Book Count: 64
Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell By: Kristiana Gregory
Fiction: historic, youth 161 pages 1997
OK, this is another kids book that wasn’t a rereading of an old favorite like I was planning to do. By the time this book came out I was busy trying to get threw “War and Peace” and Shakespeare, but I had wanted to read this series for a while and after watching “Last Comic Standing” I just couldn’t resist the book on the Oregon Trail. Although, they didn’t cure typhoid with bacon in this book, they did have a lot of experiences that were more historically correct: both fun and sad. In fact I would say it has a good mix of things for a book that kids would read. It was not unrealistically upbeat. They dealt with many of the harsh realities of that time. But it was not so over the top that it was just depressing. Also, I somewhat like the way the book is set up as if it was non-fiction with the actual author information in the back as you almost have to stop and remind yourself that it is fiction as you read along. As the title states it is the story of a girl on the Oregon Trail. It takes place in 1847 when the trail was not brand new, by not so old as to have many bridges, forts and other niceties. She is 13 and the oldest living child in her family. (Her sisters died the year before due to swamp fever.) She along with her parent, little brothers and an aunt and uncle travel the trail. Along the way she makes friends, meets Indians, deals with dangers and sees people die and be born. After the story is historical information and pictures.
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