Dakota Spring - Hardcover

Caroline and Jess don't know what to make of their prim and proper grandmother. She's traveled all the way from South Carolina to the Dakota prairie to help out while their pa recovers from his injuries. Caroline and Jess must call her Mrs. Ravenell instead of Grandmother. They can't believe this stern woman is the mother of their own loving mother, who died just last year. But little by little Caroline sees just what kind of woman her grandmother really is, as they face spring planting, a prairie tornado, their shared grief, and an unexpected surprise.

Grade 3-5-Caroline and Jess have had their share of tragedy in the last year with their mother dying and now their father seriously injured in a barn-building accident. Their maternal grandmother, Mrs. Abigail Ravenell, has reluctantly come from South Carolina to care for them, bringing with her all of the prim and proper ways of the old South. To her, frontier life on a farm in the Dakotas is much too primitive, which is why she opposed her daughter's marriage years ago and has never met her grandchildren. Several events bring her around: a tornado during which Jess and his dog are missing; a cemetery visit where the love and patience of the children are coupled with the mutual grief of the entire family; and a poetry recital that allows Caroline and her grandmother some personal bonding. Although historical, this novel focuses more on emotional issues. The gradual acceptance of the grandmother's buried feelings of sorrow through the family's patience and support is a theme that would work in any time period. A simple, mildly passionate read with a neatly fashioned conclusion.
Rita Soltan, Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI
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