Cabin in the Snow

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.