West by Covered Wagon: Retracing the Pioneer Trails - Hardcover

Grade 3-5-This is a unique chronicle of the westward movement because it is paired with a modern-day reenactment of a wagon-train expedition. For the last 20 years, a group called the Westmong Wagoneers in western Montana has made an annual Memorial Day weekend trek using only covered wagons, horses, and mules to retrace the steps of the early pioneers. History comes alive as outstanding, annotated, full-color photography on every page records the abbreviated westward journey. Cogent, simple text describes the important aspects of travel during the mid-1800s and compares and contrasts them with the more benign realities of the Wagoneers' contemporary sojourn. Designed for younger readers than Leonard Everett Fisher's Oregon Trail (Holiday, 1990), this book will serve as an introduction to American history. Report information could certainly be gleaned from the text, but the lack of a table of contents, index and source notes makes it more of a browsing item than a significant research tool. A handsomely designed and well-conceived piece of nonfiction.
Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3^-6. Patent and Munoz's latest photo-essay collaboration follows a Montana family on a weekend covered wagon journey across the Flathead Indian Reservation, comparing their experiences with those of nineteenth-century pioneers who traversed the Oregon Trail. Although many elements of the trek remain the same (open-air wagons pulled by livestock across unpaved terrain), contemporary travelers take advantage of modern conveniences, including fresh drinking water, ready-to-eat foods, and up-to-date camping supplies. Munoz's crisp, color photos appear on nearly every page, clarifying details of the text for young readers. An excellent addition to units on the westward movement; pair this with Erickson's Daily Life in a Covered Wagon (1994) for another view of life on the trail. Kay Weisman