Have you ever wondered if you could make it in the wilderness? Ever thought about what it was like to live on the western frontier? Well, in this story by Kate McMullan you are able to look into the life of a young girl, Meg, living on the prairie in Kansas Territory in 1856-1857. Through Meg's diary entries the reader will gain insight to the difficulties of living on the prairie. Meg desperately wants to attend school - but she has to wait until one is built. The harsh winters, the hard chores, her father's arm injury, and living with aunts, cousins, uncles, and her brothers, all challenge Meg to stay positive through obstacles she faces. Meg's thoughts are shown to the reader as she deals with her new life on the prairie and leave readers in awe at everything pioneers had to endure.
I would use this book to help students gain a perspective about what early America looked like before the modern-day states we have today. I would ask students to read this book and then write their own diary about a time in American history. This book would be excellent to cross-tie with a social studies unit and would be beneficial for students because of how close in age Meg is to them. Asking students to write diary entries also shows them a way to express different ways to convey information.
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