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Planting Dreams #2
Cultivating Hope: Homesteading on the Great Plains
Homesteading on the Great Plains
Book 2, 1869-1886
Can you imagine being isolated in the middle of a treeless grassland with only a dirt roof over your head? Having to feed your children with whatever wild plants or animals you could find living on the prairie? Sweating to plow the sod, plant the seed, cultivate the crop- only to lose it all by a hailstorm right before you harvest it?
The second book, in the Planting Dreams series portrays Swedish immigrant Charlotta Johnson as she and her husband build a farmstead on the Kansas Prairie.
This family faced countless challenges as they homesteaded on America’s Great Plains during the 1800s. Years of hard work develop the land and improve the quality of life for her family - but not without a price.
Book 2, 1869-1886
Can you imagine being isolated in the middle of a treeless grassland with only a dirt roof over your head? Having to feed your children with whatever wild plants or animals you could find living on the prairie? Sweating to plow the sod, plant the seed, cultivate the crop- only to lose it all by a hailstorm right before you harvest it?
The second book, in the Planting Dreams series portrays Swedish immigrant Charlotta Johnson as she and her husband build a farmstead on the Kansas Prairie.
This family faced countless challenges as they homesteaded on America’s Great Plains during the 1800s. Years of hard work develop the land and improve the quality of life for her family - but not without a price.
134 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
31 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Linda K. Hubalek
115 books275 followersLinda Hubalek had written over fifty books about strong women and honorable men, with a touch of humor, despair, and drama woven into the stories. The setting for all the series is the Kansas prairie which Linda enjoys daily, be it being outside or looking out her office window.
Her historical romance series include Brides with Grit, Grooms with Honor, Mismatched Mail-order Brides, Rancher's Word, and the Clear Creek Legacy. Linda's historical fiction series, based on her ancestors' pioneer lives include, Butter in the Well, Trail of Thread, and Planting Dreams.
When not writing, Linda is reading (usually with dark chocolate within reach), gardening (channeling her degree in Horticulture), or traveling with her husband to explore the world.
Linda loves to hear from her readers and loves to know what they'd like to see her write next. Visit her website at www.LindaHubalek.com to contact her or read about all her books.
www.Facebook.com/lindahubalekbooks
Her historical romance series include Brides with Grit, Grooms with Honor, Mismatched Mail-order Brides, Rancher's Word, and the Clear Creek Legacy. Linda's historical fiction series, based on her ancestors' pioneer lives include, Butter in the Well, Trail of Thread, and Planting Dreams.
When not writing, Linda is reading (usually with dark chocolate within reach), gardening (channeling her degree in Horticulture), or traveling with her husband to explore the world.
Linda loves to hear from her readers and loves to know what they'd like to see her write next. Visit her website at www.LindaHubalek.com to contact her or read about all her books.
www.Facebook.com/lindahubalekbooks
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 29, 2024
This book along with another one titled Butter In the Well were two books that we found in a free library rotation out in the country. As such since I wasn't reading them first and due to the similarity of the cover I thought the book was part of the same trilogy, especially as I was ordering the sequel for this book. Unfortunately about two days ago I found out that wasn't the case.
Both books follow in the same guideline that the author is using actual Swedish female homesteaders as characters in a fictionalized telling of what their experiences may have been with some inclusion of actual events or stories that have been passed down from the older generations. Both of these women also were from the same general homesteading area Kansas thus sharing in church fellowship at one point while the reader can find the protagonist from Planting Dreams and Cultivating Hope mentioned unfortunately in one of the entries from Butter In the Well.
Since of the ethnic background of these women and the influence that it had on the land they settled, Linda Hubalek does loosely use actual Swedish words throughout the telling of these stories. As a result for those who are interested in learning more there is included in the back a Glossary that provides these words in Swedish and a definition of what is meant by them.
Furthermore sprinkled throughout the books the reader will find black-and-white photographs of various events or even maps so they have a general idea of what is occurring. One thing I do have to give credit for, though, is the fact that the Planting Dreams series does list down the family members and important dates so you can keep everyone pretty much well-organized while Butter In the Well doesn't although it does include a few recipes.
The differences between the two books is the narration style and the origination. In Planting Dreams, the reader is taken back to Sweden where the decision is being made to pack the whole family up, what it took to pack for a journey in which they may never come back and what it took to get from Sweden to Illinois and then eventually Kansas. Furthermore the reader is given a chance to follow the protagonist's journey as she first sets out on her homesteading journey thus making the book to cover only the years 1868-1869.
Meanwhile in Butter In the Well, readers are introduced to Kajsa Swenson Runneberg and basically her just starting out family. At the time of the start of the book, the Swensons have already left Sweden and Illinois thus there was a note that provided the basics of what readers will find in Planting Dreams on the reasons for them leaving the homeland. Unlike the other series, Butter In the Well explores the whole timeframe when Kajsa was homesteading, which is from 1868-1888 or two years more since the closing date for the sequel of Planting Dreams thus the one book covers two of the other series.
The writing of Planting Dreams is told in a story format while the sequel Cultivating Hope are a collection of brief yet vital episodes taken from various seasons and years while Butter In the Well is told in a diary-like format. Since these three books basically are on average anywhere from 90-something pages to 122 they are definitely not thorough on all the details but the reader still gets the gist of what life was life and all its emotional rollercoastering as these people lived it.
What I found interesting with this book in comparison to the prior one in the trilogy was the fact that the author didn't choose to use as much of the Swedish terms as could be found in the prior read. In a sense it made it feel like the ties with the old homeland was really being severed at this point to make way for the new.
All in all if you are the type who likes the story of homesteaders, especially ones that are more local to your location, then you may definitely find yourself a fan of these books, especially if you are looking for quick reads.
Both books follow in the same guideline that the author is using actual Swedish female homesteaders as characters in a fictionalized telling of what their experiences may have been with some inclusion of actual events or stories that have been passed down from the older generations. Both of these women also were from the same general homesteading area Kansas thus sharing in church fellowship at one point while the reader can find the protagonist from Planting Dreams and Cultivating Hope mentioned unfortunately in one of the entries from Butter In the Well.
Since of the ethnic background of these women and the influence that it had on the land they settled, Linda Hubalek does loosely use actual Swedish words throughout the telling of these stories. As a result for those who are interested in learning more there is included in the back a Glossary that provides these words in Swedish and a definition of what is meant by them.
Furthermore sprinkled throughout the books the reader will find black-and-white photographs of various events or even maps so they have a general idea of what is occurring. One thing I do have to give credit for, though, is the fact that the Planting Dreams series does list down the family members and important dates so you can keep everyone pretty much well-organized while Butter In the Well doesn't although it does include a few recipes.
The differences between the two books is the narration style and the origination. In Planting Dreams, the reader is taken back to Sweden where the decision is being made to pack the whole family up, what it took to pack for a journey in which they may never come back and what it took to get from Sweden to Illinois and then eventually Kansas. Furthermore the reader is given a chance to follow the protagonist's journey as she first sets out on her homesteading journey thus making the book to cover only the years 1868-1869.
Meanwhile in Butter In the Well, readers are introduced to Kajsa Swenson Runneberg and basically her just starting out family. At the time of the start of the book, the Swensons have already left Sweden and Illinois thus there was a note that provided the basics of what readers will find in Planting Dreams on the reasons for them leaving the homeland. Unlike the other series, Butter In the Well explores the whole timeframe when Kajsa was homesteading, which is from 1868-1888 or two years more since the closing date for the sequel of Planting Dreams thus the one book covers two of the other series.
The writing of Planting Dreams is told in a story format while the sequel Cultivating Hope are a collection of brief yet vital episodes taken from various seasons and years while Butter In the Well is told in a diary-like format. Since these three books basically are on average anywhere from 90-something pages to 122 they are definitely not thorough on all the details but the reader still gets the gist of what life was life and all its emotional rollercoastering as these people lived it.
What I found interesting with this book in comparison to the prior one in the trilogy was the fact that the author didn't choose to use as much of the Swedish terms as could be found in the prior read. In a sense it made it feel like the ties with the old homeland was really being severed at this point to make way for the new.
All in all if you are the type who likes the story of homesteaders, especially ones that are more local to your location, then you may definitely find yourself a fan of these books, especially if you are looking for quick reads.
January 24, 2019
This is another novel by LInda Hubalek about the Kansas homesteading experience of her ancestors and others in their community. The Swedish settlers in the area all experienced many difficult years, both from hard backbreaking work in farming and from the difficulties of nature and disease. This family is no exception, tragically losing four of their 9 children to diphtheria and other illnesses, so this book was really sad. But even tho they suffered these pioneers kept on working, and gradually tamed the prairie and built towns, schools, churches and their farms into profitable businesses. The descriptions of their hardships are depicted by Hubalek in great detail, and her books are very interesting, telling of a much harder time than we live in.
January 12, 2020
Not a very well-connected narrative. Interesting mix of imagined narrative in the first-person that retells old family narratives.
dnf
April 6, 2024DNF.
June 14, 2024
Not bad if short
February 13, 2015
I was given a copy to review of Book 1 in the Planting Dreams Series by Linda K Hubalek. My parents families came from Kansas and I was interested in learning her perspective on the Kansas plains in the 1860's. I have been researching the same areas for many months putting together the details of our family to do something like she has done. I just hope I'm able to do it anywhere near as well.
This historical fiction trilogy is well written, full of facts, and her research into the period wonderful. What I enjoyed the most was the method of the storyteller. I could visualize every bit of the Kansas farmlands, her home, her neighbors, and her life.
The only negative - you really need to start at book one and read all three. I don't believe Book 3 would have the meaning it did without the rest of the story.
4 Stars
This historical fiction trilogy is well written, full of facts, and her research into the period wonderful. What I enjoyed the most was the method of the storyteller. I could visualize every bit of the Kansas farmlands, her home, her neighbors, and her life.
The only negative - you really need to start at book one and read all three. I don't believe Book 3 would have the meaning it did without the rest of the story.
4 Stars
June 12, 2015
It was sad. Such a hard life for early settlers! My Swedish grandparents lost a child to drowning in a creek on their property when he followed my grandfather out into the fields one day. The other children were never allowed to swim in that creek again. Reading this story lets me share their pain all these many years later.
December 20, 2019
Linda has the touch!
These stories of Linda's ancestors are touching yet simple! The way she adds such emotion, makes these books a part of the history of the plains, and of the immigrants who settled America! Every American today, she learn and remember the sacrifices of our ancestors and value the hard work and determination of those that came before us!!!
These stories of Linda's ancestors are touching yet simple! The way she adds such emotion, makes these books a part of the history of the plains, and of the immigrants who settled America! Every American today, she learn and remember the sacrifices of our ancestors and value the hard work and determination of those that came before us!!!
December 22, 2009
Task 30.8
June 23, 2016
This was another 'meh' book for me. I liked that we got to really know the characters, but it just didn't make me want to read the third book.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews