Hattie Big Sky

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson is the fictionalized story of Larson's great-grandmother, a homesteader in Montana in the early 1900s.

At the opening of the story Hattie lives with an aunt and uncle in Arlington, Iowa. They are not really her aunt and uncle, she has already been moved to about all of her living relatives. Now she is about to be handed over to work in a boarding house.

Just in time she receives a letter from her mother's brother. He was a homesteader in Montana. Before he died he left the land to Hattie. She has one year to fulfill the requirements and 320 acres will be hers.

So, off she goes to Montana to learn to be a farmer. And she will be doing it on her own with the help of colorful neighbors who lend a hand when they can spare it.

Hattie Big Sky is a heartwarming story of a part of our nations history. Many changes happen during the story that historically took place during the years around 1918. Once read, it is not a surprise that this novel won the Newberry Award.

Larson, Kirby. (2007). Hattie Big Sky. New York: Delacorte Press.