A Bride for Anna's Papa

The death of he mother has left thirteen-year-old Anna Kallio responsible for running the house. She has no time anymore for going to school or playing with friends. She and her nine-year-old brother, Matti, worry about their father, who is a blacksmith for the iron mines. When they realize how lonely he his, they plot to find him a new wife, even trying to arrange a match with one of the "mail order" brides arriving from Finland. The results of their efforts are different from anything Anna expected. She finds herself torn by her own emotions as she realizes another woman will fill her mother''s place.

It''s 1907 on Minnesota''s "Iron Range" and the death of 13-year-old Anna Kallio''s mother means that the girl must leave school in order to keep house for her father and younger brother. The family''s hardships multiply with a miners'' strike and the fear that Anna''s father, a blacksmith, won''t be able to find work. Frustrated by a life of grown-up concerns, Anna and her brother conspire to find a wife for their father so that Anna can return to school — even if that means attempting a match with a mail-order bride from Finland! But the results of their efforts are different from anything they expected, and when Anna''s father begins showing interest in her teacher, the girl finds herself torn by the realization that another woman may try to fill her mother''s place. Vivid descriptions of family holidays and customs capture the Kallios'' colorful Finnish heritage in this inspiring story of one girl''s attempts to balance her dreams with her responsibilities.