisman
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
by Macbride
by Macbride
by Macbride
by Macbride
by Macbride
