Prairie Songs

Prairie Songs is written by Pam Conrad and illustrated by Darryl S. Zudeck. It was a 1985 Golden Kite Honor Book, and Best Books For Young Adults (ALA). It was also a 1986 IRA Children's Book Award Winner. It is about a family who lived in Nebraska and some of the hardships and joys that they experienced. New neighbors come into their ordinary prairie lives and they see many changes. Now they must teach the New York family of two the ways of the prairie. Mrs. Berryman is not used to having Indians just sneaking into her house and is terribly frightened but Louisa and her mother Clara help Mrs. Berryman to overcome her fear. Because she has many books, Mrs. Berryman agreed to give Louisa and her shy younger brother Lester reading lessons. When a man by the name of Solomon Butcher stopped by Louisa's house, he asked to take a picture of her family. Louisa was very anxious to see the picture but was told that it must be developed first and she could see it at the forth of July celebration. After Mrs. Berryman's baby died, she becomes full of despair, but the reading lessons, which Mrs. Berryman is teaching, seemed to help her in the tough life on the prairie. When Mr. Berryman must go along with Louisa's father J.T. and another neighbor Mr. Whitfield to help attend to a terrible train wreck, Mrs. Berryman must be left alone for a few days. During that time two Indians paid Mrs. Berryman and Louisa and her family a visit. This book takes some surprising turns and keeps you interested until the final page. I liked this book because I thought that it had a very good story line and it told me what life was like back then on the prairie.

Prairie Songs, written by Pam Conrad is an excellent book to read! I enjoyed this account of life on the Prairie. Louisa and her family live on the Nebraskan prairie. They are faced with the difficult day-to-day activities that people faced living on the prairie. When Dr. and Mrs. Berryman move to the prairie from New York City, Louisa is fascinated with Mrs. Berryman's (Emmeline) love for literature. Emmeline has a very difficult time making the transition from the city to the prairie. Louisa and Lester take lessons from Emmeline in return for Mrs. Dowing helping her with her laundry, etc. Louisa develops a love for literature, especially poetry and grows to love Emmeline even more. One night when Mr. Dowing and Dr. Berryman are away, Louisa and her family and Mrs. Berryman are invaded by Indians. Mrs. Berryman is incapable of remaining calm and finds herself outside in the dead of winter. As the story moves on, both families are faced with many difficulties. Indians, train wrecks, and not-so friendly neighbors make the story very exciting!As a future teacher, I can see this book used in the classroom for discussing life on the prairie and what life was like at that time in history. The Indians in this book are not portrayed in a pleasant fashion. If you would like to use this book in your classroom, I would definitely discuss these issues prior to using with your class. All in all, this book was very well written. I enjoyed it tremendously and would recommend it to anybody, not just children!

This book entitled, Prairie Songs, was written by Pam Conrad. In this piece of literature, a city couple moves from New York to the Nebraska prairie. Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Berryman are a newly married couple who come to live on the Nebraska prairie, near Louisa and her family. Mrs. Berryman is not used to hard life, and she comes dressed in magnificent clothes. She encounters hard problems, but Louisa and her family help her with the farming, ect. Louisa longs to look at Mrs. Berryman's collection of books, but doesn't get much of a chance, until she begins taking lessons from Mrs. Berryman. In the summer, Mrs. Berryman loses her newborn child and goes into a period of shock. One day during the middle of winter, two Indians come to the Berryman's house, and send Mrs. Berryman fleeing out into the snow. Since her husband is away, at a train wreck, she freezes out in the snow. Louisa ends up helping her mother to get the frozen neighbor into the house so the animals outside won't eat her body. This book is a really good book to read, and I enjoyed it very much. I think that anyone who likes historical fiction/western novels, should read this piece of literature. Happy reading!!!

This book, set in the state of Nebraska, is a story telling of the hardship of a couple from the city. A doctor and his wife move to the prairie from New York City, and the wife can't stand it. After encountering Indians and losing her child, it is very hard for to cope. Definately a piece you want to read!

Great characterization. Engrossing story of settlers young and adult and how they coped with their lives on the open prairie. The child protagonist longs for the books the doctor's wife has brought with her from the east. Unfortunately, the doctor's wife can't cope with the lonesome prairie, the loss of her unborn child and a harmless encounter with Indians. Read this several months ago with my children and the characters still cling to me.