First published 1990
Caddie Woodlawn races through the Wisconsin woods with her red hair flying behind her. At eleven years old, she refuses to sit quietly with needlework like other girls. Instead, she climbs trees, builds rafts, and keeps up with her brothers Tom and Warren in every adventure. Her father encourages this freedom, believing the frontier needs strong women. But her mother worries that Caddie grows too wild for proper society. When tensions rise between white settlers and local Native American tribes, Caddie must choose between loyalty to her community and doing what she knows is right. She faces a dangerous midnight journey to warn Chief Red Hawk of an impending attack. Through harsh winters, family struggles, and the constant challenges of frontier survival, Caddie learns what it means to grow up caught between two worlds. She discovers that being brave sometimes means standing alone, and that growing into a young woman doesn't have to mean giving up her adventurous spirit.
Genres: family-life, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, coming-of-age, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, found-family
Setting: Wisconsin
Period: 19th-century
242 pages · Library Binding · Demco Media