Red River Girl, an historical novel set in 1846. Josette Dupre, a resilient thirteen year old travels with her young brothers and their father from the Selkirk Colony (present day Winnipeg) to St. Paul after their mother dies. Daughter of a French voyageur and an Ojibwe woman, she must abandon her dream of school in Montreal.

This engaging journal will appeal to many Minnesota residents who will recognize several landmarks the cart train encounters on their journey. It is a route that many early residents took when they made St. Paul their home.

Josette, who has had a fine education in Canada, is amazed that there is no school in St. Paul. A few months after they arrive, Harriet Bishop, Minnesota's first teacher arrives, and finds that the children cannot understand her because they do not speak English. Josette uses her language skill to interpret from French, Chippewa and Dakota for the new teacher.