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Summary
Summary
Embarking on a new life in a new place, Zoe and her family journey west to the Nebraska Territory in the 1800s. They build their soddie, but in the endless miles of prairie it can't be seen from any distance. Zoe finds some dandelions and replants them on their soddie as a surprise for her mother--a sunny beacon for all of them on the monotonous prairie.
Author Notes
Eve Bunting was born in 1928 in Maghera, Ireland, as Anne Evelyn Bunting. She graduated from Northern Ireland's Methodist College in Belfast in 1945 and then studied at Belfast's Queen's College. She emigrated with her family in 1958 to California, and became a naturalized citizen in 1969.
That same year, she began her writing career, and in 1972, her first book, "The Two Giants" was published. In 1976, "One More Flight" won the Golden Kite Medal, and in 1978, "Ghost of Summer" won the Southern California's Council on Literature for Children and Young People's Award for fiction. "Smokey Night" won the American Library Association's Randolph Caldecott Medal in 1995 and "Winter's Coming" was voted one of the 10 Best Books of 1977 by the New York Times.
Bunting is involved in many writer's organizations such as P.E.N., The Authors Guild, the California Writer's Guild and the Society of Children's Book Writers. She has published stories in both Cricket, and Jack and Jill Magazines, and has written over 150 books in various genres such as children's books, contemporary, historic and realistic fiction, poetry, nonfiction and humor.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3Looking for a better life, a pioneer father moves his pregnant wife and daughters west. Both Zoe and Rebecca recognize their mother's isolation and depression as they arrive at their claim stake in the middle of the prairie, and try to work extra hard to please her. Zoe's first-person account describes a visit to neighbors (only three hours away) and a trip to town for supplies, where she finds something that she hopes will help cheer her mother: a clump of dandelions, which she and her father speculate came west as a seed on a wagon. They plant it on the roof of their sod home, and the story ends with the clump looking dry and lifeless. However, the closing words indicate that the family feels more hopeful about their prairie life to come; the last picture shows a panoramic view of their farm of the future, with the dandelions covering the roof and the fields plowed and fertile. The gouache on canvas paintings are grand and sweeping; they emphasize the vast expanse of open land that dwarfs and seems to swallow up everything that comes in contact with it. The characters are frequently shown in deep shadow underneath sun hats, as the sun blazes down on them. When their faces are shown, there is a hazy lack of focus in an almost impressionistic style that heightens the centrality of place and climate, rather than individual character. Yet these people make their mark and find their place; modern readers will identify with this family's experiences and concerns, and will admire their adventurous spirits. Bunting tells a poignant story, which is made even more affecting by its lovely illustrations.Ruth K. MacDonald, Bay Path College, Longmeadow, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
When a girl and her family move west to Nebraska in the 1800s, they face challenges as they build their sod house and settle into a new life. Ages 5-8. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Like the dandelions she plants on the roof of their Nebraska soddie, Zoe believes that the transplanting of her family will 'take,' despite the difficult transition. Young Zoe's narration conveys both youthful confidence and fear as the family work to adjust to their new prairie life. Gouache illustrations effectively portray the vast, sun-drenched prairie and complement the text. From HORN BOOK 1995, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
It would be hard to come up with a tale of western settlers that's not a cliché, but Bunting (Spying on Miss Müller, p. 553, etc.) has done it. She takes a look at a pioneer woman, seen through the sympathetic eyes of her daughter, Zoe. While Zoe's father is challenged by the prospect of building a sod house on his turf, his pregnant wife is obviously homesick, and the prairie offers little solace: The view never changes, there are few neighbors, the closest town is a day's journey. In the gift of a miraculous patch of dandelions dug up from the roadside, Zoe hopes to cheer her mother (for a book for older readers, with a similar theme, see the review of Jennifer Armstrong's Black-Eyed Susan, above). Of the re-rooting of the dandelions, her mother says, ``Don't expect a miracle, Zoe. It will take time.'' The last page shows the sod house crowned by a roof of gold. Shed (Staton Rabin's Casey Over There, 1994) creates scenes that makes this family larger-than-life; they capture the baked yellow heat of summer, and the golden weed that represents home. A memorable book, for the way its characters struggle with unhappiness, and slowly overcome it. (Picture book. 5-10)
Booklist Review
Gr. 2^-4, younger for reading aloud. Zoe and her family have traveled by covered wagon from Illinois to the Nebraska Territory. As they build a sod house and meet new neighbors, Papa can barely contain his enthusiasm. Mama, on the other hand, remains quiet, thinking of the family and memories left behind. On a trip to town with her father for supplies, Zoe spots a mass of dandelions and realizes that the flowers are much like her family--they may be out of their element on the prairie, but they will survive and bloom in their new land. The gouache paintings capture the lonely panorama of the landscape, and the classically painted, sometimes faceless figures give the book a sense of universality. A solid choice for read-alouds, this may also be used with older, reluctant readers or students learning about the westward movement. --Kay Weisman