Customer Reviews

Pioneer Girl: Growing Up on the Prairie

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According to my 11-year-old daughter, this is a classic case of "Don't judge a book by its cover." "I thought it would be boring, since there is only grass on the cover, but it was the best book I ever read," she said. She was fascinated by the details about the nitty-gritty of prairie life, by the size of the families and the constancy of the chores. She's looking forward to reading Warren's book, "Orphan Train Rider," and wants the author to hurry up and write more.

This is the story of a real pioneer girl, Grace McCane. When Grace was just three years old, she moved with her parents and two sisters to Nebraska to homestead a claim on the lonely prairie. Grace grew up on the prairie, and she loved her life, although it was hard. If you liked the Little House on the Prairie Books, you will love Grace's story - the story of a girl and her family striving to make their dream come true despite innumerable hardships.

I read this book on a whim and thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing is first-rate, and the story of this amazing woman is inspirational. The book does an excellent job of describing what pioneer life was like. Great book for kids, but I enjoyed it, too.

It took about 2 hours to finish this book. I enjoyed it but didn't realize it was for a young middle-school ager. Definitely gave a good look at the life. I will use her book listings in the back to read more....

Life on the prairie during the homesteading era was hard, yet the people who grew up there enjoyed very happy childhoods. The homesteaders worked from daylight until dark, suffered through severe deprivation, yet retained a wonderful optimism that almost always managed to see them through the difficult times.
This book is the story of Grace McCance Snyder, who grew up on the prairie of Nebraska and lived for a full century. At the end, she said, "I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful life" Her family started off living in a sod house of one room and then expanded it as the family grew. She chronicles her life on their farm, her chores and the quiet, reflective times when she was making quilts. Several photos of her family are included.
The most interesting point in the book describes a white out blizzard where people got lost a few feet from their homes. One of the few people who did not get disoriented was a blind college professor. He saved a group of children by having them form a human chain and guiding them to safety.
For reasons that are unknown, the common history of the plains women is that they were largely uneducated workers who blindly followed where their husbands led. Nothing could be further from the truth, most of the pioneer women could read and write and were insistent that their children also learn. The parents and children often went to extreme lengths to get their children of both genders educated.
I strongly recommend this book as a readable demonstration of the joys and tribulations of homesteading on the prairie. They experienced a great deal of joy through the backbreaking work, terrible weather and the lack of so many things.

My eight year old daughter and I took turns reading this book out loud. we loved it, and we can't stop thinking about it. We loved following this family through their ups and downs. This is a great book for all ages.

Shelby 8- I found this book very inspiring. My great great great grandmother Traveled west as part of a wagon train. We love to read about pioneers and this was the best book we have read. I loved learning about Grace McCance Snyder.