Kirkpatrick Hill Knihy

A year they'll never forget Ten-year-old Frederika (Fred for short) doesn't have much faith that the new teacher in town will last very long. After all, they never do. Most teachers who come to their one-room schoolhouse in remote, Alaska leave at the first smell of fish, claiming that life there is just too hard. But Miss Agnes is different -- she doesn't get frustrated with her students, and she throws away old textbooks and reads Robin Hood instead! For the first time, Fred and her classmates begin to enjoy their lessons and learn to read and write -- but will Miss Agnes be like all the rest and leave as quickly as she came?

The story follows Toughboy and Sister as they navigate life after their mother's death and their father's decline due to alcoholism. Left alone in a remote cabin, the siblings must rely on each other for survival, confronting the challenges of isolation and the harsh realities of their situation. Their bond is tested as they learn to cope with their loss and the struggles of growing up in a difficult environment.

In the “compelling” (Kirkus Reviews) sequel to Toughboy and Sister, the two young kids struggle as they learn to survive at a winter trapping camp during the harsh Alaskan winter. Recently orphaned, eleven-year-old Toughboy and his younger sister have been living with Natasha, an eldery, cantankerous Athabascan Indian. In the late fall, Natasha flies with them to a camp where the children learn to trap and live during the Alaskan winter. But when an old miner is seriously injured and Natasha has to leave to get help, Toughboy and Sister are pushed to their limits as they learn to survive for themselves while caring for the injured miner.