When MaryLou Driedger learned of a period when her grandfather, then a preteen boy, had gone missing during his family’s emigration from Kansas to Saskatchewan, she began research on what conditions of 1907 might have meant for such a journey. Based on what she learned, and fueled by imagination, she wrote this compelling adventure story about a boy named Peter. Every chapter brings new hazards, from having to deal with a venomous snake, to having the rail car he’s riding in come unhitched from the rest of the train, to nearly drowning. Good fortune leads him to kind strangers along the way, including a Sisseton-Wahpeton family who rescue him, look after him, and help him reunite with a branch of long-lost relatives. Despite the many interesting and varied people he meets en route, Peter’s single goal remains to get to Saskatchewan so he can be with his own family again.

224 pp., 5 × 7"

Source: Association of Book Publishers of BC - BC Books for Schools (2021-2022)

MaryLou Driedger’s curiosity and love of learning have taken her to some fifty destinations across the globe. As an educator, she has taught in three different countries and is the recipient of a Manitoba Teacher of the Year award. She is the author of Lost on the Prairie, and has been a columnist for Winnipeg Free Press and The Carillon. Her freelance work has been published in numerous periodicals, anthologies, travel guides, institutional histories, and curriculums. MaryLou chronicles her adventures on her popular daily blog, maryloudriedger2.wordpress.com.

MaryLou Driedger's profile page

“Lost on the Prairie is a terrific read and full of great adventures. The author really lets you get inside the hero Peter’s head. I was holding my breath in so many places in the book including when Peter almost missed the train in Winnipeg. I really admired the research that was done to make the story authentic. I loved that Mark Twain is in the book as a real person. I also liked the combination of fiction and real-life, and the family photos that were included. I look forward to the author’s next book.”
—Beryl Young, award-winning author for children

“Lost on the Prairie had my attention from the first line to the last. I loved the plot, the characters, the quick pace, the details incorporated that made the time period come alive, the rich language and clever phrases that often made me chuckle... In short, I loved everything about the book. Kids and teachers are going to love it, too. and I hope the book has a long and happy life on the bestseller list where it surely belongs.”
—Larry Verstraete, award-winning children’s writer