Sonja jiggled from foot to foot as she eyed the Regulator clock on the kitchen wall. She watched the brass pendulum swing back and forth. "It goes so slow!" Finally, the big hand jumped to six. "Eight-thirty! I'm going to school." In this third book in the Sonja series Sonja enters second grade. She and her teacher become inseparable when Mrs. Wanker introduces her to the joy of learning and to the fun of marching to the beat of the piano. Sonja learns about Indian Summer and enjoys an old-fashioned Halloween party. She shivers when wind drives a blizzard across the prairie. Sonja is afraid when Grandpa and Daddy argue, and her heart breaks when Daddy and Mama decide to move away from the homestead to their own farm. Exploring the new farm makes the move exciting. Sonja likes soaring on the high swing in the corncrib and is thrilled when she meets new neighbors at a surprise housewarming party. She likes riding behind Daddy on Bob, the spirited black horse. On butchering day Sonja learns how sausage, blood bologna, head cheese, and pickled pig's feet are made. On the last day of school Sonja and her friends watch for rattlesnakes while they explore Pawnee Buttes and the surrounding gullies. Sonja finally discovers that sometimes dreaded things turn out to be alright after all.
About the Author: Norma Jean Saiter had a happy childhood growing up in Morgan County, Colorado on the farm her grandparents homesteaded. She lived with her parents and grandparents the first seven years of her life. Norma learned to love all living things as she explored the prairie. She developed a fond attachment to the plains of Colorado that continues to this day. She fulfilled a lifelong dream and taught elementary school in Colorado and on the island of Aruba. She also taught graduate classes to teachers during the summer and evenings for the University of Northern Colorado, Adams State College, and at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. She was chosen as the "Charles Tewell Outstanding Educator" in Academy School District 20 in Colorado Springs in 1986, and in September, 2000, she received the "Inspiration to Youth Award" from the University of Northern Colorado Alumni Association. She was listed in "Who's Who In American Education" for 1988-89 and 1989-90. Writing was her second dream. Her first book was published in 2000. She first started writing stories of her childhood for her students. The stories slowly grew to book size, then to four book size. She has written and rewritten her books over the period of twenty years. One more Sonja series book is written and in the final stages and several more children's books will follow. Norma lives in Fort Morgan, Colorado with her husband, George, great-grandson, Jeremiah, and a collection of pets. They often visit the "homestead" north of Jackson lake.