Numerous individuals appear in Prairie-Town Boy, but the one major character throughout the book is Carl Sandburg himself. The book centers on the many influences that shape the author's outlook on life, featuring a "scrapbook" of themes and memories rather than action and drama.

Family history and its effect on a person's life is one of the basic themes of the book. Sandburg's parents, August Sandburg and Clara Mathilda Anderson, and their relatives, John and Lena Krans and Magnus Holmes, come to America from Sweden, hoping for a better life and bringing with them a love for the land, a dedication to hard work, and a strong faith in God. Because they have a vision for themselves and their new country, they take financial risks and willingly change their names and their way of life, yet they always maintain a warmth and respect for...