On the Banks of Plum Creek
A “Little House on the Prairie” Series Book
By Laura Ingalls Wilder
Wednesday, April 13, 2022 @ Wednesday, April 13, 2022
Recorded Club
Buy a recording of this club to view at any time!
Price
Sign Up
And the “Little House on the Prairie” adventures continue! Share your love of the Little House books with your kids!
Join young Laura Ingalls as she helps her family move from Kansas to Minnesota. Learn about the challenges and joys of traveling by covered wagon across country in this charming story about family, love, commitment, and endurance.
When you join this Book Club, together we’ll read the classic, On the Banks of Plum Creek—and follow the Ingalls family as they navigate life and build a new home with challenging obstacles. You and your Literary Guide, Ms. Schuett, will analyze the characters, themes, and conflict within the story—and have so much fun learning about frontier life along the way!
What Makes This Special
It’s a classic. On the Banks of Plum Creek is the fourth book in the Little House series by famous author Laura Ingalls Wilder. This book was written from the author’s own experiences and memories of childhood and is intended for a younger audience. It is a charming insight into homesteading and frontier life.
Your Guide is a teacher with wonderful experience that helps your child learn to love reading and learning! Your Guide, Ms. Schuett, is an experienced teacher with a terminal degree (Master of Fine Arts) in storytelling. She grew up in the Midwest reading the Little House books and loves to be a Guide for the stories she loves, too! When you sign up for this Book Club, you get a professional, highly skilled Guide who helps your student develop a love for reading while learning how to dig deeper into all of the different parts of writing and creating a story.
Your Guide
Ms. Anna Schuett is a professional writer and teacher with Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English degree from Concordia University (with an emphasis in Creative Writing) and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Genre Fiction (MFA, terminal degree) from Western Colorado University.
While studying for her MFA, Ms. Schuett was an elementary school Para-Educator and Librarian/Technology Assistant. Spending a great amount of time with students who struggled with their studies, Ms. Schuett found a love for helping students learn and grow.
Ms. Schuett currently works as an I.T. Coordinator for Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy clinics across the state of Nebraska. Because of a love of working with students, she is excited to be in her role as an Instructor Access Instructor with Aquinas Writing Advantage.
Born, raised, and living in Nebraska, USA, Ms. Schuett enjoys reading, quilting, baking, and writing epic fantasy novels—all with a cup of coffee or tea within arm’s reach. You can reach Ms. Schuett at akschuett91@gmail.com.
About the Book
- Buy from Bookshop.org
- ISBN-10: 0064400042
- ISBN-13: 978-0064400042
(From Amazon) The adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as they leave their little house on the prairie and travel in their covered wagon to Minnesota. They settle into a house made of sod on the banks of beautiful Plum Creek. Soon Pa builds them a sturdier house, with real glass windows and a hinged door. Laura and Mary go to school, help with the chores around the house, and fish in the creek. Pa’s fiddle lulls them all to sleep at the end of the day. But then disaster strikes—on top of a terrible blizzard, a grasshopper infestation devours their wheat crop. Now the family must work harder than ever to overcome these challenges.
The nine books in the timeless Little House series tell the story of Laura’s real childhood as an American pioneer and are cherished by readers of all generations. They offer a unique glimpse into life on the American frontier, and tell the heartwarming, unforgettable story of a loving family sticking together through thick and thin.
Age Range – 7 and up
Parental Guidance
On the Banks of Plum Creek is a classic that was published in 1937, which means there are some cultural differences and dated concepts.
- Racism: Though the family has moved out of “Indian Territory,” Ma still makes racist remarks on occasion—these viewpoints will be discussed in class to learn respectful words and instill healthy cultural perspectives today.
- Natural Disasters: This book details a plague of locusts and a severe blizzard.
- Bullying: When Mary and Laura begin attending school, they meet Nellie Oleson. Nellie makes fun of the girls for being country folk and after Nellie is mean to Jack and Ma, Laura and Mary find a way to get back at her with leeches.
There may also be some challenging vocabulary that we discuss together in the Club; readers are encouraged to bring up vocabulary words for discussion in our time together.
Reading Schedule
- Week 1: Discussion – Chapters 1-7
- Week 2: Discussion – Chapters 8-14
- Week 3: Discussion – Chapters 15-21
- Week 4: Discussion – Chapters 22-28
- Week 5: Discussion – Chapters 29-36
- Week 6: Discussion – Chapters 37-42 (end)
How To Begin
It’s easy! Follow these steps to get started…
- Sign up and get in (before it’s full!) — Use the blue button at the bottom of this page to save your spot.
- Receive your information — Within 48 hours of signing up, you’ll get an email with your Club’s details. Save this email, bookmark the zoom link, and add the club dates to your calendar.
- Prepare for your first meeting — Get the book from your own favorite source, or buy your book(s) directly from your Book Club pages. Read the assigned chapters ahead of time, and download and print the supplies list for crafts (young readers), activity pages for during the Club time (older readers), or the handout to guide the discussion (older students).
For more information, visit the How It Works page.
Recordings