Summer was drawing to a close, and Rachel would soon return to school to begin fifth grade. Like many of her classmates, she was anxious about her friends, the strict Mrs. Kelly, and the timed arithmetic tests, but there was something else worrying Rachel, too. Ever since her baby brother, Matthew, was born, she couldn’t help but notice that her father seemed even more brooding and withdrawn than ever. Confused and concerned by his behavior, Rachel starts demanding answers—but the secret she uncovers raises more questions than it solves.

Author Bonnie Geisert transports readers back to a simpler time and place. Yet life on a rural South Dakota farm in the 1950s was not without its challenges, and Rachel soon discovers she has many lessons to learn, both in Mrs. Kelly’s classroom and beyond . . .