Linda Sue Park chose to write this book to demonstrate this counter-narrative. Hanna is an outsider and her perspective offers a vital counterpoint to the often romanticized view of settling the frontier. These views are challenged in Prairie Lotus as Hanna meets an Indigenous family and later questions the unjust laws the white settlers use to marginalize Indigenous people.

For instance, Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series often featured references to Indigenous people that were stereotypical and offensive. Hanna's voice is a welcome one that challenges traditional stories of the American frontier. Despite these circumstances, Hanna persists in her dream and carves out a space for herself in an forgiving landscape. Even townsfolk who are moderately accepting refuse to overtly challenge the discrimination she faces. She faces microaggressions and harassment in her everyday life. Other families pull their children from her school, objecting to Hanna's presence. Hanna dreams of attending school and eventually becoming a dressmaker in the community. Hanna and her father settle in LaForge, hoping to set up a Dress Goods shop in the growing town. Prairie Lotus, written by Linda Sue Park, tells the story of Hanna, a girl who is half-Chinese and living on the American frontier in 1880. 25 July 2021 / Antiracism / Courage / Human Rights / Middle Grade Books Prairie Lotus

Linda sue park prairie lotus