Blizzard Year : Timmy's Almanac of the Seasons

by Gretel Ehrlich

TRADE PB

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Friendship, Nature, Juvenile

122 pages, Library Binding

First published October 15, 1999

About the author

Gretel Ehrlich is an American travel writer, novelist, essayist, and poet born on a horse ranch near Santa Barbara, California and educated at both Bennington College in Vermont and UCLA film school. After working in film for 10 years and following the death of a loved one, she began writing full-time in 1978 while living on a Wyoming ranch where she had been filming. Her first book, The Solace of Open Spaces, is a collection of essays describing her love of the region.

Reviews

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful prose. Hard realities. Lovely pencil drawings. Death. Loss. Love. Joy born out of trial. Beauty. Rhythm. Winter. Spring. Darkness. Hope. It's all there...

[Martha Viehmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A teenage girl named Timmy narrates this almanac of a year on her family's Wyoming ranch--the hard work and fun, tragedy and joy, beauty and worry of life lived intimately on a gorgeous piece of land. Family is a central theme, and Timmy is close to her parents. But the kids have their moments all by themselves and their big secret, in keeping with the YA novel tradition of youth acting independently of adults. As a counter to the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, the Native presence is wholly positive, represented in the chapter for August with a visit to the annual Crow Fair. Ehrlich focuses on the positive and enduring aspects of the public face of Plains culture--powwow dancing and drumming, beadwork, jewelry making, and the tradition of the giveaway. Timmy also names the wide variety of Indian nations who participate. This marks the shifting cultural perspective of the 20th century, during which Native Americans went from "vanishing" to a beneficial presence. An unnamed old man provides Timmy with advice, playing all-too well the role of the wise elder guide. Enjoy A Blizzard Year for its poetic descriptions of the land and animals and for the dramatic tension. But be sure to also read a book by a Native American author to see fully fleshed out Native characters. And if you're inspired to write a novel similar to Ehrlich's please make sure the Native characters have names and a broader role than "spirit guides" or other stereotypes that crop up only to move the plot along.

[Dixie Keyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where has this book been in my life? Serendipitously, my ELA preservice teachers were exploring mentor texts for grammar study, specifically syntactic structures. We visited the university children's library, and I found this book. Upon reading it, the sentence structures are consistently variable (love oxymorons!). Anyway, it's a beautifully written novel on its own about a family rich in love and integrity, yet their cattle ranch is in peril. It takes readers through a season of life as a young adolescent daughter tries to save her family's way of being. Simply beautiful--a must for any middle grades classroom.

[Q]

I read this almost 20 years ago. I liked the way she wrote. I would like to re-read this. The beautiful wide skies of the West and the ranches she wrote about in Blizzard still speak to me. There is stretch of road between Merced CA and Yosemite that I find breathtaking. It’s one of my favorite places. Huge ranch with these huge skies. Close to the earth and coyotes and horses. This in part reminds me of that and ranch in Colorado I visited long time ago. I didn’t know until I read this about the ranchers situation and droughts and earth changes.

I liked this book a lot. Though I don’t remember all the details now.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very simple children's book. It is more about beautiful language to set the scene of a year on a farm during rough times. The storyteller is a child of the family. The story is told month by month in a somewhat diary style. I enjoyed the story, but prefer stories with a little more build up in events and climax. It is a perfect story for children who like to read something that is realistic fiction small town life.

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehrlich's writing has a way of making Wyoming seem like a wondrous place, full of life and appreciation for nature. Taking time to see the seasons. Revel in the moment.

My time in Wyoming was not like that at all, but I enjoy Ehrlich's writing so much... maybe I did Wyoming wrong. Or maybe ranchers had it right, to get away from the towns.

A sweet YA book. I enjoyed my time with Timmy.

[Greta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wyoming is a favorite destination for the author, Gretel Ehrlich, and I've enjoyed reading all the writing she has on this American state. Driving through Wyoming when we visit Yellowstone National Park is fascinating, and I feel fortunate to have been there many times as a tourist. This book takes place outside of the famous park to high desert where people work hard as ranchers.

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to read during a big snow storm, for kids and adults, if you are interested in rural life in Wyoming or just a fan of G. Ehrlich. Like many of my generation, my ancestors were people who farmed for a living and some raised cattle until recently. Heart felt reality is moving.

[Ceri Sloan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read a nature book by this author and enjoyed it so tried another of hers. Didn't realise it was a YA book but thoroughly enjoyed this sweet story of a young girl trying to protect her familys farm from going under.

[Kimberly Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely paced story of a year in the life of a rancher’s daughter. Rural kids can relate to the rhythm of the seasons. Each chapter is a month of the year. Nice touch that each begins with what is happening with the plants, birds, and animals.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I would've given this book a slightly higher rating had I been younger. As it is, it was a good book, and took me by surprise to find it takes place in modern times rather than pioneer.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certain lives are conducive to a wealth of knowledge of the world around them; changing of the seasons, flowers, birds, animals. Hands on learning trumps book learning!

[Krystle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was on my DNF list. Couldn't hold my internet.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written coming-of-age story. While intended for the YA group, this is a book that anyone who appreciates writing about nature, small communities, farm life, etc. would enjoy. A modern day equivalent to the "Little House" books if you will. The story follows Timmy, a modern day girl living on a cattle ranch in Wyoming, during her 13th year. It is a journal of sorts; her thoughts and reflections on family and friends, animals, hard times, her life on a cattle ranch that she truly loves, and her feelings when all that is important to her is threatened by forces beyond her control. Each chapter is a reflection on a month of the year and begins with a few paragraphs about life on the ranch during that month; what mother nature brings to bear, the life cycles of animals and people, the joys and burdens of that particular time of year, what she looks forward to and what she dreads. These passages are short, sweet and exquisitely written. I find myself wanting to read just these chapter intros again. The main body of the work is well written and the characters voices ring true. Well worth the time if this type of narrative is what you enjoy.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written book. If I had a daughter in the 9-13 age range for which it was intended, I'd encourage her to read this.

It's a fascinating look into ranch life - a remote life. It made me realize that as much as I enjoy the wildlife around my home, I am not in tune with it.

The book is separated into 12 chapters, one for each month. Each chapter is part journal, part story. I'd give the journal parts five stars, and the story two or three. I didn't really understand how a ranch in a family for generations was so indebted to a bank. The narrator talked about how a ranch family had to conserve and save for bad years, and then they weren't prepared. The resolution of all this was a little too convenient and unbelievable for me and was out of tune with what I took to be the overall messages of the book.

[Heon.Song · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is an "ok" book because there wasn't really a "big" climax. Most of the other novels have really big climaxes. The book was simple and basic but if you look at the point from the overall picture than it is a pretty good book even though its simple. Out of those simple context and the chapters there is a little story and that part was good. Each chapter counted as one month, that part was cool. Since the chapters are in months it showed how the climate or the whether changed over months and season. The book told us about how they live and how they survived in the blizzard and the winter.

[Jeff Lloyd]

Times are tight and the work is hard, yet the scenery is beautiful. This short book, told by a young teenaged girl named Timmy, is the story of a difficult year on a family owned ranch. The family looses cows and sheep to the bitter cold and a blizzard, giving the reader insight into how difficult life on a ranch can be. Each chapter is titled for the month in which the events take place. I enjoyed the detailed and authentic view of ranching life in the northern Rockies. It's perfect for those middle grade readers who loved "happy horse stories", yet are ready for a bit more.

[Noah Benouis]

This book is a great book. It has death and lots of hardship. It is about a girl living in the mountains. Her family has a farm but is facing a lot of the dying.This leads them to have to try to survive on less and see if they can get there self's out of this mess. Some things that I liked were about how they overcame the doubts of not surviving. They did not give up at anytime.It falls into the survival genera.
I would recommend this for 10 and up and people who like animals and overcoming something.

[10-11 Caitlin]

A Blizzard Year is a wonderful book it is about a family that lives on a huge ranch, but they have a blizzard and loose most of there livestock. Every year the family borrows money from the bank but because they lost almost all of there livestock they can`t sell the livestock to pay the bank back. so the sun and his sister think of an idea to get more livestock. They e mailed all the ranchers they knew and asked for some livestock donations and they got donations and the ranch was saved. :)

[Josh Ingram]

I think this book is really good. A blizzard year is for people that dont really like action packed books. Its a calm story but the main character timmy has some hiccups. Up in the mountains she takes care of the cattle during the blizzard. She has some hard times.In the end everything works out. In general this is a good book.

[Ericthesteve]

This is an ok book at least for me. It's just that it's not the kind of book I'd read again. It just did not catch my book bone for this book I mean the language of the book and how it's written is great 10/10 for that. Then the characters were good as well and what was going on with winter and the challenge of keeping the animals alive. Would I recommend this book? No.

[Jaremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that am reading is a good book. It is about a fram that has lost most of his cattle from snowstroms. They live in the mountains on the highest part of the mountains. Timmy is thirteen years old. Every one sould read it.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a girl's diary, her telling of the year her family nearly lost their ranch and what it meant to her to keep it. I loved the way her love fo the land and her home was portrayed. It was simple and beautiful.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Gretel Ehrlich's first attempt at a book for young readers – and it is a great success. Is the story of one year in the life of a young girl in Montana and how she helped save the ranch. Delightful reading. Gretel lives here in Santa Barbara County and so it was a special treat.

[Cws]

JAR5-Ehr

[Starry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. It gave me an inside view of what it would be like to live in small community where farming is the main resource. Well, mainly. There's also the animals. x33

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting...

[Elizabeth Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. This was just kind of average for me.

[Crizzle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful prose and strong female modern ranch hand type character journals how her family's entire year was affected by some blizzards in March.
2.5 stars, I was just a little bored.

[Danyelle Cleveland · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes; this was a terrible read to say the least. Pretty boring and dull. Disappointed with the way it is told.