Life anywhere else but on her family’s cattle ranch is unimaginable to Timmy. Being a rancher means continuous work: staying up late with calving cows, roping and branding, gardening and irrigating, and training horses and dogs. But it also means moments of great joy: the wonder of a foal being born, picnics with neighboring ranchers, Indian powwows in summer, and frosty mornings at sheepcamp. Through it all, there is the comforting predictability of the rhythms of the seasons. The weather, however, can be cruelly unpredictable. And the year of the great blizzards challenges Timmy and her family as never before. Timmy feels helpless -- what can a thirteen-year-old possibly do to raise enough money to save their ranch? But she loves it too much not to try.

Gretel Ehrlich is the acclaimed author of poetry and nonfiction, including The Solace of Open Spaces, A Match to the Heart, and Heart Mountain. A Blizzard Year, her first novel for young readers, draws on her experience living and working on a Wyoming cattle ranch. Ms. Ehrlich lives in California.

Kate Kiesler has illustrated many books, including Into the Deep Forest with Henry David Thoreau. Ms. Kiesler lives in Colorado.