The Jumping-Off Place
 | |
| Author | Marian Hurd McNeely |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | William Siegel |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Longmans, Green and Co. |
| Publication date | 1929 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 308 |
The Jumping-Off Place is a 1929 children's novel written by Marian Hurd McNeely and illustrated by William Siegel. Set on the Dakota prairie in the early 1900s, it follows the Linville children as they move from Wisconsin to South Dakota to live on their recently deceased uncle's homestead claim on the Rosebud Indian Reservation; it is based on the author's own life homesteading in South Dakota.[1] The novel earned a Newbery Honor in 1930.[2]
Plot
[edit]The four orphaned Linville children - Becky, Dick, Phil, and Joan - move to South Dakota in 1910 to "prove up" on a homestead claim originally filed by their uncle Jim, who raised them and who died suddenly just before the story starts. They deal with unexpected expenses, unpleasant neighbors, claim jumpers, bad weather, and other problems, but eventually triumph over them all and gain the respect and friendship of the nearby town's inhabitants. Though they had originally intended to sell or rent the claim once they owned it, they decide at the end of the book to stay in South Dakota, having come to love the prairie.
References
[edit]- ↑ Gillespie, John T.; Naden, Corinne J., eds. (2006). The Newbery/Printz Companion: Book Talk and Related Materials (3rd ed.). Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 1-59158-313-6.
- ↑ "Association for Library Service to Children - Newbery Medal Winners & Honor Books, 1922 – Present" (PDF). ALA.org. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Full text of The Jumping-Off Place at Internet Archive
The Jumping-Off Place public domain audiobook at LibriVox
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- 1929 American novels
- American children's novels
- Children's historical novels
- Newbery Honor–winning works
- Novels set in South Dakota
- Novels set in the 1910s
- Novels about orphans
- 1929 children's books
- Children's books set in the 1910s
- Children's books set in South Dakota
- 1929 English-language novels
- Children's historical novel stubs
- 1920s historical novel stubs