Lettie can’t believe she’s about to leave the only home she’s ever known. Her father is tired of farming someone else’s land, so he packs the family into the wagon and joins others headed west to Nebraska.
Lettie can’t believe she’s about to leave the only home she’s ever known. Her father is tired of farming someone else’s land, so he packs the family into the wagon and joins others headed west to Nebraska.
Lettie can’t help but be sad about leaving all her friends and family behind in Mississippi. But she also is full of hope. Her father, Thomas, says that they will have land of their own to farm in Nebraska. This is their family’s chance to make their way in the world after finally breaking free from the yoke of slavery.
Sylvia dutifully follows her husband west, but she knows a part of her will always stay in Mississippi. Unlike optimistic Thomas and her energetic kids, Sylvia knows that the journey west will be full of hardship and heartbreak. With a new baby growing inside her, she can only hope that they reach their destination before winter tightens its grip on the plains.
Joining their party is a woman named Philomena. When she receives an offer for a teaching position in Nebraska, she jumps at the chance to leave the unloving home her aunt and uncle provided after the death of her parents. Sylvia convinces Thomas to let Philomena join their wagon for a small fee, and just like that, she’s headed into the unknown, too.
No one can predict what the weeks of travel will bring, but they’re bound and determined to build a new life under the big, wide, western sky.
Lettie’s family goes to church. Her mom has a strong, unshakable faith. A pastor gives Lettie a Bible when her family begins their journey. Hymns are mentioned, and Lettie recalls when she was baptized. Characters pray throughout the book.
Lettie asks Philomena if she believes in ghosts. There’s a conversation about whether a deceased relative is in heaven or not, despite obviously not having a relationship with God before dying.
Thomas loves his family but forces them to move west. He has a bad temper and doesn’t care about God and church like Sylvia and Lettie do. Thomas is in charge of keeping watch of the wagon train at night. Thomas and Sylvia grow more distant from each other as the journey drags on.
Men vote for who leads the company of wagons, but women do not have a vote. Mr. Casey is in charge of the wagon train. He makes wise decisions and exercises his leadership well.
Philomena’s aunt and uncle took care of her after her parents died when she was young, but they treat her like a burden. Philomena resents the limited role and influence women have at this point in history.
Lettie’s grandparents and father were enslaved. A white woman in Mississippi says she’d like to take Lettie’s baby brother, implying slavery. Ships won’t let Lettie’s family board because of racial discrimination.
Cursing is mentioned. Characters say “d–n” several times.
One man is shot in a hunting accident and bleads profusely. He eventually dies. The Civil War and injured soldiers are mentioned. Philomena’s parents and sister died from severe illness.
White men come and fight the men in the wagon train. Shots are fired, and one character is killed. Sylvia remembers white men coming at night to attack her family. Another person drowns in the river. Still another older woman, who had been ill from the start of the journey, dies. Childbirth is discussed.
None.
Read Proverbs 3:5-6. Sylvia tells Lettie that when we don’t have the answers, we simply have to trust God. What do you think it looks like to trust God amidst the unknown or in hardship?
The people in the wagon train take care of each other. Who can you rely on to look out for you? Who should you look out for?
Lettie realizes that achieving your dreams require hard work. What dreams do you have? What can you do to work to achieve those dreams?
One Big Open Sky describes the harsh realities of settling the West, but it also emphasizes the courage and unwavering faith of those who attempted the journey. Some of the death and violence described here might be too much for young readers.
But overall, Lesa Cline-Ransome does an admirable job bringing history to life in this story. It doesn’t shy away from the realities of sin and hardship, but at the same time this story demonstrates the way God sustains us even in these situations.
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Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not necessarily their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
Rachel Pfeiffer serves as Editor of Focus on the Family Clubhouse magazine, where she acquires and crafts stories to entertain and disciple children. She graduated from Taylor University with a degree in professional writing and Moody Theological Seminary with an MA in Biblical Studies. When she’s not curled up with a good book, she can often be found hiking the beautiful Colorado Rockies.
