Prairie Lotus

Use these links to supplement and complement students’ reading of the work and to increase their overall enjoyment of literature. Challenge them to discern parallel themes, engage through visual and aural stimuli, and delve deeper into the thematic possibilities presented by the title.

Recommended Texts for Pairing

Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• Please note: Readers should view events, attitudes, language, and behaviors through the lens of history. Utilize critical reading skills; examples of intolerance and racism exist.
• Linda Sue Park, author of Prairie Lotus, writes in her Author’s Note that LaForge is modeled after DeSmet, the Dakota territory town that is the setting of Little Town on the Prairie. Be sure to read the Author’s Note to better understand the connection.
• Little Town on the Prairie is the seventh in the Little House series of autobiographical books about young Laura growing up in the settlement days of the American Midwest.
• Laura completes her schooling like Hanna and Bess; shared themes include Persistence as a Pathway to Success and Recognizing One’s Own Evolving Identity.
• Little Town on the Prairie on SuperSummary

“Wish” by Linda Sue Park

• a poem about interpreting and internalizing the value of poetry and poetic language
• shares the novel’s theme of Persistence as a Pathway to Success
• Readers can find novel passages with imagery and poetic sound devices and consider them in conjunction with the speaker’s goals in the poem.

Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes

• a historical middle grade novel with a 10-year-old protagonist who initiates acceptance of migrant Chinese workers in her community in 1870s
• connects to the theme of The Struggle for Acceptance and Inclusivity

The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine

• a historical middle grade novel with a 12-year-old protagonist who fights entrenched racism to save her friendship
• connects to the themes of The Struggle for Acceptance and Inclusivity and Persistence as a Pathway to Success
• The Lions of Little Rock on SuperSummary

The Crystal Ribbon by Celeste Lim

• A young girl in medieval China searches for a way to feel at home after her family sells her into servitude.
• connects to the themes of The Struggle for Acceptance and Inclusivity and Recognizing One’s Own Evolving Identity

“An Obstacle” by Charlotte Perkins Gilmore

• a poem first published in 1893 about overcoming the hurdles of prejudice
• Use with the Paired Text Extension in Activity 2.
• “An Obstacle” on SuperSummary

Other Student Resources

“Q and A with Linda Sue Park”

• a Publisher’s Weekly interview with the author

“Linda Sue Park – Prairie Lotus”

• an interview on Matthew Winner’s The Children’s Book Podcast in which the author discusses how the novel helps her to reconcile with the works of Laura Ingalls Wilder that she loved as a child

Ginger shrub

• a modern-day recipe similar to the drink Hanna makes for the shop’s opening

Map from 1877

• the Pacific Railroad and overland routes in the western United States

Teacher Resources

“Little House on the Controversy: Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Name Removed from Book Award”

• National Public Radio’s brief discussion of the decision to change the name of a major children’s literature award based on heightened awareness of problematic passages in the Little House books

“What Should Be Done About the Racist Depictions in the Little House Books?”

• PBS offers thoughts from three writers (including Linda Sue Park, author of Prairie Lotus) regarding the series’ troubling passages.