Give a brief summary of the story

BEGINNING

Who the main characters are:

• Sam White, ten years old and the youngest son
• Billy White, twelve years old and the eldest son
• Ellen White, wife and mother
• Walter White, husband and father who leads his family west

Where the story takes place:

• A small farm in Kentucky

When the story takes place:

• The 1870's, after the Civil War

What the problem is:

• Pa is taking the family on a long, unsure journey to the Dakota Territory because he wants a new start after the Civil War.

MIDDLE

Plot of the story:

• Sam, Billy, and Ellen go with Walter on a long and unpredictable journey to the Dakota Territory.
• The family meets other families aboard packed wagons while crossing the wide Mississippi River.
• Later, the family meets a wagon train and finds some company for part of the long travel.  All family members make friends with the other pioneers and are sad when they have to leave the new company.
• Finally, the family makes it to the Dakotas and settles on a plot of land.  They build a dugout and plant the corn crops, which grow quickly.
• Just over the prairie, a family the White's met while on the wagon train has set up farm.  The two families gather often to socialize and help each other farm.
• A large swarm of grasshoppers eats all of the crops and practically anything wood-like.  The family has to wait until the grasshoppers leave before they can do much of anything about the crops.
• A new problem arises -- they don't have any money left to buy new seed to plant crops again.

How do the characters help to solve the problem:

• The Billy, Sam, and Ellen accompany Walter on his adventure to gain new farm land.
• On the journey, the whole family has to pitch in to keep every healthy and safe.
• Once on their new farm land, everyone helps to build a sod house, plant the crops, and make the land their new home.
• They do what they can to support Walter's decision to move west.

END

How the problem is solved:

• Walter gets a loan from the nearest town and buys supplies to replant the crops.
• Sam has also written to his grandfather and gotten a loan to help out the family.

What finally happens:

• Since the all the crops were eaten, the White's neighbors have to go back home because they do not have enough money to replant crops.
• The White's have enough money to rebuild their farm and don't have to go back to Kentucky after such a hard trip to get to the Dakota Territory to begin with.

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