Writer and anthropologist C. Thomas Shay traces the key roles of plants since humans arrived in the northern plains at the end of the Ice Age and began to hunt the region’s woodlands, fish its waters, and gather its flora.

~ Beyond shattered dreams lies a realm of possibilities ~Illinois ~1855Unsettled by the news that her estranged cousin and uncle are returning home after their year in the city, Charlotte Stanton goes to ready their cabin and finds a handsome stranger has taken up residence. Convinced he's a squatter, she throws him off the property, but soon discovers he's her uncle's new neighbor. Quiet and ruggedly handsome, Chad Avery's uncanny ability to see through Charlotte's feisty exterior and expose her inner weaknesses both infuriates and intrigues her.When a tragic accident incites her family to move east, Charlotte stays behind in hopes of becoming better acquainted with the elusive cattleman. Yet Chad's unwillingness to divulge his hidden past, along with his vow not to love again, threatens to keep them apart forever.

"As a storm looms in the prairie sky, a boy rides out to find his wayward younger brother. The courageous story of one boy's exciting rescue adventure" Cf. Our choice, 2003.

~ Beyond shattered dreams lies a realm of possibilities ~Illinois ~1855Unsettled by the news that her estranged cousin and uncle are returning home after their year in the city, Charlotte Stanton goes to ready their cabin and finds a handsome stranger has taken up residence. Convinced he's a squatter, she throws him off the property, but soon discovers he's her uncle's new neighbor. Quiet and ruggedly handsome, Chad Avery's uncanny ability to see through Charlotte's feisty exterior and expose her inner weaknesses both infuriates and intrigues her.When a tragic accident incites her family to move east, Charlotte stays behind in hopes of becoming better acquainted with the elusive cattleman. Yet Chad's unwillingness to divulge his hidden past, along with his vow not to love again, threatens to keep them apart forever.

STORMS ARE BREWING When Charlie and Papa arrive in Lawrence for supplies, they find the bustling Kansas town threatened by border ruffians from proslave Missouri. Papa decides to remain behind with other free-soil settlers to defend the town, so Charlie must drive the wagon back to the family's isolated claim by himself. At home a different sort of storm is brewing -- gray skies, bitter cold, and vicious winds warn that a prairie blizzard is coming. Charlie is always getting into trouble for daydreaming and forgetting his chores. Now he has to show he's grown-up enough to help Momma, his sisters, and his newborn baby brother survive in their tiny cabin in the snow.