Joan Sandin

Carl Erik and his family have finally arrived in Minnesota! They are ready for a new set of adventures, including learning English, planting new crops, and getting to know their Obijway neighbors. This Easy Reader sequel to “The Long Way to a New Land” encourages beginning readers to think about what it really means to feel at home.

Carl Erik’s father isn’t sure what to do when the rain won’t come, the crops won’t grow, and the cows won’t give milk. When a letter comes from Uncle Axel in America, he and Mamma decide to leave Sweden behind and start a new life. Written as an I-Can-Read-Book (Level 3), the story conveys the emotion, hardship, and excitement of emigrating to America during Sweden’s “hunger years” in 1868-9.