Cabin in the Snow (Prairie Skies)

While Papa is off fighting on the Missouri border, Charlie is left in charge of the family in their remote cabin in Bleeding Kansas while a fierce prairie blizzard rages in this second book in the 1850s-set Prairie Skies chapter book series. When Charlie and Papa arrive in Lawrence for supplies, they find the bustling Kansas town threatened by border ruffians from pro-slave Missouri. Papa decides to remain behind with other free-soil settlers to defend the town, so Charlie must drive the wagon back to the family’s isolated claim by himself. At home, a different sort of storm is brewing; gray skies, bitter cold, and vicious winds warn that a prairie blizzard is coming, all while Charlie’s new sibling is coming too—Momma is in labor. Charlie is always getting into trouble for daydreaming and forgetting his chores. Now he has to show he’s grown-up enough to help Momma, his sisters, and his newborn baby brother survive in their tiny cabin in the snow.