If there is one thing the collective body of literature about frontier life has told us, it's that life on the prairie was rough stuff. In Caroline Starr Rose's riveting novel in verse, a lone little girl goes up against the Kansas grasslands, where being alone means being ALONE, and winter can come as early as it wants.
As much as she loves to learn, 12 year old May B just can't seem to figure out exactly how to do it. Words jump around on the page, and nothing ever seems to add up. Since school seems to be an overall bust, her parents pull her out and send her to a neighboring homestead to work as a maid and make the family a little money. "Just until Christmas," they keep saying, as May's childhood seems to slip out from under her overnight.
The homestead is far away. The work is difficult. And then one day her employers leave...and don't come back. Far from anyone she can ask for help, May has to figure out how to keep fed, keep warm, and keep from going crazy all by herself. And then the snows come. It's just until Christmas, they said. But Christmas is 3 months away and May needs to find a way to survive until then.
A short, sweet, and emotional survival story that's perfect to snuggle up with when the snow starts falling (and the temperatures keep falling).