In the story Fourth of July on the Plains I noticed that most of the work on the plains was done by the adults.  Children were made to stay close to the camp and gather supplies or work.  They were not allowed to wander off, hunt, or explore the area.  This was especially true for the girls.  The girls would stay at the camp and do things like sew or prepare food.  I can understand why the adults made the children stay close to camp.  It was for the safety of the children that the adults did work away from camp and gave the children responsibilities closer to camp.  However, I can understand how it feels to be little and want to help out but your parents will not let you do so.

When I was a small child I used to want to help out around the house by mowing and cooking.  However, my parents said I was too small and gave me boring chores like washing the dishes or dusting.  I was unhappy with their telling me I was too little to do these things.  I tried my best to prove that I was big enough to help out, but my parents still told me I had to stick to my old boring chores.

I can relate to Jesse and his feelings of wanting to help around the camp.  All children are adventurous and want to make their parents proud by helping out around the house.  I feel that this is a good book to read and that most people can read the book and relate it to a time that they were too small to do something.  We have all been small and wanted to do grown up things at times in our lives.