First published 1993
Laura Ingalls watches her father dig their new home into the bank of Plum Creek in Minnesota. The dugout feels strange after their little house on the prairie, but it keeps the family safe while Pa builds their dreams on this new land. Laura and Mary explore the creek, swim in the swimming hole, and discover the joys and dangers of their changed world. When grasshoppers descend like a dark cloud and devour the wheat crop, the family faces hunger and uncertainty. Laura learns that home isn't just a place but the love that binds her family together through good times and hardship. She grows from a young girl into someone who understands that life brings both wonder and loss, and that courage means facing whatever comes next.
Genres: family-life, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Minnesota, Plum Creek
Period: 19th-Century
339 pages · Paperback · Scholastic