Little House in Brookfield~Section 2

Little House in Brookfield--Maria D. Wilkes
I read from page 76 to page 130.

I left off last time telling you about the grocery store.  While in the grocery stone, they met some friends.  Mr. Carpenter, walks around the store with Caroline and shows her the different things.  When the Carpenter's have to leave, he tells ma that there is going to be some bad weather.  He advises her to pick their vegetables before the storm hits.  Well, they finish their shopping there and start walking home.  Ma is worried about it, but she tries not to show it.  That night, they decide that they will pick their vegetables tomorrow.  But, that night the storm hits.  Caroline, Joseph, and Henry wake up to a door slamming.  It is ma going outside to pick the vegetables before the frost hits.  Joseph decides to go out there and help her when the "torch" she is burning goes out.  Ma acts cheerful about it the next morning.  She says, "We'll go out after breakfast.  Maybe we didn't lose so much to the frost after all."  Caroline is disappointed because this was the first year that she would be able to help pick the vegetables.  They go outside, and find a lot of things like pumpkins, squash, and tomatoes that are covered in frost.  Ma then decides that they will pick everything and pickle it so that nothing goes to waste. 'Whatever a man soweth, so shall he reap'  Then in the next chapter, it is Carolines birthday.  They celebrate her birthday twice because they didn't celebrate it last year.  She got a brand new hair ribbon for her fifth birthday, and a doll for her sixth birthday.  They didn't celebrate her birthday last year because father had just died and they were all to sad for a celebration.

Question:  Here is some back ground that you should know for my question this week.  When she got the ribbon, Ma braided her hair instead of Grandma.  It says that she spun her around to see the ribbon.  My question this week is, I wonder if she held on to the braid while she spun it around, or if she let it go and re-braid the part that fell out.

Prediction:  I predict that something good is going to come out of losing some of their vegetables.  I predict that because the next chapter is titled, A Stranger's Gift.

Connection:  My connection this week is a text to world.  In the story, they get their vegetables from a garden.  We get some of ours from our grandparents garden, but other wise we buy them.  This summer we also got a ton of vegetables from a CSA box from Visser Farms.  That is how we get our vegetables.

Key Question:  Personally, I like the whole book.  There is nothing I would change about it.  I like that Maria is very detailed in her writing, and that she uses good language.  She gets across the characters feelings to you.  A part of the book that I really liked was the part where Ma was so determined to get the vegetables in that she went outside at night in the battering rain and cold to feed her family.  I also like how determined she sounded when she said that they were going to pick every single vegetable.  If Caroline were alive at this point, and were a kid I would definatley be friends with her.  She seems very nice, and friendly.  She would be a great play mate.  To be honest, I would be friends with any of the Little House characters.  I would love to go back in time to live when they did for a day or longer.