Young Caroline Quiner, who would grow up to become Laura Ingalls Wilder's mother, and her family survive their first year without Father in the frontier town of Brookfield, Wisconsin.
Seven-year-old Billy Miller starts second grade with a bump on his head and a lot of worries, but by the end of the year he has developed good relationships with his teacher, his little sister, and his parents and learned many important lessons.
Six-year-old Caroline and her older sister Martha share wash-day chores, playing in the snow, and the first day of school in their home on the Wisconsin frontier.