It is story about a little boy's great grandfather , Lars Jensen, who was born in Denmark and who started a town of New Hope near Minnesota. Lar's family took a long journey from New York where they had arrived first. One day their wagon wheal broke, and Lars took a chance and settled in that area. It was a perfect area for a settlement and now it is a town. I think this book is about taking the chances life gives you eve though sometimes those are disguised as misfortunes. One just does not know a blessing in disguise sometimes; it takes a leap of faith to see what comes out of it. And it takes hard work! ( )

This book was really enjoyable because it took one immigrant and showed how his effort and work turned into a town step by step. It was carefully broken down into a story that was easy to grasp for children and really helped to show how every person makes an impact on the world. I think this is an excellent book for children in classrooms or simply as way to explain the importance of generations past and and future and our connection to each other. ( )

This book is about a boy who asks his father about a statue, and the grandfather explains the story of lars who came to America. While in America he contributed a lot to the people.

This book was just ok for me because it really did not have a catching kind of topic to it. The book just kind of explained the history of this man and it really did not capture me as a reader.

I think we can use this book to show how many people pioneered to America to start a new life. This talks about a man named Lars who changed what was land into a fast growing town. He gave hope to the people and soon many families were starting their new life. This book can just help children see how America was a land of opportunity.