I agree with Sarah Stein for inspiration and Packard for how-to information. To see some examples of the prairie plants he could be encouraging, I'd recommend Tallgrass Prarie Wildflowers, by Doug Ladd. I'd also recommend a visit to a high-quality prairie preserve, like Dunn Ranch (owned by the Nature Conservancy; located off I-35 near the Iowa Border) or Prairie State Park in southwest Missouri,

Oh, yes, I re-read all the time. The ones I re-read the most are Jane Austen's novels, the "Outlander" series by Diana Gabaldon, "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy (one of my favorite books ever), and "Far From the Madding Crowd" by Thomas Hardy. I've re-read "To Kill a Mockingbird," too, but only 3-4 times.:)

I remember "My Side of the Mountain", she'll like that one. My daughter read "Quest for a Maid" by Frances Mary Hendry some years ago and loved it. Not on the usual list for kid's reading but it's great historical fiction. Strong female characters. "From School Library Journal Grade 6-8-- Adventure, derring-do, and magic keep the plot of this historical novel rolling along at the brisk pace set by the opening sentence--"When I was nine years old, I hid under a table and heard my sister kill a king." The king is Alexander III of Scotland. The time is the late 13th century. How the fight for succession affects Meg's life; her betrothed, who is the youngest son of Sir Patrick Spens; and her family is the heart of this tale that spans seven years. The rightful heir to the throne is an eight-year-old Norwegian princess, known as the Maid of Norway, and Meg is part of the entourage sent to accompany her home. The fateful trip and unnatural storm that climax in death and disaster has been recounted in the famous Scottish ballad. The likable heroine and the two lively men in her life are young, hopeful, and inventive enough to make a fresh start out of their sorrow. Hendry takes a few liberties while vividly recreating a turbulent historical period. The author's note in the beginning puts the story in perspective and the glossary at the end is helpful, but not crucial. An intriguing and well-told tale. --Amy Kellman, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh" "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls was also another favorite. Scienc Fiction: "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle. A newer book that Ive heard good things about is "Souls of the North Wind" by Chrissy Mcvay (mystical). My, we're creating quite a reading list for her aren't we?

Envy When I was a kid, my father, mother and my older brother used to read novels in the living room on Saturday , and I used to read cartoons. I was envious of them because it seemed to me only adults were able to read books. So from time to time I tried reading a book, there was one in particular whose cover attracted me, there were a boy and a girl and in the background a lighthouse , but every time I started reading it I got bored after a few pages. But one Christmas I was ten or eleven, an aunt of ours gave my brother quite a good present. It was a little bookcase where forty book were stored. There were all the classic ones. Little Man and…. Little Woman and… Tom Sawer , Mompracem Tigers (Sandokan) Uncle Tom’s cabin , White Fang , The Call of the Wilde, Ivanhoe, Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and so on Among them there was a title that enticed me “The Paul Street Boys”. I started it and I got hooked. The story is about two young bands who are fighting for a place to play, which is owned by the Paul Street Boys, it is an old timber yard, so the other band the Red Shirts wage war on the Street Boys. First they make an agreement about the rules to follow, about who must be considered dead or caught and other ones, because there is not any meanness between them, the Red Shirts wage war because their hangout is in a botanical garden and they need a place in order to play football. The story is set in Hungary and the author is Ferenc Molnar. Of course there are other plots , but the main thread is the war. I liked it so much that once I finished I reread it eight times on a row, except the last chapter because one of main character dies of pneumonia and this made me cry a lot. Afterward I read all the other ones. This is how I started reading novels.