HATTIE BIG SKY Written by Kirby Larson

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Larson, K. 2006. HATTIE BIG SKY.
New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN: 0385903324

PLOT SUMMARY
The year is 1918 and a gutsy sixteen-year-old orphan, Hattie Brooks, is determined to achieve her dream. She has been shuttled from one distant relative to another tired of being Hattie Here-and-There, she summons the courage to leave Iowa and move all by herself to Vida, Montana. Hattie starts over in a big way when she takes on this challenge to finish "proving up" her uncle's homestead claim in Montana. Under the big sky country, Hattie braves hard weather, hard times, a cantankerous cow, and her own hopeless hand at the cookstove on her quest to discover the true meaning of home and carry on her late uncle's homestead.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This historical fiction text introduces readers to Hattie Brooks a young woman who is about to have her whole life changed again, but this time will be the last moving from place to place that she will have to endure. Hattie write to a friend who is fighting in World War I and sets the scene for her story through her letter. Hattie's childhood was marked by ever changing households, living with various relatives never knowing who or where she would wind up. As the reader becomes involved in this text, they learn that Hattie has received a letter from an uncle she hardly knows and he has left her is homestead in Vida, Montana. This event marks the beginning of a new adventure that would forever impact Hattie's life. The challenges Hattie faces give readers a strong heroine challenged by the tough environment in which she grows. Her emotional journey introduces her to great friends, forces her to make difficult decisions, and eventually guides her to a sense of independence. The trials and situations of her challenges cause her to become able to "prove up her claim", which is the homestead left to her. 
Kirby Larson, through tireless and thorough research, promises readers an accurate depiction of life for those who braved the challenges of land ownership in this time and region of U.S. history. The reader will follow this journey with Hattie from her train ride filled with hope to a Montana farm that exposes harsh realities and the beauty of Montana country. Larson has said that the book is patterned after a member of her family.

REVIEW EXCERPTS 

Booklist, Starred Review

Larson, whose great-grandmother homesteaded alone in Montana, read dozens of homesteaders’ journals and based scenes in the book on real events. Writing in figurative language that draws on nature and domestic detail to infuse her story with the sounds, smells, and sights of the prairie, she creates a richly textured novel full of memorable characters."

School Library Journal

"Larson creates a masterful picture of the homesteading experience and the people who persevered."

CONNECTIONS
This book would be a great historical fiction introduction to a unit on World War I.
It is also be used as a read aloud for the class. 
Students could choose to make this an independent reading that would allow for character analysis and problem-solution discussion.
Teachers could use this book to do an author's study to find out interesting ways that Kriby Larson researched to gain more insight into her family history.
This text is also available as an Audio Book so that the whole class could listen and review the book together.