No one would accuse eleven-year-old Caddie Woodlawn of being dainty and ladylike. In spite of her mother's best efforts, Caddie is as wild as the wind, playing freely and rambunctiously with her two brothers in the Wisconsin backwoods. There are rafts to build, and trees to climb, and pranks to play. Caddie especially likeds to watch her friend Indian John build birchbark canoes at the river. Everyday seems wide with possibility-as wide as the frontier. But living on the edge of civilization has its risks, too. And when Indians threaten to attack the settlers, it is Caddie's resourcefulness and bravery that save the day. The author, Carol Ryrie Brink-granddaughter of the real Caddie Woodlawn-based her book on the true stories her grandmother used to tell her about growing up on the frontier.