<p>Doesn’t Farmer Boy take place in upstate NY?</p>
<p>Oh, shoot, mathmom, you’re right! <midwest>Gosh darnit!</midwest> Can’t we make Farmer Boy kind of honorary midwest for book purposes? :)</p>
<p>I think of Homer Price every time I’m in a Krispy Kreme. Sadly, I’ve never found a diamond necklace in any doughnut at Krispy Kreme.</p>
<p>Thanks for your post, Lolou. I think the OP’s post left lots of wiggle room because we don’t know exactly what her son’s elementary school social studies unit is about. If it’s actually the American Frontier (a typical focus) rather than “the midwest” (which would be kind of unusual); than you could really count anything from Pennyslvania to California depending on the time period.</p>
<p>Yes, Farmer Boy is upstate New York.</p>
<p>Regarding Oklahoma as the Midwest, couldn’t agree more that it is NOT (as someone who grew up in Michigan and now lives in Minnesota). But for some silly reason CNN always lumps it into that region in their regional news 
So I figured that at least someone in the country (probably someone on the East coast!) thinks it is Midwest.</p>
<p>“Song of Sampo Lake” is out of print, but readily available on Amazon used. It is about a teenaged Finnish boy in Minnesota around 1900.</p>
<p>I love you all! I cannot believe the number of suggestions.</p>
<p>It has to be fiction, but not historical fiction.</p>
<p>The states are: ND, SD, MN, WI, MI, IA, IL, IN, OH, NE, KS and MO.</p>
<p>Good Luck Longhaul! Now I’ll be curious if your son tries any of the suggested books. The list brought smiles to me as I remember seeing my sons engrossed in many of the suggestions. I am still partial to the Tucket Series by Gary Paulson. I hope he gives them a shot:)</p>