Originally published under the title A pioneer story: the daily life of a Canadian family in 1840.

Discusses daily life on the American frontier, reasons and methods of moving families westward, establishing homes and farms, day to day life on the frontier, and building of communities and towns.

Presents a look at daily life in pioneer America during the 1850s by following a family that emigrates from Sweden to Minnesota.

Picture research by Martin F. Schmitt. Includes bibliographical references.

Originally published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, in 2005. Includes bibliographical references and index.