A Long Journey to a New Home

Book One

By Esther Allen Peterson

$12.00
Order Code: 8854
Class sets 10 or more paperback books: $10.00 each
Class set order code: 8854S

Driven by poverty in the 1860s, the Ytterhorn family travels from Norway to America for the promise of a better life under the U.S. Homestead Act. Theirs is a long journey beset by tragedy, but with determination and love, they make their way, first by sailing ship, then by train, and finally by covered wagon, to the Dakota Territory to claim a homestead—and a new beginning—in the land of opportunity.

Description

Driven by grinding poverty in the 1860s, the Ytterhorn family of sharecroppers in northern Norway sells their belongings to pay for passage to America and the promise of a better life under the U.S. Homestead Act. With their scant belongings and determination against all odds, they typify the migrants’ experience.

Theirs is a long journey beset by tragedy. During the sea voyage, Ma dies from childbirth fever, leaving Pa to care for a newborn and three other children. After much deliberation, he calls upon his wife’s best friend Rebekka to come out and join them. Thirteen-year-old Trygve struggles with his feelings of loss while experiencing the excitement inherent in starting over in a new land of opportunity. After a stay with Pa’s cousin in Iowa, giving them time to get on their feet, the Ytterhorns, including Rebekka, who is now Pa’s wife, make the trek overland by covered wagon until they reach the Dakota Territory. Along the way they encounter plenty of helping hands and, eventually, a new homestead, land to cultivate, and a new beginning.

Details

Series
The Homesteaders Series
Edition
Revised
Ages
8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Grades
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Subjects
Novels
Pages
130
ISBN
978-0-88092-885-4
Order Code
8854