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Dear America
My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher
In the late 1870s many young teachers traveled West to earn money and make a new life for themselves. However, the schools were inadequate at best. Some returned home, unable to endure the hardships of prairie life, but others were more committed. Jim Murphy's Sarah Jane Price stayed, braving the rough conditions of the West and the daily tasks that ensued.
182 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2001
20 people are currently reading
1983 people want to read
About the author
Jim Murphy
32 books87 followersAn American author of more than 35 nonfiction and fiction books for children, young adults, and general audiences, including more than 30 about American history. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 2010 for his contribution in writing for teens. Jim lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, in a hundred-year-old house with his wife Alison Blank, a children’s TV producer and children’s book author and editor, his two talented musician sons, a regal mutt, an African water frog that will live forever, and a house vast collection of books..
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
November 3, 2023
On the prairies on Nebraska, orphaned Sarah Jane takes on the role of the town's schoolteacher in order to hopefully secure her future in Broken Bow and avoid being sent to the Orphan Girls Asylum in Grand Island. She's only 14 years old and in many ways is still a student herself, but her strong determination to succeed helps her overcome many challenges. She faces opposition from community members, endures Mother Nature's forces, and does her best to spruce up a shoddy schoolhouse and teach with almost nonexistent supplies. In a relatively short time, she proves herself to be a competent teacher and an astute employee. Her newly gained self-esteem allows her to exert herself and gain the independence she seeks as well as improve education for the children of Broken Bow.
I liked this for the factual look at schools on the western prairies but the storyline is rather dull. The reality of rural schools shows how teacher availability, training, and school supplies are all limited. People made do with what was available with the idea that some education was better than no education. Minor historical elements such as the circuit preacher added to the scene but not so much to the overall story. Johnnie Hatter's character was also meant to play a certain role, but the point is missed. The broad outline for added historical information is there, but the explaining details are lacking more often than not, and the story does not circle back at a later time to tie things together.
I can only recommend this to those who have a natural interest in early American educational efforts and are looking to gain a broader understanding of schooling during the settlement of the American prairies. So in other words, maybe a few adults will enjoy this, but there are better and more engaging options for kids.
I liked this for the factual look at schools on the western prairies but the storyline is rather dull. The reality of rural schools shows how teacher availability, training, and school supplies are all limited. People made do with what was available with the idea that some education was better than no education. Minor historical elements such as the circuit preacher added to the scene but not so much to the overall story. Johnnie Hatter's character was also meant to play a certain role, but the point is missed. The broad outline for added historical information is there, but the explaining details are lacking more often than not, and the story does not circle back at a later time to tie things together.
I can only recommend this to those who have a natural interest in early American educational efforts and are looking to gain a broader understanding of schooling during the settlement of the American prairies. So in other words, maybe a few adults will enjoy this, but there are better and more engaging options for kids.
March 9, 2015
Sarah Jane, orphaned in a small Nebraska town called Broken Bow, decides to take on the job of teacher rather than being sent to an orphanage a few towns away. Then there's tension with just about every authority figure in town before it magically gets resolved because this is a kid's book, guys. We can't have cranky adults when the heroine is being awesome right!
1. Her motivation for staying in the town was...her dad's grave?
2. Her "friend" Ida read more like the snotty 9-year-old cousin you hang out with because your mother told you to and not because you particularly like them??? But they were supposed to be bffs??
3. Seriously: SO MANY CRANKY ADULTS.
4. Sarah Jane lies to get the job as teacher--but that never becomes a relevant plot point again. So, you know.
5. Such a slow moving monstrosity.
Perhaps it's just because I am no longer the presumed demographic for this book, but wow was I disappointed by this one. I remember always feeling surprised at the end of a Dear America book that the heroine was fictional because the world they lived in was so fully realized. But Sarah Jane and Broken Bow both felt so flat and transparent that it took me dragging myself through diary entry by diary entry to complete this book.
Disappointing.
1. Her motivation for staying in the town was...her dad's grave?
2. Her "friend" Ida read more like the snotty 9-year-old cousin you hang out with because your mother told you to and not because you particularly like them??? But they were supposed to be bffs??
3. Seriously: SO MANY CRANKY ADULTS.
4. Sarah Jane lies to get the job as teacher--but that never becomes a relevant plot point again. So, you know.
5. Such a slow moving monstrosity.
Perhaps it's just because I am no longer the presumed demographic for this book, but wow was I disappointed by this one. I remember always feeling surprised at the end of a Dear America book that the heroine was fictional because the world they lived in was so fully realized. But Sarah Jane and Broken Bow both felt so flat and transparent that it took me dragging myself through diary entry by diary entry to complete this book.
Disappointing.
January 8, 2025
OMG. This has to be one of my favorite Dear America books. It’s just so well written.
March 24, 2014
Originally, I picked this book up because my great- grandmother was a teenage one room schoolhouse teacher in Louisiana, and I had already read her journal and wanted to compare. What I got was somewhat satisfying.
When a fourteen year old orphan girl named Sarah Jane is almost forced to abandon her current hometown of Broken Bow, Nebraska. and move to an orphan girls asylum (not a mental asylum, mind you) she comes up with a plan: become a teacher. She figures it will be somewhat easy- her father was a teacher, and she had many poems memorized. As it turns out, being a teacher is anything but. How will she deal with bad chilren, angry parents, storms Indians, an upset reverend, and more? And how will she cope with her father's death?
This book is okay for the most part, but it was a little slow-paced and dull. The writing was descriptive- something I like. However, f there is too many details and not enough moving forward, it can easily lose it's interest. Compared to my great grandmother, her life is not nearly as exciting, but I don't mind that. I recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind a slow book.
When a fourteen year old orphan girl named Sarah Jane is almost forced to abandon her current hometown of Broken Bow, Nebraska. and move to an orphan girls asylum (not a mental asylum, mind you) she comes up with a plan: become a teacher. She figures it will be somewhat easy- her father was a teacher, and she had many poems memorized. As it turns out, being a teacher is anything but. How will she deal with bad chilren, angry parents, storms Indians, an upset reverend, and more? And how will she cope with her father's death?
This book is okay for the most part, but it was a little slow-paced and dull. The writing was descriptive- something I like. However, f there is too many details and not enough moving forward, it can easily lose it's interest. Compared to my great grandmother, her life is not nearly as exciting, but I don't mind that. I recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind a slow book.
September 17, 2025
After reading this I was thinking that the issues with schools have been going on for hundreds of years. Children have to go to school, but the powers that be don't seem to think they need to supply them with things for them to be successful. As usual it was up to the teacher to be creative and to spend their own money to make sure the kids got what they needed. It was infuriating to see how Sarah Jane was treated by Mr. Gaddis who was head of the board. He didn't want to hire her as a teacher, but he was outvoted. He then set her up to fail by supplying her with the crappiest schoolhouse available with no furniture, no books, and no other supplies. Sarah Jane and her friend Ida made do with scraps to fashion seats and Sarah Jane used her own books to use to teach. It was a rough start in the beginning, but she stuck to it and was successful in getting the children educated.
April 17, 2021
Weirdly, for being an adult, I think this particular Dear America caught me at the right place and the right time. I really enjoyed Sarah Jane’s experiences stepping into adulthood, being so scared sometimes she doesn’t recognize her own strength, and her determination to make it work. I enjoyed that I felt like I knew the characters by the end of the book even though I knew very few details about them or their motivation - only how Sarah Jane interacted with them and saw them. My only two complaints were the liberal use of numbers over written out words (2 vs. two) and that for a prairie teacher, Sarah Jane had an awful lot of time to write during school hours!
May 25, 2024
i'm really enjoying re-visiting the Dear America series.
July 4, 2019
This addition to the Dear America series takes place on the American prairie of Nebraska in the 1880's. Sarah Jane has recently lost her father and is at risk of being sent to a girls' home. In order to stay in the town of Broken Bow, Sarah Jane lies about her age in order to get the town to approve her as the new teacher for the spring term, a position her father was originally supposed to take. Sarah Jane is given the position and must learn how to handle her group of students. Also included are information about life on the prairie and one roomed schoolhouses of the time.
I enjoyed the Dear America/My Name is America series growing up but somehow missed this one. The idea of a story set on the prairie initially intrigued me so I decided to read this. Sarah Jane's story is a bit slower moving than the other stories of the series that I have read. The story also ends rather abruptly, in my opinion, with not much of a focus on Sarah Jane's experiences as being a young teacher. Still, it is worth trying to see how you like it, especially if the topic interests you.
I enjoyed the Dear America/My Name is America series growing up but somehow missed this one. The idea of a story set on the prairie initially intrigued me so I decided to read this. Sarah Jane's story is a bit slower moving than the other stories of the series that I have read. The story also ends rather abruptly, in my opinion, with not much of a focus on Sarah Jane's experiences as being a young teacher. Still, it is worth trying to see how you like it, especially if the topic interests you.
October 1, 2011
I usually love the Dear Canada/Dear America etc. series. This one was a little disappointing though. It is the story of a young girl who becomes a teacher like her deceased father rather than be sent to a girls' home. Some elements of the story were good and she did develop over the course of the book. But I felt the dialogue was stilted at times and the language overall was a bit too modern.
December 13, 2015
This one was pretty slow for me. The plot doesn't move very fast and the characters weren't especially engrossing. I did enjoy the look it provided at prairie teachers especially since my parents are both teachers. The historical details were interesting and it did show how far education has come.
January 28, 2021
I remember how badly I hate diary books as soon as I started reading.
She waved her napkin in front of Miss Kizer’s cat’s face and then when it didn’t react she threw her napkin at it. That says a lot about a character, the little brat.
It was funny that when she went to Ida’s to get her dad’s pamphlet on teaching in Nebraska, Ida announced in front of her parents and guests that Sarah had a question for her dad and then left her alone. Sarah couldn’t believe that she’d called her out and left her by herself. So she bucked up and told her whole story about wanting to teach and sold herself on her qualities, when really Ida had been stealing the pamphlet for her and couldn’t believe she’d just told them like that!
Sarah was getting on my nerves how she reacted to Mr. Gaddis’ treatment. He didn’t want her to become a teacher and voted against her on the school board, but was outvoted. He was stern and strict about her associating with the students since she’s a teacher now. Ida wanted to come with her to see the school but Sarah wouldn’t let her because of him. And at church she kept moving away from Ida when Mr. Gaddis was looking at her. Sarah and Ida were alone at the school and laughed about a joke and Sarah looked around for him, feeling guilty for laughing aloud.. You can have friends outside of school...that’s taking it way too far.
A boy named Charles was 15 or 16 and I like how he stuck up for Sarah against the troublemakers. A kid suggested they take the book from Sarah and finish the story and Charles said no one but Sarah would touch it. Sarah told Fred he had to chop wood and he refused and Charles said he would make him.
Some authors write these adult, philosophical themes and ideas that kids would never have. Like doing her thinking when she’s walking and wondering what Miss Kizer was thinking about when she was walking. And wondering what Miss Kizer hears in the wind and what she’s afraid of. The Reverend was using scare tactics against her and going on about sinners and I didn’t care.
Sarah went to bed and then woke up when she heard Reverend Lauter and Miss Kizer talking, got up to write their entire conversation down, even though she was tired, so she would “know it was not just the wind or a dream.” That makes sense...
It was cute that the kids went sledding and Charles crashed into her and she fell over and her dress came up over her head and everyone saw her underthings.
Carl had missed school and Sarah was going to speak to his parents. Ida wanted to come along but prim and proper Sarah didn’t let her and Ida fumed about Mr. Gaddis.
It got so old reading how she was tired, but she sat down to write this so she’d get it all down and not forget anything. Ugh. Having the character constantly talk about writing the “book” is really annoying.
It wasn’t until almost the end that Sarah stood beside Ida at church when Mr. Gaddis was there. She finally decided she could stand with her students if she wanted...Gee, now nifty. I was so irritated at the drawn-out ridiculousness of this Ida business that I didn’t even care.
The school was destroyed during the blizzard and Mr. Gaddis said a home would be rented and Sarah and Ida asked for desks and blackboards and supplies. Sarah also asked for a bell she could ring for school to start in session and Mr. Gaddis had a flicker of a smile. He’d finally come around to her.
Sarah taught for 36 years. She earned her teaching certificate when she was 19 and her master’s a few years later. The two rowdy boys became photographers and took pics of settlers. Ida never married and bought up farms until she had a big house and she took in orphans. Sarah didn’t have much of a social life but she stayed friends with Ida and helped Miss Kizer.
I was hoping for something with Charles since they were close in age, but nothing at all had happened. And then she was 25 and sitting in the school after class and a lone rider came up. He got down and took his hat off and said “Miss Price, I believe I am well enough established in business and confident about my future to ask you to marry me.” I LOVED it! So why hadn’t he prepared any of this and built up the relationship?! WHY?!?!
Almost everyone in town went to their wedding and they lived outside of town in a brick house. In the morning he went to the fields and she went to school and every night they talked about the day and the newspaper and read. They had one daughter.
Her dad never appeared to her again but she’d go outside and listen to the wind anyway. It sucked that she never felt him again.
It was so hard for schools to keep teachers that boards lowered the age and 13-15 year old girls would teach. It might be held in someone’s dining room with 4-5 students sitting at the table with the teacher. A sod house could be turned into a school with 20-30 or more students aged 3-18 or older.
Women often had caged birds to keep them company while the men worked in the fields.
Wood was scarce so settlers burned dried Buffalo chips or “Nebraska coal” to fuel cooking fires. People also used corn husks or dried grass twists.
She would write in her diary at really unrealistic and stupid times. Like after she went to Ida’s and Mr. Gaddis told her she got the job, and had her wait while he bought things at the store, she went home to write about it and then went back. Then the first day of school she wrote in the diary about waking up and having breakfast, then she took the diary to school to write in it when she could and picked back up with “Later in the morning.” The most ridiculous was when she had the kids recite poems so she could write and they could take a break. I’m like, yeah, I don’t think a teacher anywhere in the history of the world stopped class so he could write about the miniscule details of asking kids to count, etc. She went on to have diary entries for “Later,” “Later still,” and “Later in the night.” Fascinating. Wouldn’t you just write it all down that night??
She would sometimes write in sentence fragments, like say “Am going to” do something and it sounded so modern.
I didn’t enjoy reading this at all. I don’t know why I thought a diary book would be okay when I hate diary books. The story was so boring and undefined. A girl became a teacher to avoid going to the orphanage, and came up with ways to handle the unruly kids. It was all over the place. The evil preacher whose motives were never shared. The guardian who seemingly callously agreed to send her away, but then suddenly came around and acted nice like a completely different person. The threat of the new hotel running her out of business. The themes of walking and reading the Bible and getting visits from dead people. The whole time it felt like a pale replica of some other work, like it was trying to be something else, but it ended up being nothing. I kept waiting for the big answer or the big reveal, but it all added up to nothing. The whole thing felt completely pointless and I can see no reason for it. The story literally had no point. It was ambiguous, just a tale of teaching and that’s as exciting as it sounds.
I assumed a woman wrote this and thought that the entire time and didn't notice until I came on here and went to add that I had read it that a man wrote it. I was shocked, but that actually explains a lot...
She waved her napkin in front of Miss Kizer’s cat’s face and then when it didn’t react she threw her napkin at it. That says a lot about a character, the little brat.
It was funny that when she went to Ida’s to get her dad’s pamphlet on teaching in Nebraska, Ida announced in front of her parents and guests that Sarah had a question for her dad and then left her alone. Sarah couldn’t believe that she’d called her out and left her by herself. So she bucked up and told her whole story about wanting to teach and sold herself on her qualities, when really Ida had been stealing the pamphlet for her and couldn’t believe she’d just told them like that!
Sarah was getting on my nerves how she reacted to Mr. Gaddis’ treatment. He didn’t want her to become a teacher and voted against her on the school board, but was outvoted. He was stern and strict about her associating with the students since she’s a teacher now. Ida wanted to come with her to see the school but Sarah wouldn’t let her because of him. And at church she kept moving away from Ida when Mr. Gaddis was looking at her. Sarah and Ida were alone at the school and laughed about a joke and Sarah looked around for him, feeling guilty for laughing aloud.. You can have friends outside of school...that’s taking it way too far.
A boy named Charles was 15 or 16 and I like how he stuck up for Sarah against the troublemakers. A kid suggested they take the book from Sarah and finish the story and Charles said no one but Sarah would touch it. Sarah told Fred he had to chop wood and he refused and Charles said he would make him.
Some authors write these adult, philosophical themes and ideas that kids would never have. Like doing her thinking when she’s walking and wondering what Miss Kizer was thinking about when she was walking. And wondering what Miss Kizer hears in the wind and what she’s afraid of. The Reverend was using scare tactics against her and going on about sinners and I didn’t care.
Sarah went to bed and then woke up when she heard Reverend Lauter and Miss Kizer talking, got up to write their entire conversation down, even though she was tired, so she would “know it was not just the wind or a dream.” That makes sense...
It was cute that the kids went sledding and Charles crashed into her and she fell over and her dress came up over her head and everyone saw her underthings.
Carl had missed school and Sarah was going to speak to his parents. Ida wanted to come along but prim and proper Sarah didn’t let her and Ida fumed about Mr. Gaddis.
It got so old reading how she was tired, but she sat down to write this so she’d get it all down and not forget anything. Ugh. Having the character constantly talk about writing the “book” is really annoying.
It wasn’t until almost the end that Sarah stood beside Ida at church when Mr. Gaddis was there. She finally decided she could stand with her students if she wanted...Gee, now nifty. I was so irritated at the drawn-out ridiculousness of this Ida business that I didn’t even care.
The school was destroyed during the blizzard and Mr. Gaddis said a home would be rented and Sarah and Ida asked for desks and blackboards and supplies. Sarah also asked for a bell she could ring for school to start in session and Mr. Gaddis had a flicker of a smile. He’d finally come around to her.
Sarah taught for 36 years. She earned her teaching certificate when she was 19 and her master’s a few years later. The two rowdy boys became photographers and took pics of settlers. Ida never married and bought up farms until she had a big house and she took in orphans. Sarah didn’t have much of a social life but she stayed friends with Ida and helped Miss Kizer.
I was hoping for something with Charles since they were close in age, but nothing at all had happened. And then she was 25 and sitting in the school after class and a lone rider came up. He got down and took his hat off and said “Miss Price, I believe I am well enough established in business and confident about my future to ask you to marry me.” I LOVED it! So why hadn’t he prepared any of this and built up the relationship?! WHY?!?!
Almost everyone in town went to their wedding and they lived outside of town in a brick house. In the morning he went to the fields and she went to school and every night they talked about the day and the newspaper and read. They had one daughter.
Her dad never appeared to her again but she’d go outside and listen to the wind anyway. It sucked that she never felt him again.
It was so hard for schools to keep teachers that boards lowered the age and 13-15 year old girls would teach. It might be held in someone’s dining room with 4-5 students sitting at the table with the teacher. A sod house could be turned into a school with 20-30 or more students aged 3-18 or older.
Women often had caged birds to keep them company while the men worked in the fields.
Wood was scarce so settlers burned dried Buffalo chips or “Nebraska coal” to fuel cooking fires. People also used corn husks or dried grass twists.
She would write in her diary at really unrealistic and stupid times. Like after she went to Ida’s and Mr. Gaddis told her she got the job, and had her wait while he bought things at the store, she went home to write about it and then went back. Then the first day of school she wrote in the diary about waking up and having breakfast, then she took the diary to school to write in it when she could and picked back up with “Later in the morning.” The most ridiculous was when she had the kids recite poems so she could write and they could take a break. I’m like, yeah, I don’t think a teacher anywhere in the history of the world stopped class so he could write about the miniscule details of asking kids to count, etc. She went on to have diary entries for “Later,” “Later still,” and “Later in the night.” Fascinating. Wouldn’t you just write it all down that night??
She would sometimes write in sentence fragments, like say “Am going to” do something and it sounded so modern.
I didn’t enjoy reading this at all. I don’t know why I thought a diary book would be okay when I hate diary books. The story was so boring and undefined. A girl became a teacher to avoid going to the orphanage, and came up with ways to handle the unruly kids. It was all over the place. The evil preacher whose motives were never shared. The guardian who seemingly callously agreed to send her away, but then suddenly came around and acted nice like a completely different person. The threat of the new hotel running her out of business. The themes of walking and reading the Bible and getting visits from dead people. The whole time it felt like a pale replica of some other work, like it was trying to be something else, but it ended up being nothing. I kept waiting for the big answer or the big reveal, but it all added up to nothing. The whole thing felt completely pointless and I can see no reason for it. The story literally had no point. It was ambiguous, just a tale of teaching and that’s as exciting as it sounds.
I assumed a woman wrote this and thought that the entire time and didn't notice until I came on here and went to add that I had read it that a man wrote it. I was shocked, but that actually explains a lot...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2024
This wasn’t great compared to the others I’ve read. Kinda boring but it did get interesting towards the end. There were a few random things thrown in that didn’t get resolved
July 19, 2021
I read this on a plane and it kept me engaged, which is saying a lot.
Sarah Jane's father moved them to Broken Bow, Nebraska, to teach school there, but he died. Now Sarah Jane is an orphan boarding with a moderately but not overly sympathetic woman who agrees with the Reverend that the girls' orphanage a county away would be a good place for her, since her money is running out and this woman clearly doesn't have enough business to need a helper or a free boarder. Sarah Jane is skeptical, and after she hears that this orphanage is more of a workhouse than an educational institution, she hatches a plan to avoid being sent there: she will become the town's next schoolteacher. The school board does agree, but at a wage reduced significantly from her father's. They're making a choice between saving money and putting out another advertisement back East and hoping someone responds. So they give her a derelict building, which Sarah Jane manages to fix up adequately, and she teaches school well until the denouement with a blizzard.
I enjoyed this one. It was bleak, but that's 19th century Nebraska for you. Sarah Jane's best friend has to be a ten-year-old girl because she is the closest person in town to her in age. She has money enough that she buy a single train ticket but no prospects anywhere at all. In the end, it works out for Sarah Jane, if not for rural Nebraska. Would recommend.
Sarah Jane's father moved them to Broken Bow, Nebraska, to teach school there, but he died. Now Sarah Jane is an orphan boarding with a moderately but not overly sympathetic woman who agrees with the Reverend that the girls' orphanage a county away would be a good place for her, since her money is running out and this woman clearly doesn't have enough business to need a helper or a free boarder. Sarah Jane is skeptical, and after she hears that this orphanage is more of a workhouse than an educational institution, she hatches a plan to avoid being sent there: she will become the town's next schoolteacher. The school board does agree, but at a wage reduced significantly from her father's. They're making a choice between saving money and putting out another advertisement back East and hoping someone responds. So they give her a derelict building, which Sarah Jane manages to fix up adequately, and she teaches school well until the denouement with a blizzard.
I enjoyed this one. It was bleak, but that's 19th century Nebraska for you. Sarah Jane's best friend has to be a ten-year-old girl because she is the closest person in town to her in age. She has money enough that she buy a single train ticket but no prospects anywhere at all. In the end, it works out for Sarah Jane, if not for rural Nebraska. Would recommend.
May 17, 2019
Dear America really picks some odd topics to focus on. My Face to the Wind is about teaching school in the West. And it’s about as interesting as it sounds.
I’m sure that topic could be made interesting—Laura Ingalls Wilder’s story in These Happy Golden Years comes to mind—but the book takes way too long to get to the actual teaching part, and there isn’t enough conflict or tension to keep things interesting. Oh, sure, Sarah Jane has some problems with her pupils, but not that much, and there’s very little of the novel actually focused on teaching. Most of the time Sarah Jane is only briefly describing what she does, while expounding on the tension at her boarding house or on brief clashes with the students.
There’s also such a strange inclusion here of a Reverend character. In the Historical Note, Murphy talks about religion, so it’s not strange to have a Reverend. What’s strange is that the Reverend’s actions are contrasted with that of the boarding house owner, Miss Kizer, and there’s an odd scene where Sarah Jane observes Miss Kizer reading her Bible and thinking and smiling, and Sarah Jane thinks, “Hmm, I wonder what she’s thinking about.” Then it never comes up again. So whatever comparison Murphy was trying to make falls a bit flat amidst all the other preachiness.
A lack of conflict in My Face to the Wind, coupled with a lack of focus on the actual teaching and weak student confrontations, makes it very boring. What saves it from a 1/5 rating is some interesting revelations about state law, hiring teachers, and other historical details. Yet, it’s still another random topic, uncompelling Dear America book to throw on the pile.
I’m sure that topic could be made interesting—Laura Ingalls Wilder’s story in These Happy Golden Years comes to mind—but the book takes way too long to get to the actual teaching part, and there isn’t enough conflict or tension to keep things interesting. Oh, sure, Sarah Jane has some problems with her pupils, but not that much, and there’s very little of the novel actually focused on teaching. Most of the time Sarah Jane is only briefly describing what she does, while expounding on the tension at her boarding house or on brief clashes with the students.
There’s also such a strange inclusion here of a Reverend character. In the Historical Note, Murphy talks about religion, so it’s not strange to have a Reverend. What’s strange is that the Reverend’s actions are contrasted with that of the boarding house owner, Miss Kizer, and there’s an odd scene where Sarah Jane observes Miss Kizer reading her Bible and thinking and smiling, and Sarah Jane thinks, “Hmm, I wonder what she’s thinking about.” Then it never comes up again. So whatever comparison Murphy was trying to make falls a bit flat amidst all the other preachiness.
A lack of conflict in My Face to the Wind, coupled with a lack of focus on the actual teaching and weak student confrontations, makes it very boring. What saves it from a 1/5 rating is some interesting revelations about state law, hiring teachers, and other historical details. Yet, it’s still another random topic, uncompelling Dear America book to throw on the pile.
January 7, 2009
Interesting story about a 14 yr old young lady who uses her whits and begins teaching school in soddy in Nebreska, 1883.
Faith, life, teaching, & people make up this book.
Faith, life, teaching, & people make up this book.
July 1, 2011
Anticlimactic, predictable.
November 29, 2011
i generally love these little historical fiction ya and learn something new each time - but this had little to offer
April 1, 2012
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I thought the story was slow and extremely similar to Laura Ingle's first teaching experience in the Little House books.
July 14, 2015
Liked that this one read more like a novel, but just couldn't get into it at all. Very dull.
October 13, 2015
This one was boring.
June 21, 2017
4 stars for My Face to the Wind
Thoughts and Plot
I feel like the synopsis should be rewritten. Instead of
In the late 1870s many young teachers traveled West to earn money and make a new life for themselves. However, the schools were inadequate at best. Some returned home, unable to endure the hardships of prairie life, but others were more committed. Jim Murphy's Sarah Jane Price stayed, braving the rough conditions of the West and the daily tasks that ensued.
It should really say:
After the death of her school teacher father, 14 year old Sarah Jane Price decides to try her hand at teaching in his place instead of being shipped off to an Asylum for Orphaned Girls that would force her to work in a clothes factory 6 days a week to 'earn' her keep. Having no family to turn to, it is really her only option to keep herself from being shipped off to the Orphanage. Her school is basically a mound of dirt outside of the town that has been hollowed out with a door and a window added. The town council gave away the original school house to a handful of boarders after her father passed. Despite opposition and the poor conditions, Sarah Jane decides to stick it out and teach the unruly kids of Broken Bow.
Anyhow,
This book is the fictitious diary of 14 year old Sarah Jane Price, a recently orphaned girl who is struggling to keep herself out of an Orphanage that runs on child labour (an accepted practice at the time). Sarah Jane lies about her age (people as young as 16 were allowed to teach in Nebraska) and starts on a campaign to get herself hired on as the town teacher (towns were required by law to provide schooling it its younger residents). She gets the job, but she's only paid $1 per month per student (averaging the attendance through the month) that arrives ON TIME. This is way less than what an average teacher would be paid. Her school house is an abandoned homestead made out of sod. The back wall leans dangerous (the council decides to prop it up with long sticks basically), it's dirty, it's damp (the roof leaks), the chimney needs to be fixed, there is one table, one chair, no desks, no books, no flag, no bell, etc. Oh and no outhouse!
The council has the chimney fixed, and provides her with one pail, one ladle, one axe and a bunch of 8ft long logs that need to be chopped for firewood. Despite the lack of support, she forges ahead with the help of some of her students. She has the boys who cause trouble chop wood while her and the others read various enthralling stories. She gets to older kids to help the younger while she goes around and aids various students with various subjects depending on their needs. After the first day she assigns her students different tasks to help with the cleaning of the school 'house' and creates a list of rules.
When a furious winter storm rolls in and threats the lives of her students, Sarah Jane proves herself a resource young teacher and thereby wins over all of her opposition.
In Conclusion
This was an interesting story about school life in a small pioneer town brought to life through the use of a resource young lady who wants to prove herself an asset to the town and not be shipped off because they view her as a burden.
Age range: anyone who can read it really.
Content:Mention of people dying of diphtheria, but it gives no info other than that was what they died of.
Thoughts and Plot
I feel like the synopsis should be rewritten. Instead of
In the late 1870s many young teachers traveled West to earn money and make a new life for themselves. However, the schools were inadequate at best. Some returned home, unable to endure the hardships of prairie life, but others were more committed. Jim Murphy's Sarah Jane Price stayed, braving the rough conditions of the West and the daily tasks that ensued.
It should really say:
After the death of her school teacher father, 14 year old Sarah Jane Price decides to try her hand at teaching in his place instead of being shipped off to an Asylum for Orphaned Girls that would force her to work in a clothes factory 6 days a week to 'earn' her keep. Having no family to turn to, it is really her only option to keep herself from being shipped off to the Orphanage. Her school is basically a mound of dirt outside of the town that has been hollowed out with a door and a window added. The town council gave away the original school house to a handful of boarders after her father passed. Despite opposition and the poor conditions, Sarah Jane decides to stick it out and teach the unruly kids of Broken Bow.
Anyhow,
This book is the fictitious diary of 14 year old Sarah Jane Price, a recently orphaned girl who is struggling to keep herself out of an Orphanage that runs on child labour (an accepted practice at the time). Sarah Jane lies about her age (people as young as 16 were allowed to teach in Nebraska) and starts on a campaign to get herself hired on as the town teacher (towns were required by law to provide schooling it its younger residents). She gets the job, but she's only paid $1 per month per student (averaging the attendance through the month) that arrives ON TIME. This is way less than what an average teacher would be paid. Her school house is an abandoned homestead made out of sod. The back wall leans dangerous (the council decides to prop it up with long sticks basically), it's dirty, it's damp (the roof leaks), the chimney needs to be fixed, there is one table, one chair, no desks, no books, no flag, no bell, etc. Oh and no outhouse!
The council has the chimney fixed, and provides her with one pail, one ladle, one axe and a bunch of 8ft long logs that need to be chopped for firewood. Despite the lack of support, she forges ahead with the help of some of her students. She has the boys who cause trouble chop wood while her and the others read various enthralling stories. She gets to older kids to help the younger while she goes around and aids various students with various subjects depending on their needs. After the first day she assigns her students different tasks to help with the cleaning of the school 'house' and creates a list of rules.
When a furious winter storm rolls in and threats the lives of her students, Sarah Jane proves herself a resource young teacher and thereby wins over all of her opposition.
In Conclusion
This was an interesting story about school life in a small pioneer town brought to life through the use of a resource young lady who wants to prove herself an asset to the town and not be shipped off because they view her as a burden.
Age range: anyone who can read it really.
Content:Mention of people dying of diphtheria, but it gives no info other than that was what they died of.
June 29, 2018
My husband is really cool. Okay, so you're thinking... what exactly does that have to do with this book? Okay, well, he planned a surprise trip out west for our anniversary, and he bought me a book for every place where we would be staying. Our first stop was Broken Bow, Nebraska. You folks are all readers, right? So you know why my dude's a keeper.
This book was pretty good, though I was reading it as an adult and obviously it's aimed at upper elementary/middle grade readers. I'm a teacher, so I was thinking about which of my students would enjoy it.
I'd say that I've read better YA and Middle Grade books. There was a sprinkling of modern language and turns of phrase that distracted me from the time period in which the story takes place.
As a teacher, I definitely felt for the main character as she struggled to take her father's place and do her job with no support from the community, no textbooks, and a garbage classroom. A lot of teachers this very second are in a similar situation! I couldn't help but put myself in Sarah Jane's shoes. The snowstorm element brought up good memories of reading "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder. But then I thought, maybe I should just re-read "The Long Winter."
Some very good descriptions. I loved how the wind was personified in the story, and when I got to Broken Bow, yeah, the wind feels like it's out to get you!
The story could have done a little more with the Native Americans. The characters were operating under racist misinformation that was disproven, but it wasn't something that was lingered on or developed.
On the other hand, I really felt like there was something romantic between the landlady and the priest that was never developed. I thought that was a cool subplot, especially because the MC was too young to really get what was going on, but nothing came of it, which wasn't very rewarding for people who bother to pay attention to subtext.
Might be worth adding to your classroom library, as I think it would definitely interest some readers.
This book was pretty good, though I was reading it as an adult and obviously it's aimed at upper elementary/middle grade readers. I'm a teacher, so I was thinking about which of my students would enjoy it.
I'd say that I've read better YA and Middle Grade books. There was a sprinkling of modern language and turns of phrase that distracted me from the time period in which the story takes place.
As a teacher, I definitely felt for the main character as she struggled to take her father's place and do her job with no support from the community, no textbooks, and a garbage classroom. A lot of teachers this very second are in a similar situation! I couldn't help but put myself in Sarah Jane's shoes. The snowstorm element brought up good memories of reading "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder. But then I thought, maybe I should just re-read "The Long Winter."
Some very good descriptions. I loved how the wind was personified in the story, and when I got to Broken Bow, yeah, the wind feels like it's out to get you!
The story could have done a little more with the Native Americans. The characters were operating under racist misinformation that was disproven, but it wasn't something that was lingered on or developed.
On the other hand, I really felt like there was something romantic between the landlady and the priest that was never developed. I thought that was a cool subplot, especially because the MC was too young to really get what was going on, but nothing came of it, which wasn't very rewarding for people who bother to pay attention to subtext.
Might be worth adding to your classroom library, as I think it would definitely interest some readers.
January 3, 2018
When I was twelve, I reread "The Boxcar Children" and was horrified and saddened to discover that the book that had been my favorite since I had been a wee tyke was no longer as enjoyable as it had been. My reading tastes were evolving and the books I'd read when I was younger were no longer as interesting. I was horrified, and for a long time I didn't read any of my other favorites, for fear they would be less than I'd remembered.
The Dear America series was (as for many young American girls) a staple of my reading diet, but I dropped it, completely, so that I could remember the stories the way I thought they should be and wouldn't taint them with a reread. But when I was sixteen I bit the bullet and picked them up again. To my delight, they were still good. But alas, it was too late, for the library in my current town has a very small collection of the Dear Americas, and very few that I haven't already read. I have to ration them, if I want something new to read. "My Face to the Wind" is one I haven't read yet, and I saved it for the new year.
I enjoyed this book. The story follows Sarah Jane, who is left stranded in Broken Bow after the death of her father. Sarah Jane must learn to handle her numerous trials (including a stubborn member of the school board, a schoolhouse in wretched disrepair, mischievous students, blizzards and Indians) if she is to escape the Orphan Girl's Asylum and become the schoolteacher in her father's place.
(Here is a coincidence: The first two books I've read in 2018 both feature orphans whose father's have recently died, and who love poetry.)
The Dear America series was (as for many young American girls) a staple of my reading diet, but I dropped it, completely, so that I could remember the stories the way I thought they should be and wouldn't taint them with a reread. But when I was sixteen I bit the bullet and picked them up again. To my delight, they were still good. But alas, it was too late, for the library in my current town has a very small collection of the Dear Americas, and very few that I haven't already read. I have to ration them, if I want something new to read. "My Face to the Wind" is one I haven't read yet, and I saved it for the new year.
I enjoyed this book. The story follows Sarah Jane, who is left stranded in Broken Bow after the death of her father. Sarah Jane must learn to handle her numerous trials (including a stubborn member of the school board, a schoolhouse in wretched disrepair, mischievous students, blizzards and Indians) if she is to escape the Orphan Girl's Asylum and become the schoolteacher in her father's place.
(Here is a coincidence: The first two books I've read in 2018 both feature orphans whose father's have recently died, and who love poetry.)
February 22, 2023
I appreciated that this was less about a singular event and more a kind of movement in the country. It was very interesting to see a character with such a level of autonomy . . . I do question the historical accuracy, but it made for a very empowering story.
I recently did a Little House on the Prairie reread, and there were a lot of reverberations between the series and this particular book. One gripe is that we already know she winds up teaching school, so if there was supposed to be tension over her appointment or future in the town, it's a moot point (that was a dumbass marketing move). I enjoyed the interactions between Sarah Jane and Ida.
However, I felt like pacing was an issue. Given that the title tells us Sarah Jane is a teacher, there should not have been so much time devoted to settling that question. Then there's barely any of the book devoted to talking about her experience as a teacher, other than a blizzard (which I will say--the annotated Pioneer Girl manuscripts talks at length about how teachers had to make hard decisions when storms struck). I wanted more Miss Kizer and the Reverend content tbh!
I thought married women couldn't teach, so why was she still at the school despite marrying dumbass Charles--her literal former student? Like what the fuck was that decision in an otherwise good book?
I recently did a Little House on the Prairie reread, and there were a lot of reverberations between the series and this particular book. One gripe is that we already know she winds up teaching school, so if there was supposed to be tension over her appointment or future in the town, it's a moot point (that was a dumbass marketing move). I enjoyed the interactions between Sarah Jane and Ida.
However, I felt like pacing was an issue. Given that the title tells us Sarah Jane is a teacher, there should not have been so much time devoted to settling that question. Then there's barely any of the book devoted to talking about her experience as a teacher, other than a blizzard (which I will say--the annotated Pioneer Girl manuscripts talks at length about how teachers had to make hard decisions when storms struck). I wanted more Miss Kizer and the Reverend content tbh!
I thought married women couldn't teach, so why was she still at the school despite marrying dumbass Charles--her literal former student? Like what the fuck was that decision in an otherwise good book?
Read
December 27, 2023Another book from my childhood read!
When her father, a professional school teacher, dies unexpectedly from a plague that sweeps through the new town, Sarah Jane Price finds herself completely alone and orphaned. Although the lady she boards with is kind and solicitous, she is eager to be rid of Sarah Jane and considers it her "Christian duty" to ship the young girl off to an orphanage, where she will perform hard labor six days out of the week and wear herself thin with weak meals and little love. Sarah rebels against this plan and audaciously suggests that she replace her deceased father as the new school teacher - she has, she argues, the proper credentials and she is, she lies, of the appropriate age.
This novel follows closely the trials she faces. She is lonely, without a father or family, and she is despised by many of the townspeople who do not believe she is "humble" enough, and that a woman should not be a teacher. Many of her students refuse to take learning seriously, believing that farmers don't need education. Sarah wins over their hearts, surviving in impossible teaching conditions (including a sod school house which is literally falling apart), and winning over her students and their parents with her indomitable spirit.
When her father, a professional school teacher, dies unexpectedly from a plague that sweeps through the new town, Sarah Jane Price finds herself completely alone and orphaned. Although the lady she boards with is kind and solicitous, she is eager to be rid of Sarah Jane and considers it her "Christian duty" to ship the young girl off to an orphanage, where she will perform hard labor six days out of the week and wear herself thin with weak meals and little love. Sarah rebels against this plan and audaciously suggests that she replace her deceased father as the new school teacher - she has, she argues, the proper credentials and she is, she lies, of the appropriate age.
This novel follows closely the trials she faces. She is lonely, without a father or family, and she is despised by many of the townspeople who do not believe she is "humble" enough, and that a woman should not be a teacher. Many of her students refuse to take learning seriously, believing that farmers don't need education. Sarah wins over their hearts, surviving in impossible teaching conditions (including a sod school house which is literally falling apart), and winning over her students and their parents with her indomitable spirit.
July 12, 2017
When Sarah Jane Price's father dies she takes over her father's teaching job to stay in town and avoid being sent to an orphanage where she would have to work seven days a week without pay.
I really like the book but not enough to give it 5 stars. My biggest issue with the book had to be how dull it was. The overall diary could have used more descriptive and exciting scenes. Another issue with the book was that the first 65-70 pages or so are just her mainly mourning her deceased father and digging up memories from their past together. It would have been nice if the action had come sooner. Another thing that I didn't like was a lot of the action came at the end. But that isn't too much of reason to look down on the book.
Looking on the bright side I loved watching Sarah Jane tame the class and became an exemplary teacher. Like the moment when her youngest students learn the alphabet. I also liked watching her struggles like a person on the school board who is against her or a kid who continuously interrupts the class. I would definitely recommend this to a friend because of the story it tells.
I really like the book but not enough to give it 5 stars. My biggest issue with the book had to be how dull it was. The overall diary could have used more descriptive and exciting scenes. Another issue with the book was that the first 65-70 pages or so are just her mainly mourning her deceased father and digging up memories from their past together. It would have been nice if the action had come sooner. Another thing that I didn't like was a lot of the action came at the end. But that isn't too much of reason to look down on the book.
Looking on the bright side I loved watching Sarah Jane tame the class and became an exemplary teacher. Like the moment when her youngest students learn the alphabet. I also liked watching her struggles like a person on the school board who is against her or a kid who continuously interrupts the class. I would definitely recommend this to a friend because of the story it tells.
October 2, 2024
OOOH Sarah Jane, for a girl whose father was a teacher, your sentence structure annoys the crap out of me- i.e; I was taking a walk. Which I love to do. Have you ever heard of a comma? Sweet Jesus, and the timing of this book was awful. Sarah Jane is barely a prairie teacher for a month, and only begins teaching well over half-way through the book, not to mention she doesn’t even decide she wants to teach until much too late for my liking. It would've been so nice if she'd wanted that from the very start, and was fighting to achieve a long-harbored dream. The speaking patterns of everyone in this book are the same-run-on, smarter-than-you sentences which made me roll my eyes. I thought the town’s obvious religious piety would cause more of a conflict because of Sarah’s gender, but aside from the reverend moping in his room, there was nothing. Mr. Gaddis was a good antagonist, but I wish it took him longer to come around. This issue, like several others, could be fixed if she had become a teacher sooner.
November 8, 2017
Somewhere between 3-3.5 stars
Read it all in one evening. The story is a fictional diary of a 14 year old girl who is recently orphaned and is almost sent away to an orphanage. However, she instead becomes a schoolteacher to the town’s adolescents in spite of opposition at first.
As others have mentioned, this is not a fast paced read like other dear America/Canada books, but I thoroughly enjoyed the description of the landscape and the individuals. It really reminded me of Anne of Avonlea, although not as many crazy stories and a much less privileged schoolhouse. The spirituality was strange to me in this book and I didn’t really connect with that though. Altogether a decent, quick read. It makes me thankful for what I have now- I know at least 2/4 of my grandparents got only (maximum) an eighth grade education and now the vast majority of Canadians make it to high school and onward. We have it better than we know it!
Read it all in one evening. The story is a fictional diary of a 14 year old girl who is recently orphaned and is almost sent away to an orphanage. However, she instead becomes a schoolteacher to the town’s adolescents in spite of opposition at first.
As others have mentioned, this is not a fast paced read like other dear America/Canada books, but I thoroughly enjoyed the description of the landscape and the individuals. It really reminded me of Anne of Avonlea, although not as many crazy stories and a much less privileged schoolhouse. The spirituality was strange to me in this book and I didn’t really connect with that though. Altogether a decent, quick read. It makes me thankful for what I have now- I know at least 2/4 of my grandparents got only (maximum) an eighth grade education and now the vast majority of Canadians make it to high school and onward. We have it better than we know it!
October 22, 2025
This was a rather dull installment to the Dear America series, which is a shame, because I had such an interesting premise. This is one of the few of the series that I have literally zero recollections of, although I know that I read it. Upon a reread, it’s clear why…just not much happens in this book, besides a few day-to-day observations of her class room and a rather pointless-seeming side plot about the woman she is staying with and her relationship with a traveling preacher. The side plot was so prevalent and odd that it confused me a little bit and made me wonder why it was included in the diary of a 14-year-old girl?
I definitely appreciated many of Sarah Jane’s entries about teaching, and I related a lot to her lack of support and resources from the school board, as well as her first day jitters. Oh, how I remember those days well. Can’t say that I miss them.
I definitely appreciated many of Sarah Jane’s entries about teaching, and I related a lot to her lack of support and resources from the school board, as well as her first day jitters. Oh, how I remember those days well. Can’t say that I miss them.
August 28, 2020
Both of my parents went to 1 room schoolhouses in rural Kansas. Based on dad’s stories, I think this would be a kinder, gentler version of the real thing. Teachers boarded in the homes of students. It was part of their pay. This school was in town, though, so maybe a boarding house was typical in towns. Dad said all the teachers were female & generally not much older than the older boys. He said those older boys made their lives absolutely miserable. The kids in this book are probably a little too helpful & well behaved for reality. The heroine in this story sounded like the norm for teachers in dad’s experience, so the hyper-critical school board didn’t sit well with me.
Having said that, I did enjoy the story, but why were all the adults jerks?
Having said that, I did enjoy the story, but why were all the adults jerks?
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