The Jumping-Off Place is a children's novel by Marian Hurd McNeely about homesteading in South Dakota. It is set on the Dakotan prairie in the early 1900s. The novel, illustrated by William Siegel was first published in 1929 and was a retrospective Newbery Honor recipient for 1930. [1]
The four orphaned Linville children - Becky, Dick, Phil, and Joan - move to South Dakota in 1910 to "prove up" on a homestead claim originally filed by their uncle Jim, who raised them and who died suddenly just before the story starts. They deal with unexpected expenses, unpleasant neighbors, claim jumpers, bad weather, and other problems, but eventually triumph over them all and gain the respect and friendship of the nearby town's inhabitants. Though they had originally intended to sell or rent the claim once they owned it, they decide at the end of the book to stay in South Dakota, having come to love the prairie.
De Smet is a city in and the county seat of Kingsbury County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,089 at the 2010 census.
The "Little House" Books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, based on her childhood and adolescence in the American Midwest between 1870 and 1894. Eight of the novels were completed by Wilder, and published by Harper & Brothers. The appellation "Little House" books comes from the first and third novels in the series of eight published in her lifetime. The second novel was about her husband's childhood. The first draft of a ninth novel was published posthumously in 1971 and is commonly included in the series.
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was an American writer, mostly known for the Little House on the Prairie series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood in a settler and pioneer family.
The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children". The Newbery and the Caldecott Medal are considered the two most prestigious awards for children's literature in the United States. Books selected are widely carried by bookstores and libraries, the authors are interviewed on television, and master's and doctoral theses are written on them. Named for John Newbery, an 18th-century English publisher of juvenile books, the winner of the Newbery is selected at the ALA's Midwinter Conference by a fifteen-person committee. The Newbery was proposed by Frederic G. Melcher in 1921, making it the first children's book award in the world. The physical bronze medal was designed by Rene Paul Chambellan and is given to the winning author at the next ALA annual conference. Since its founding there have been several changes to the composition of the selection committee, while the physical medal remains the same.
Almanzo James Wilder was the husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the father of Rose Wilder Lane, both noted authors.
Ole Edvart Rølvaag was a Norwegian-American novelist and professor who became well known for his writings regarding the Norwegian American immigrant experience. Ole Rolvaag is most frequently associated with Giants in the Earth, his award-winning, epic novel of Norwegian immigrant homesteaders in Dakota Territory.
Charles Phillip Ingalls was the father of Laura Ingalls Wilder, known for her Little House series of books. He is depicted as the character "Pa" in the books and the television series.
Irene Hunt was an American children's writer known best for historical novels. She was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal for her first book, Across Five Aprils, and won the medal for her second, Up a Road Slowly. For her contribution as a children's writer she was U.S. nominee in 1974 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition available to creators of children's books.
The Long Winter is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1940, the sixth of nine books in her Little House series. It is set in southeastern Dakota Territory during the severe winter of 1880–1881, when she turned 14 years old.
On the Banks of Plum Creek is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1937, the fourth of nine books in her Little House series. It is based on a few years of her childhood when the Ingalls lived at Plum Creek near Walnut Grove, Minnesota, during the 1870s. The original dust jacket proclaimed, "The true story of an American pioneer family by the author of Little House in the Big Woods".
By the Shores of Silver Lake is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1939, the fifth of nine books in her Little House series. It spans just over one year, beginning when she is 12 years old and her family moves from Plum Creek, Minnesota to what will become De Smet, South Dakota.
Little Town on the Prairie is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1941, the seventh of nine books in her Little House series. It is set in De Smet, South Dakota. It opens in the spring after the Long Winter, and ends as Laura becomes a schoolteacher so she can help her sister, Mary, stay at a school for the blind in Vinton, Iowa. It tells the story of 15-year-old Laura's first paid job outside of home and her last terms of schooling. At the end of the novel, she receives a teacher's certificate, and is employed to teach at the Brewster settlement, 12 miles (19 km) away.
These Happy Golden Years is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1943, the eighth of nine books in her Little House series – although it originally ended it. It is based on her later adolescence near De Smet, South Dakota, featuring her short time as a teacher, beginning at age 15, and her courtship with Almanzo Wilder. It spans the time period from 1882 to 1885, when they marry.
Hattie Big Sky is a children's historical novel by Kirby Larson, published in 2006. In 2007 the book was named a Newbery Honor book and an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. Hattie Big Sky was also an Illinois Rebecca Caudill Award nominee.
The culture of the U.S. state of South Dakota exhibits influences from many different sources. American Indians, the cultures of the American West and Midwest, and the customs and traditions of many of the state's various immigrant groups have all contributed to South Dakota art, music, and literature.
The Great Quest by Charles Boardman Hawes is a children's adventure novel which was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1922. Illustrated by George Varian, it was published by The Atlantic Monthly Press in 1921.
The Moved-Outers is a 1946 children's novel written by Florence Crannell Means and illustrated by Helen Blair. The book received a Newbery Honor in 1946.
Tree of Freedom is a children's historical novel by Rebecca Caudill. It is a pioneer story set in Kentucky at the time of the American Revolutionary War. The novel, illustrated by Dorothy Morse, was first published in 1949 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1950.
Incident at Hawk's Hill is a Newbery Honor book by naturalist and writer Allan W. Eckert published in 1971. Supposedly based on a true event, it is a historical novel centering on a six-year-old boy who gets lost on the Canadian prairie and survives for two months thanks to a mother badger. Though the Newbery is an award for children's literature, Incident at Hawk's Hill was originally published as an adult novel. It was a Reader's Digest selection. It was also an American Library Association Notable book.