Books for Independent Reading
VERY EASY
- Chang's Paper Pony
- by Eleanor Coerr
(Multicultural)
Harper 1988 (64p); also paper
The California Gold Rush story of
Chang and his dream of owning a
pony.
- Dakota Dugout
- by Ann Turner
(Social Studies)
Macmillan 1985 (32p); also paper
A woman describes her experiences
living as a bride in a sod house on the
Dakota prairie.
- Wagon Wheels
- by Barbara Brenner
(Multicultural)
Harper 1978 (64p); also paper
An African American boy describes the
adventures of his family traveling to
Kansas.
- The Josefina Story Quilt
- by Eleanor Coerr
(Social Studies)
Harper 1986 (64p); also paper
A family and their pet chicken head
West. Available in Spanish as
Josefina y la colcha de retazos.
- Red River City
- by Raymond Elson
(Social Studies)
Tupelo 1994
A three-dimensional story frieze with
punch-out characters that recreates a
town of the American frontier.
- The Oregon Trail
- by R. Conrad Stein
(Social Studies)
Childrens 1994 (32p)
The history of the Oregon Trail and a
look at the people who traveled it.
- Wagon Train: A Family Goes West
in 1865
- by Courtni C. Wright
(Multicultural)
Holiday 1995 (32p)
An African American family's journey
from Virginia to California is related
by daughter Ginny.
- Frontier Home
- by Raymond Bial
(Social Studies)
Houghton 1993 (40p)
This boook describes the homes and daily lives of
the pioneers.
EASY
- Joshua's Westward Journal
- by Joan Anderson
(Social Studies)
Morrow 1987 (48p)
A photo essay of a contemporary
family's trip that mirrors the
experiences of early pioneers.
- Snowshoe Thompson
- by Nancy Levinson
(Social Studies)
Harper 1992 (64p)
John Thompson struggles through the
snowbound Sierras to deliver the mail.
- My Prairie Year: Based on the Diary
of Elenore Plaisted
- by Brett Harvey
(Social Studies)
Holiday 1986 (40p)
Based on the author's grandmother's
journey to the Dakotas as a young girl.
- Little House on the Prairie
- by Laura Ingalls Wilder
(Social Studies)
Harper 1953 (238p); also paper
The classic story of the Ingalls family
and their home on the Kansas prairie.
Available in Spanish asLa casa de
la pradera.
- Josepha: A Prairie Boy's Story
- by Jim McGugan
(Social Studies)
Chronicle 1994 (32p)
An outcast among his peers because of
his poor English, immigrant Josepha
decides he must leave school and seek
work.
- If You Traveled West in a Covered
Wagon
- by Ellen Levine
(Social Studies)
Scholastic 1992 (80p)
Describes everyday life on a journey
that typically lasted six months.
- Log Cabin in the Woods
- by Joanne Landers Henry
(Social Studies)
Four Winds 1992 (64p)
A month-by-month account of the life
of Oliver Johnson and his family in a
log cabin in 1832.
- An American Safari: Adventures on
the North American Prairie
- by Jim Brandenburg
(Social Studies)
Walker 1995 (48p)
The contemporary author/photographer
details how adventures on the prairie
influenced his life.
- Bess's Log Cabin Quilt
- by D. Anne Love
(Social Studies)
Holiday 1995 (88p)
Bess Morgan and her mother wait at
home while Pa brings more settlers
west to Oregon.
AVERAGE
- The Incredible Journey of Lewis and
Clark
- by Rhoda Blumberg
(Social Studies)
Lothrop 1987 (128p)
An account of Lewis and Clark's two-and-a-half-year trip across uncharted
territory.
- The Great American Gold Rush
- by Rhoda Blumberg
(Social Studies)
Bradbury 1989 (144p)
An in-depth look at the consequences
of the discovery of gold at Sutter's
Mill.
- Tales from Gold Mountain
- by Paul Yee
(Multicultural)
Macmillan 1990 (64p)
Eight original stories based on the
experiences of Chinese immigrants.
- Jericho's Journey
- by C. Clifton Wisler
(Social Studies)
Lodestar 1993 (138p)
Jericho finds his family's move from
Tennessee to Texas more than he
bargained for.
- Bound for Oregon
- by Jean Van Leeuwen
(Social Studies)
Dial 1994 (176p)
Nine-year-old Mary Ellen Todd and her
family travel from Arkansas to Oregon
in 1852.
- Dear Levi: Letters from the Overland
Trail
- by Elvira Woodruff
(Social Studies)
Knopf 1994 (119p)
Letters from twelve-year-old Austin to
his younger brother Levi back in
Pennsylvania.
- Jimmy Spoon and the Pony Express
- by Kristiana Gregory
(Social Studies)
Scholastic 1994 (192p)
An ad for “young, skinny fellows;
orphans preferred” leads Jimmy Spoon
to become a Pony Express rider.
- Mr. Misterio y cia (Mr. Mysterious
and Company)
- by Sid Fleischman
(Social Studies)
Mr. Mysterious and his family travel
by covered wagon to California,
performing magic acts in towns along
the way. Text in Spanish.
- Prairie Visions: The Life and Times of
Solomon Butcher
- by Pam Conrad
(Art)
Harper 1991 (96p); also paper
An account of Butcher's fifteen years
photographing Nebraska settlers.
- Off the Map: The Journals of Lewis
and Clark
- edited by Peter and Connie Roop
(Social Studies)
Walker 1993 (40p)
Edited entries from the journals of the
famous explorers.
- Townsend's Warbler
- by Paul Fleischman
(Science/Health)
Harper 1992 (64p)
Parallel accounts of the travels of
naturalist John Townsend and the birds
he discovered in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Bite of the Gold Bug: A Story of
the American Gold Rush
- by Barthe DeClements
(Social Studies)
Viking 1992 (64p)
Bucky and his father head for Alaska
and gold.
- America's Prairies
- by Frank Staub
(Social Studies)
Carolrhoda 1993
A look at today's prairies and their
plant and animal life.
CHALLENGING
- George Catlin: Painter of the Indian
West
- by Mark Sufrin
(Art)
Atheneum 1991 (160p)
A biography of the famed artist who
painted portraits and scenes of Native American
life.
- Frontier Living
- by Edwin Tunis
(Social Studies)
Harper 1976 (168p)
Portrays the manners and customs of
frontier families.
- The Forgotten Heroes: The Story of
the Buffalo Soldiers
- by Clinton Cox
(Multicultural)
Scholastic 1993 (192p)
True stories of former slaves recruited
to open up the West.
- A Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of
a Pioneer Family in 1840
- by Barbara Greenwood
(Social Studies)
Ticknor 1995 (244p)
A blend of fiction and nonfiction
recounts the travels of the imaginary
Robinson family.
Books for Teachers to Read Aloud
- On to Oregon!
- by Honoré Morrow
(Social Studies)
Morrow 1926 (240p)
Classic story of the Sager children's
covered wagon trip from Missouri to
Oregon.
- Swamp Angel
- by Anne Isaacs
(Social Studies)
Dutton 1994 (54p)
Tall tale about Angelica Longrider,
who vanquished Thundering Tarnation,
the bear terrorizing Tennessee.
- Caddie Woodlawn
- by Carol Ryrie Brink
(Social Studies)
Macmillan 1973 (256p)
Describes Caddie's life on the
Wisconsin frontier in the 1860s.