Prairie Evers

Gr 3-6–After moving with her parents and grandmother from the mountains of North Carolina to upstate New York, 10-year-old Prairie Evers is adjusting to life on the farm her mother inherited. When her grandmother decides to move back home, Prairie is heartbroken. Not only has Grammy been her teacher all her young life, but she is also her best friend. Things get even worse when her mother takes a job and Prairie must go to school for the first time in her life. She dislikes being in a classroom from the very beginning. She doesn’t like the bus, the noise, and the chaos of being surrounded by so many other children. Prairie would much rather be spending her days with the chickens she is raising on the farm. Then she meets Ivy Blake, her first true friend. When she learns that Ivy has been harboring a dark secret and has a terrible home life, Prairie is determined to help. The Evers invite the quiet girl into their home, and Prairie discovers that sharing her family isn’t as easy as she thought it would be. With Prairie, Airgood has created a bright, spunky, independent thinker who traverses the ups and downs of friendship with optimism and loyalty. The text is smart, with plenty of challenging vocabulary and accurate information about types of chickens and the procedures involved in raising them. This is a great book to recommend to readers who like a lively heroine and an intelligent, refreshing, and unpretentious plot.–D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, OH