Hattie Big Sky

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Larson, Kirby. 2006. HATTIE BIG SKY. New York, NY: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0385735957

AWARD(S) and STARS

• John Newbery Medal, Honor Book, 2007
• School Library Journal Book Review Stars, 2006
• Booklist Book Review Stars, 2006
• YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2007
• Cybil Award, 2006

PLOT SUMMARY

Orphaned at five years old and moved from place to place, Hattie Brooks, or “Hattie Big Sky” as she names herself, inherits a Montana homestead from her uncle. In 1917, as her friend Charlie “fights the Kaisers” in France and living in a nine by twelve foot claim shack, Hattie learns through hardships and victories that the most important element to living the life of a homesteader is friendship. Hattie’s sense of humor, strong work ethic and stick-to-itiveness help her through a winter blizzard, a wolf attack, planting crops, a drought, anti-German sentiment, and the birth of a neighbor’s baby with help from her new friends. Little does Hattie know, but she’s the reason Charlie wants to head to Montana too.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Told in the first person, Kirby Larson uses humor, creativeness, and historical elements to bring the reader to the early 1900s in the wide expanses of Montana. Interspersed throughout the text are accurate accounts of this historical time like the beginning of Daylight Savings Time, World War I, petticoats and spittoons, using the “Monkey Ward catalog” for toilet paper in the outhouse, taking irons off the wood burning stove, and fetching water from the pump to warm for a bath. Similar references to the Montana setting are made like when it’s explained that buffalo chips are used for fires in the stove instead of wood. Larson uses numerous similes and metaphors to help the reader understand the text and relate to Hattie – “greeted by a sky like a gray flannel crazy quilt” or “blood began to simmer like sage hen stew.” Added features are the letters Hattie writes to her Uncle Holt and friend Charlie, as well as newspaper articles she writes which help document somewhat like a journal events in her life.  

Larson begins the book with brief acknowledgements and in the end shares two recipes, author’s notes and suggests further reading about Montana from books she read for her research. According to her notes, many of the scenes in the novel are based on real events her great-grandmother encountered ash she homesteaded alone in Montana.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

·         BOOKLIST (2006) – “Writing in figurative language that draws on nature and domestic detail to infuse her story with the sounds, smells, and sights of the prairie, she creates a richly textured novel full of memorable characters.”

·         CHILDREN'S LITERATURE (2006) – “This well-researched and gripping novel firmly places its lively heroine in loneliness and debt on her rugged uncle's land claim….. (Hattie’s) discovery of enormous strength within herself as she makes independent decisions on what is right, how to lead her life, and build her character makes this a delightful and empowering book for young women who will enjoy some of the eccentric Montana characters as much as Hattie's forthrightness and intimate concerns.”

·         KIRKUS (2006) – “Based on a bit of Larson's family history, this is not so much a happily-ever-after story as a next-year-will-be-better tale, with Hattie's new-found definition of home. This fine offering may well inspire readers to find out more about their own family histories.”

CONNECTIONS

• Most communities have historical centers or homes which can offer an opportunity for personal experience with items from the early 1900s. Visiting these centers or bringing someone from the center to talk to students about that time period would bring to life the trials that Hattie experienced.
• Many references are made to items that were used in the 1900s that are no longer used now. Students can compile a list of those items and research what they were, how they were used and what they looked like. Then students can determine what items are used now instead and create a “Before and Now” display. Some items mentioned in the novel are: outhouses, party line phones, petticoats, homemade salve for blisters, spittoons, wagons, buffalo chips for fuel, and washboards.
• The novel offers two recipes – Perilee’s Wartime Spice Cake and Hattie’s Lighter-Than-Lead Biscuits. These would be good to serve during a presentation of projects centered on the historical events depicted in the novel or during literature circles.