Julie Meyer: The Story of a Wagon Train Girl (Her Story) - Softcover

Grade 3-6. Based on primary-source materials, these titles convey a sense of life in a certain era. Both books pack in a lot of details?including concluding "true story" notes?but they fail to make the character or history come alive. In Julie Meyer, a family journeys west from Indiana to Oregon in 1847. The more engaging of the two, this book is still populated by stock characters and situations, from the always-wise Poppa to the foolish family that splits off from the group and suffers because of it. In Sally Bradford, the girl's father is against slavery but is a dedicated confederate nevertheless. The story focuses on the family's concern about their men who are fighting in the war and the destruction of their home by the invading Yankees; there is also an artificial subplot about Sally's friendship with a slave girl that tries to demonstrate the horrors of slavery. Full- and partial-page watercolor illustrations are scattered throughout both books. Despite attractive layouts, these titles fall short of the authors' excellent nonfiction historical accounts.?Cyrisse Jaffee, formerly at Newton Public Schools, MA
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