A year in the life of two young girls growing up on the Wisconsin frontier, as they help their mother with the daily chores, enjoy their father's stories and singing, and share special occasions when they get together with relatives or neighbors.

A little girl and her pioneer family spend a summer in the Big Woods of Wisconsin.

A little pioneer girl and her family spend the winter in their log cabin in the Big Woods of Wisconsin.

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.

"Laura Ingalls and her dog, Jack, have been together for as long as she can remember--and he's no ordinary dog. He travels with Laura and her pioneer family all the way from the Big Woods of Wisconsin to the West. He protects them from wolves, cattle that go astray, and sometimes even a friendly neighbor. And he can always help Laura find her way home"--Back cover.

After moving with their widowed mother to the home in the woods near Concord, Wisconsin, nine-year-old Caroline Quiner, who grows up to become the mother of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and her brothers and sisters try to adjust to their new neighborhood and new stepfather.

Follows the experiences of Caroline Quiner, who will become Laura Ingalls Wilder's mother, and her family on their farm on the Wisconsin frontier during the year in which Caroline turns twelve.

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.