Author: Elizabeth Goss
Genres: Children, NonFiction, History, American History, Oregon Trail, Educate, California Trails, Arc, Early Reviewers
Publisher: West Margin Press
Publisher Date: June 1, 2021 (48 Pages, Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781513267302
Discliamer: I received a free copy of this book though LibraryThing Early Reviewers for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.For kids who want to learn about what life was like on the Oregon and California Trails between 1840 and 1869, this fascinating history book features beautiful papercut illustrations to reveal the true experiences of real children who had traveled west. The book shows how these children's courage, determination, perseverance, and hope defined the West for what it represents today.
Between 1841 and 1884, more than 300,000 people--40,000 of whom were children--moved over land across North America in search for a new start and better life. The journey presented challenges at every turn, from the initial preparations to the months-long trip, and even after when the travelers reached their final destinations. Young emigrants played large roles throughout it all, with responsibilities ranging from hunting animals to gathering buffalo dung, or even caring for babies.
Relying on real letters and memoirs of actual children on the trail, My Way West offers a fresh perspective so that readers, too, can smell the campfire smoke and see the dust kicked up by the wagon wheels. Learn about seven-year-old Benjamin Bonney from Illinois who was introduced to a new type of bread by Native Americans he met on the trail; how thirteen-year-old Heber McBride and his family from England were able to keep up with their traveling group; what ten-year-old Thocmetony of the Northern Paiute in Nevada thought of the travelers passing by her home; what the difficulties twelve-year-old Owen Bush met when his family, including his free African American father, finally reached Oregon; and more.
Including a bibliography and gorgeously illustrated in vibrant, masterful papercut art, this book presents true stories plus quotes so that young readers can share the emigrant kids' triumphs and tragedies as they make their journey west.
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The kids told these journeys on the trails through the images and how life was on the trails. Children will be able to learn about the life and history of the US and the Oregon trails. This book shows tragedy and how everyone came together and helped each other along the way. Children can learn about this and American history by reading this book, not of it but a good glimpse of it.
I enjoy learning about the western expansion and the Oregon trails. I am one of those kinds of readers. I was learning about history through books and how life may have been back then—the dangers of it. When reading this book, I read the quotes first and then the information on the page. Tough, you can read it by doing the significant info about the journey or the topic that was talked about and then the quotes after. It doe not really make a difference in what way you read it. I enjoy that. There is no right way to read this book.
I like the focus was on the actual kids that traveled the Organ and California Trails. The author does a beautiful job of that. This book is suitable for middle-grade readers who want to learn about American history. This book would be an excellent book to have in classrooms as well.
