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Little House: The Caroline Years #4
On Top of Concord Hill
The Little House books have captivated millions of readers with their story of Laura Ingalls, a little pioneer girl growing up on the American frontier. Now travel back to the generation before Laura's and read the story of Caroline Quiner, the little girl who would grow up to be Ma Ingalls in the beloved Little House books.
The first three books in the series describe the Quiners' first years without Father and the family's move to a new home deep in the big woods of Concord, Wisconsin. Caroline is nine years old, and she feels settled in her new little house. She's beginning to explore Concord, and is looking forward to going to school, when disaster strikes. It's a cholera epidemic, and it's sweeping the state. It's up to Caroline to help keep her family together and pull them through this terrible time.
On Top Of Concord Hill is the fourth book in The Caroline Years, an ongoing series about the adventures of another girl from America's favorite pioneer family.
Author Biography: Maria D. Wilkes first read the Little House books as a young girl and has been fascinated by pioneer history ever since. She did extensive research on the Quiner, Ingalls, and Wilder families, studied original sources and family letters and diaries, and worked in close consultation with several historians and the Laura Ingalls Wilder estate as she wrote the Caroline Years books. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, Peter, and her daughters, Grace and Natalie.
The first three books in the series describe the Quiners' first years without Father and the family's move to a new home deep in the big woods of Concord, Wisconsin. Caroline is nine years old, and she feels settled in her new little house. She's beginning to explore Concord, and is looking forward to going to school, when disaster strikes. It's a cholera epidemic, and it's sweeping the state. It's up to Caroline to help keep her family together and pull them through this terrible time.
On Top Of Concord Hill is the fourth book in The Caroline Years, an ongoing series about the adventures of another girl from America's favorite pioneer family.
Author Biography: Maria D. Wilkes first read the Little House books as a young girl and has been fascinated by pioneer history ever since. She did extensive research on the Quiner, Ingalls, and Wilder families, studied original sources and family letters and diaries, and worked in close consultation with several historians and the Laura Ingalls Wilder estate as she wrote the Caroline Years books. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, Peter, and her daughters, Grace and Natalie.
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2000
18 people are currently reading
2751 people want to read
About the author
Maria D. Wilkes
15 books64 followersMaria D. Wilkes first read the Little House books as a young girl and has been fascinated by pioneer history ever since. She did extensive research on the Quiner, Ingalls, and Wilder families, studied original sources and family letters and diaries, and worked in close consultation with several historians and the Laura Ingalls Wilder estate as she wrote the Caroline Years books. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, Peter, and her daughters, Grace and Natalie.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
May 6, 2024
my childhood
reread nov 2020: so goodddd!!!
reread nov 2020: so goodddd!!!
Read
September 17, 2017This book begins with the Camp Meeting mentioned in the previous book. Caroline looks for different signs that her mother is ready to marry Frederick Hollbrook, but everyone's concentration is ruined by Reverend Speakes. The man is a bit of an extremist, calling out sins in a terrifying way (though I'm a bit surprised Caroline was never told things like gossip were sins), saying dancing was a sin, and then screaming out for people to repent. It's....traditional for hyperbolic to make preachers/religious folk out that way, especially in those days.
So Speakes is not someone most people would want to marry them. Still, it's enough for Caroline to tell Charlotte about the secret she's been holding - and Mr. Hollbrook becomes the kids' pa in good time.
He's a good pa, and Henry is resentful to him in a few ways. I don't blame his behavior for things like wanting to help build a plank road; wanting to help out neighbors and his town. But his actions become ridiculous and, as Caroline puts it, pigheaded after a while.
Martha definitely matures here.
This book makes me suddenly curious about the gold rush ands its "yellow fever." Were explosives used, thus exacerbating California's fault lines? How many people died? How many went home in disappointment? What was gold worth in those days and how useful was it?
I've never cared about these questions before.
Henry wants to go west. He dreams and fights for a sense of independence. As Hollbrook did with Miles (and Wally), he meets Henry where the boy is at. This helps their relationship (and Henry's behavior) a lot.
Reading of Hollbrook creating the bee skep and gathering honey is very interesting!
Thomas is only 4 but he seems quite older.
Cholera spreads and is devastating to towns across Wisconsin. In looking up some of its history, I was met with part of our past that I didn't know about.
So Speakes is not someone most people would want to marry them. Still, it's enough for Caroline to tell Charlotte about the secret she's been holding - and Mr. Hollbrook becomes the kids' pa in good time.
He's a good pa, and Henry is resentful to him in a few ways. I don't blame his behavior for things like wanting to help build a plank road; wanting to help out neighbors and his town. But his actions become ridiculous and, as Caroline puts it, pigheaded after a while.
Martha definitely matures here.
This book makes me suddenly curious about the gold rush ands its "yellow fever." Were explosives used, thus exacerbating California's fault lines? How many people died? How many went home in disappointment? What was gold worth in those days and how useful was it?
I've never cared about these questions before.
Henry wants to go west. He dreams and fights for a sense of independence. As Hollbrook did with Miles (and Wally), he meets Henry where the boy is at. This helps their relationship (and Henry's behavior) a lot.
Reading of Hollbrook creating the bee skep and gathering honey is very interesting!
Thomas is only 4 but he seems quite older.
Cholera spreads and is devastating to towns across Wisconsin. In looking up some of its history, I was met with part of our past that I didn't know about.
June 23, 2021
It's nice to see a blended family represented in this type of literature. Wilkes handles the transition well, with all the uncertainty the children faced, but also shows the blessing of another pair of hands on their farm.
Content warnings: a close call with cholera (anything with transmitted diseases reads differently these days!)
Content warnings: a close call with cholera (anything with transmitted diseases reads differently these days!)
December 14, 2023
It took me a month to read this because I was in the middle of moving. This book is out of publication and the only copy I could get was loose from its binding. This book was sweet but Caroline ranks nears the bottom in the Little House Legacy series for me. Her mother Charlotte is at the bottom mostly because her Scottish mother is so much more interesting than her. On Top of Concord Hill was a pleasant entry, although rather bleak at times. There was a horrible cholera outbreak and scary zealots in the middle of town. Caroline's new stepfather was very sweet and I'm glad the family eventually warmed up to him. I would really like to find more books in this collection, but they're incredibly difficult to find. Here's hoping my monthly book pilgrimages will turn up some more gold. I'm looking forward for future mention of Pa Ingalls too!
May 5, 2024
I got this whole series from the library (except the last book which I can’t find anywhere!) so I’m in a time crunch to read them all before they’re due! It’s been fun to revisit the pioneer world through Ma’s eyes!
September 24, 2015
So I hadn't read this one. I confused this book with Little House in Brookfield. Oh well.
This one was quite special and also a little nervewracking. Boy, if you don't plan on seeing a portion of this through to the end, you're going to worry your little butt off.
I have to do some mapwork, but I got really excited because I could say Oconomowoc.
All of the sewing has me itching to do some sewing. And knitting. And embroidery.
THIS ONE IS A VERY IMPORTANT POINT IN THE STORY. Well, if you're not a complete blockhead, you might be able to guess what the SECRET is. I knew it, even before I got to this book.
Actually, the next book is important because, guys, we get to meet Charles Ingalls. *squeaks* How thrilling. I've been waiting for that.
This one mentioned the 49ers. Not the football team, sillies. The gold hungry folks. I dunno, man. I don't know if I would go for gold or stay and farm. Based on my present day knowledge, the gold was as much of a tossup as the farm. Not to mention, just as if not more dangerous than farming. I mean, with farming you have to worry about the animals stepping on you or crops not growing right, but with gold you have to worry about some greedy gut slitting your throat for a few flakes of gold. *wrinkles nose* Although, at least back then California had water and no Kardashians.
I don't know what made me think that I'd read this one. I swear, in all of my books, this was marked and it ought to have been the Little House in Brookfield one. I guess it was the snow. I remembered Fox and Geese and that's a snow game.
This one was quite special and also a little nervewracking. Boy, if you don't plan on seeing a portion of this through to the end, you're going to worry your little butt off.
I have to do some mapwork, but I got really excited because I could say Oconomowoc.
All of the sewing has me itching to do some sewing. And knitting. And embroidery.
THIS ONE IS A VERY IMPORTANT POINT IN THE STORY. Well, if you're not a complete blockhead, you might be able to guess what the SECRET is. I knew it, even before I got to this book.
Actually, the next book is important because, guys, we get to meet Charles Ingalls. *squeaks* How thrilling. I've been waiting for that.
This one mentioned the 49ers. Not the football team, sillies. The gold hungry folks. I dunno, man. I don't know if I would go for gold or stay and farm. Based on my present day knowledge, the gold was as much of a tossup as the farm. Not to mention, just as if not more dangerous than farming. I mean, with farming you have to worry about the animals stepping on you or crops not growing right, but with gold you have to worry about some greedy gut slitting your throat for a few flakes of gold. *wrinkles nose* Although, at least back then California had water and no Kardashians.
I don't know what made me think that I'd read this one. I swear, in all of my books, this was marked and it ought to have been the Little House in Brookfield one. I guess it was the snow. I remembered Fox and Geese and that's a snow game.
Read
December 9, 2009I haven't read this yet BUT I just learned to night that Caroline Quiner (who became Caroline Ingalls) grew up about five miles from where I work. I've been captivated by the Mansfield, Missouri, home and museum of laura ingalls wilder... but I didn't know I was so close to where her mom grew up and where her parents met! Sorry - not much of a review - - more like why I want to read this book!
January 22, 2008
I am a huge fan of the Laura Ingalls stories!!! The tried and true Laura stories are by far my favorites, but when I came across stories of her great-grandmother all the way down to her daughter, I was thrilled.
February 2, 2009
Little house, Caroline years. (Laura's mother)
January 19, 2010
Little House on the Prarie is one of my favorite kids series, and I am enjoying reading all of these prequels.
May 28, 2018
After the slight disappointment of the third book, this is much better and has quite a lot of interesting things happening in it. OK I use the term “interesting” lightly, but it’s still a lot faster paced than the earlier book.
This picks up two months after the last one finished, and we have the introduction of a new stepfather for Caroline and her siblings. We mainly see how Caroline and her older brother Henry adjust to this, and seeing the bedroom split into two, with her mother and new stepfather on the other side of the curtain to them! (No new siblings just yet.)
There’s also the talk of the gold rush in California, and the threat of cholera, as well as the planting and harvesting that happens with farm life.
You can see the Mother Caroline starting to appear now, as this book finishes with her turning 10 - still no introduction of Charles but I’m pretty sure that’s the next book - and you can also see certain influences which she passed onto her daughters.
I’m still finding that there are quite a few coincidences that are much too similar to the original books. And these books have obviously had a storyline in mind, with a plan set out what each book will deal with - there’s a lot of padding! It’s not something I really noticed at the time reading the originals as a child, but the books do feel stretched quite thin at times.
With reading this book now, I am really unsure if book 3 actually needed to exist, or if the occurrences in this (such as the introduction of Mr Holbrook) couldn’t have been added into this one. I still feel like there’s not much that really happens in that one. I would recommend skimming #3 at best, and continuing onto this one.
And on a last note - what strange phrasing it is to describe someone has having “square” cheeks.
This picks up two months after the last one finished, and we have the introduction of a new stepfather for Caroline and her siblings. We mainly see how Caroline and her older brother Henry adjust to this, and seeing the bedroom split into two, with her mother and new stepfather on the other side of the curtain to them! (No new siblings just yet.)
There’s also the talk of the gold rush in California, and the threat of cholera, as well as the planting and harvesting that happens with farm life.
You can see the Mother Caroline starting to appear now, as this book finishes with her turning 10 - still no introduction of Charles but I’m pretty sure that’s the next book - and you can also see certain influences which she passed onto her daughters.
I’m still finding that there are quite a few coincidences that are much too similar to the original books. And these books have obviously had a storyline in mind, with a plan set out what each book will deal with - there’s a lot of padding! It’s not something I really noticed at the time reading the originals as a child, but the books do feel stretched quite thin at times.
With reading this book now, I am really unsure if book 3 actually needed to exist, or if the occurrences in this (such as the introduction of Mr Holbrook) couldn’t have been added into this one. I still feel like there’s not much that really happens in that one. I would recommend skimming #3 at best, and continuing onto this one.
And on a last note - what strange phrasing it is to describe someone has having “square” cheeks.
October 24, 2020
In this book, Charlotte Quiner accepts Frederick Holbrook’s proposal and they marry! This makes my heart happy, as I have always been a fan of Mr. Holbrook and it is nice to see Caroline and her family happy. With a new Pa, the Quiner family is able to clear more land, buy animals for the farm, and experience a bountiful harvest. At the end of the summer, there is a cholera outbreak in Concord. The Quiner family and Mr. Holbrook become very sick, with the exception of Joseph and Thomas. The wonderful Mr. Kellogg travels by wagon to Milwaukee to call on Grandma Quiner and bring her to the cabin. Grandma Quiner nurses the family back to health, as there were no doctors in the area that were available to help Caroline and her family. After surviving cholera, the fall harvest is saved by Joseph, who correctly predicts an early frost, and Mr. Kellogg, who hired labourers to help pick all of the vegetables in time. A happy and wonderful Christmas follows. Caroline and her siblings all receive a pair of ice skates from Santa Claus and the family has a delicious dinner. After ice skating, the Kellogg family invites the Quiner family to celebrate Christmas with them and Caroline is amazed by their grand house.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2021
This is the fourth book in the Little House books Caroline series. As with the others this fourth book was better than the first due to already knowing the characters and being able to just enjoy the storyline and being 'there in the moment' with them. A simple but heartwarming easy read, perfect to help drift your mind into another time and place before you have to go to bed. Love these books!
In this book Charlotte and her children adjust to having a Pa around after Charlotte marries one of the workers they fed and had become dear friends with. Talk of the Gold Rush gets Henry (Caroline's brother) really wanting to go to CA. How Pa and the boys worked their land and made it become a nice 'farm' little by little. And even how the family was stricken with cholera that nearly took their lives.
In this book Charlotte and her children adjust to having a Pa around after Charlotte marries one of the workers they fed and had become dear friends with. Talk of the Gold Rush gets Henry (Caroline's brother) really wanting to go to CA. How Pa and the boys worked their land and made it become a nice 'farm' little by little. And even how the family was stricken with cholera that nearly took their lives.
October 7, 2021
This is part of a series of books written about Caroline Ingalls to complement the books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. These books are surprisingly well written and both of my daughters have enjoyed reading these as much as the original series. This is the 4th book in the Caroline series and one of the more interesting ones in the series in my opinion. Caroline's widowed mother remarries in this book and the family suffers through a dire outbreak of cholera which likely would have killed many of them if the neighbor had not fetched Caroline's grandmother, who lived many towns away, to come and nurse them all back to health. An interesting book about the trials and tribulations of life pre Civil War era.
August 18, 2023
Kehidupan memang penuh kejutan. Pak Holbrook sekarang menjadi ayah sambung Caroline. Banyak kebijakan yang ia bagi pada anak-anak, salah satunya pandangan "Mengobrol saja tidak akan menghasilkan makanan di meja. Mari kita kembali bekerja, atau semua impian kita tadi tidak akan menjadi kenyataan."
Sikap saudara laki-laki Caroline yang begitu bersemangat untuk ikut mencari emas serta melawan Pak Holbrook menjadi bagian yang menarik untuk dibaca. Entah, mungkin karena ia belum merasa dekat dengan sosok ayah sambungnya, atau karena merasa jika mencintai sama artinya dengan melupakan ayah kandungnya..Padahal, dari beberapa bagian kisah, terlihat betapa tulus ia mencintai anak-anak tirinya
Sikap saudara laki-laki Caroline yang begitu bersemangat untuk ikut mencari emas serta melawan Pak Holbrook menjadi bagian yang menarik untuk dibaca. Entah, mungkin karena ia belum merasa dekat dengan sosok ayah sambungnya, atau karena merasa jika mencintai sama artinya dengan melupakan ayah kandungnya..Padahal, dari beberapa bagian kisah, terlihat betapa tulus ia mencintai anak-anak tirinya
November 14, 2017
It was neat to see how the family has come out of particularly difficult times and is doing better. Mother remarried, and that brought changes to the family's life. The kids continue to grow up and adjust to their new life in a new place. I'm looking forward to the next books as Caroline really begins to come into her own.
July 4, 2025
This book was more interesting than the others in Caroline’s series so far, but still not that exciting. It included a new stepfather, a cholera outbreak, and religious guilt among the new experiences for the almost 10 year old. Caroline is fairly relatable but it kinda bothers me that there is not much of an overarching plot, just a slice of life style of storytelling.
August 20, 2019
None of the other "Little House Years" books are as good as the ones about Laura but other then the Laura books I prefer the Martha and Charlotte books. I don't enjoy the Caroline books as much because they are a bit uneven for me with some in the series being really good and others lacking.
September 28, 2017
Loved this book, its wonderful to see how Caroline's mom is smiling more now and how the family gets fond of Mr. Holbrook more and more :)
June 13, 2019
This book is so, so sweet!!!! The relationships between the adults & children is so lovely. These stories read aloud so well!!!
October 6, 2021
I am loving these stories! Reading them is like being a kid again, and it's a lot like reading the Little House books about Laura's life for the first time!
Want to read
July 31, 2025SM
June 20, 2025
NEXT BOOK NEXT BOOK
March 12, 2018
Really enjoyed this book. I have read up to this book on this series and eagerly waiting to read the rest. Though it's written by a different author other than Laura, I must say that indeed it gives us the warmth and the sensation which she managed to give by the original little house book series.
March 11, 2013
I am reading/re-reading all of the Little House stories in order this year (see my comments under Beyond the Heather Hills and Across the Puddingstone Dam).
I have been writing reviews/comments about these books at the end of each series. I have decided, though, to write a review halfway through the Caroline series because after On Top of Concord Hill the series is no longer written by Maria D. Wilkes (which is such a terrible shame).
I have been looking forward to reading these books so long as I am a Milwaukee girl. I loved Little House in Brookfield. Brookfield is a suburb of Milwaukee and I know the area fairly well. So it is interesting to visualize what is written in the story as opposed to what is located in the areas mentioned now (there is a plaque for Caroline, by the way, on the corner of Davidson and Brookfield Roads for any interested readers in the area). And the overall feel of this book, for me, was very reminiscent of Laura's stories. It tells of the hardships of the family, the friends and neighbors and of the town. I just really enjoyed this one.
I was interested in hearing why Caroline's family left for Concord (I always wondered why they'd leave a place like Brookfield for a place like Concord - I have been out there and around that area a few times). I liked the second Brookfield book and the first Concord book enough (I appreciated the introduction of Frederick Holbrook). But I really liked the second Concord book a lot. It had that same feeling about it that the first Brookfield book did.
Oh, and if anyone is curious to know, Caroline's mother and stepfather (charlotte and Frederick Holbrook) are buried in a cemetery in the small town of Rome (I've been there, too). It is no more than 6 miles from Concord, I think.
Anyway, for the first half of the series, and despite the fact that I have given 2 of the books 3 stars, I would give this half of the series 4.
I have been writing reviews/comments about these books at the end of each series. I have decided, though, to write a review halfway through the Caroline series because after On Top of Concord Hill the series is no longer written by Maria D. Wilkes (which is such a terrible shame).
I have been looking forward to reading these books so long as I am a Milwaukee girl. I loved Little House in Brookfield. Brookfield is a suburb of Milwaukee and I know the area fairly well. So it is interesting to visualize what is written in the story as opposed to what is located in the areas mentioned now (there is a plaque for Caroline, by the way, on the corner of Davidson and Brookfield Roads for any interested readers in the area). And the overall feel of this book, for me, was very reminiscent of Laura's stories. It tells of the hardships of the family, the friends and neighbors and of the town. I just really enjoyed this one.
I was interested in hearing why Caroline's family left for Concord (I always wondered why they'd leave a place like Brookfield for a place like Concord - I have been out there and around that area a few times). I liked the second Brookfield book and the first Concord book enough (I appreciated the introduction of Frederick Holbrook). But I really liked the second Concord book a lot. It had that same feeling about it that the first Brookfield book did.
Oh, and if anyone is curious to know, Caroline's mother and stepfather (charlotte and Frederick Holbrook) are buried in a cemetery in the small town of Rome (I've been there, too). It is no more than 6 miles from Concord, I think.
Anyway, for the first half of the series, and despite the fact that I have given 2 of the books 3 stars, I would give this half of the series 4.
July 17, 2019
As I hoped, once the Quiner family moved to Concord, the books started to get more interesting and memorable. In On Top of Concord Hill, the last book Wilkes will write of this series, a stepfather, the Gold Rush, cholera, and early frost all combine to create perhaps the most tension-filled book in the series so far. Of course, it’s still very tame tension, but it’s much better than what has been in the first three books.
This is also the first book that was written after the start of the Martha Years, which might explain why suddenly Caroline’s grandparents are mentioned more and why the cover has changed more and more to express similarity between the sets of books.
The thing I most enjoyed about this book was the subtle, lovely hints we got at the Charlotte/Frederick Holbrook relationship. I’m not sure whether in real life Charlotte married him for stability or love, but in this book, it’s very sweet to see the way they interact with each other. I am a huge fan of shy/quiet guy-marries-girl tropes, so perhaps that’s why this book so far is my favorite of all the Caroline books (though there wasn’t much competition, to be honest).
With an author change and the introduction of the Ingalls family in the next book, it will be interesting to see if the Caroline books will continue to improve or if the changes will be too jarring. I remember quite liking the last book in the series, so I’m hopeful that the change won’t shake things up too badly (or perhaps they will shake them up in a good way!).
This is also the first book that was written after the start of the Martha Years, which might explain why suddenly Caroline’s grandparents are mentioned more and why the cover has changed more and more to express similarity between the sets of books.
The thing I most enjoyed about this book was the subtle, lovely hints we got at the Charlotte/Frederick Holbrook relationship. I’m not sure whether in real life Charlotte married him for stability or love, but in this book, it’s very sweet to see the way they interact with each other. I am a huge fan of shy/quiet guy-marries-girl tropes, so perhaps that’s why this book so far is my favorite of all the Caroline books (though there wasn’t much competition, to be honest).
With an author change and the introduction of the Ingalls family in the next book, it will be interesting to see if the Caroline books will continue to improve or if the changes will be too jarring. I remember quite liking the last book in the series, so I’m hopeful that the change won’t shake things up too badly (or perhaps they will shake them up in a good way!).
January 20, 2013
Honestly this was a book I really got into of the Caroline series for the most part I haven't been overly immerse myself in this series, but this book I really did. Charlotte Quiner gets remarried in this book and that inspired me to fact check the author and she was completely correct. Then from there I just kept researching Laura Ingalls Wilder genelogy. I learned so many things because this novel inspired me to fact check. I love Laura and her family so I was glad to be more educated about the Quiners.
http://rachaelc94.blogspot.com/2013/0...
Here is my blog post with all the links to my research and a lot of genelogy on the Quiner family.
http://rachaelc94.blogspot.com/2013/0...
Here is my blog post with all the links to my research and a lot of genelogy on the Quiner family.
November 24, 2015
So Charlotte gets married in this book, which I'm pretty sure is not a spoiler at all! (I hope) The whole thing is a leeetle awkies, but it's like a natural awkies. (If that makes sense) Mr. Holbrook is a lot different from the whole family, actually, but in the following book he finally seems to fit in. Also, Henry gets obsessed with the gold rush and basically becomes a jerk! Which is sad because I like Henry :( Henry and Mr. Holbrook start on rocky ground, but several incidents help to repair their relationship. Joseph is awesome!! He's so strong and mature, and basically one of the most underrated characters of the series! This book was pretty much the same (rating wise) as the others. Sweet reads to take your mind off your own troubles!
May 1, 2009
The one thing I like about these stories is that, as they are based in fact, there is no promise of happy endings. When sickness comes into the house, there is no promise that people will survive. This adds an element of suspense that I wasn't expecting, and I enjoy it. This one delves a little deeper into the family dynamics as things are changing and the children are growing up. Enjoyable read as I have come to expect.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews