The Ingalls family heads west to Dakota Territory, where Pa works on the new railroad and the prairie is still wide open
West to Dakota Territory
Hard times have come to the Ingalls family on Plum Creek. Scarlet fever has left Mary blind, money is short, and the family's loyal dog, Jack, is gone. When Aunt Docia arrives with the offer of a job for Pa at a railroad camp in Dakota Territory, he goes ahead, and Ma, Mary, Laura, Carrie and baby Grace follow on Laura's first train ride, into a land with no towns yet, only grass and sky.
Who will enjoy it
Readers aged about eight to twelve, and families reading together, who enjoy the Little House books and stories of pioneer life.
What you will get
A warm, absorbing chapter of the Little House story, full of railroad camps, prairie winters and a family facing change together.
By the Shores of Silver Lake Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Children’s Books · Frontier life · Railroad · Family
Length
304 pages · ≈ 9 h
More about this book
Laura is now nearly thirteen and growing up fast. Pa asks her to be Mary's eyes, describing the world aloud for her sister, and her vivid descriptions are some of the loveliest passages in the series. At the railroad camp, Laura watches the rough work crews with fascination, and there is tension over pay and a near riot that Pa helps to calm. When the workers leave, the family stays through the winter in the surveyors' comfortable house, alone on the prairie.
That snug winter, with games, music from Pa's fiddle and visitors, is one of the most comforting episodes in all the books. In spring the settlers pour in, and Pa must race to claim a homestead before someone else does. Wilder's writing is clear and observant, and Garth Williams's drawings add charm. Some attitudes of the period appear, but much less than in earlier volumes.
A turning point in the series: the wandering ends and the family begins to put down roots. It leads directly into The Long Winter. Many readers name it as their favourite of the series, for its sense of space and hope. About 304 pages in the HarperTrophy paperback.
On the Banks of Plum Creek
The Long Winter
Little House on the Prairie
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House in the Big Woods
Inside Out & Back Again
Llama Llama Mad at Mama
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Make Way for Ducklings
Flipped
The Tale of Peter Rabbit