A young girl named Cora and her family are going on the Oregon Trail from Missouri to Oregon. Her mom dies and they are left with a baby. When Cora sees her sister she decides on the name Susan because of her mom's favorite flowers and her sister has black eyes. Her dad tells her that her aunt and uncle are taking Susan with them to California, and Cora is sad but makes her a blanket and book to remember. Later in Oregon, Cora becomes a teacher and goes South to teach and she finds out that her sister will be in her class. ( )

This book is great book and I would introduce it to my kindergarten students in the future. The strengths of this book are that it has a strong moral to it. Preserver and stay strong and you will flourish in life. There are going to be ups and downs but how you handle them is what matters in life, like Pa had to. The thing that was most appealing to me was the sister bond in the story. I could relate to that more than anything because I myself would try anything and everything to be reunited with my sister if I was to get separated from her. The illustrations were also on point with this story. The pictures went along with text perfectly. It was easy to follow and very appealing to the eyes. ( )