First published 1968
An old Indian tells the townspeople that severe weather approaches, but few take his prediction seriously. Laura Ingalls and her family soon discover he spoke the truth. Snow begins falling in October and continues relentlessly through May. The railroad stops running. Supply trains cannot reach the town. Food grows scarce as blizzard after blizzard batters the Dakota Territory. The Ingalls family burns twisted hay when coal runs out. They grind seed wheat in a coffee mill when flour disappears. Laura watches her parents make impossible choices to keep the family alive. Pa ventures into dangerous storms to gather fuel. Ma stretches meager supplies to feed everyone. The children help however they can while hunger and cold test their endurance. This winter pushes the pioneer family beyond anything they have faced before. Their survival depends on ingenuity, determination, and the bonds that hold them together when everything else fails.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, american, adventure, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, survival
Setting: Dakota Territory
Period: 19th-Century
335 pages · Paperback · Scholastic Book Services