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Westward Expansion
Fiction
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman 1849, twelve-year-old California Morning Whipple, who renames herself Lucy, is distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a rough California mining town.
The
Bone Wars by Kathryn Lasky.
This sweeping historical adventure deals with an
action-packed period of American history during the late 1800s in the Badlands of
Montana. It's a period which includes legendary historical figures, a period of
Indian heroes, and a period of discoveries of gold and of scientific treasures. (School
Library Journal 1988)
Bound
for Oregon by Jean Van Leeuwen.
A fictionalized account of the true life
journey made by nine-year-old Mary Ellen Todd and her family from their home in
Arkansas westward over the Oregon Trail in 1852. On order for MH Library
Caddie
Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink.
Newbery Medal, 1936 The adventures of an
eleven-year-old tomboy growing up on the Wisconsin frontier in the
mid-nineteenth century.
The
Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe by Roland Smith.
Captain
Meriwether Lewis's dog Seaman describes his experiences as he accompanies his
master on the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the uncharted western
wilderness.
Clem's
Chances by Sonia Levitin.
In 1860, fourteen-year-old Clem Fontayne learns
from fellow travelers about important topics of the day, including the Mormon
migration, slavery, and the Pony express, as he journeys from Missouri to
California in search of his father.
Frozen
Summer by Mary Jane Auch.
Sequel to: Journey to nowhere. In 1816,
twelve-year-old Mem's new home in the wilderness of western New York is
disrupted when the birth of another baby sends her mother into
"spells" that disconnect her from reality.
The
Grasshopper Summer by Ann Turner.
In 1874 eleven-year-old Sam and his family
move from Kentucky to the southern Dakota Territory, where harsh conditions and
a plague of hungry grasshoppers threaten their chances for survival. On order
for MH Library.
Great
Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr.
In 1860, a somewhat simple-minded
fifteen-year-old boy attempts to herd one thousand turkeys from Missouri to
Denver, Colorado, in hopes of selling them at a profit.
The
Journal of Augustus Pelletier by Kathryn Lasky.
A fictional journal kept by
twelve-year-old Augustus Pelletier, the youngest member of Lewis and Clark's
Corps of Discovery.
The
Journal of Joshua Loper (My Name is America series) by
Walter Dean Myers.
In 1871 Joshua Loper, a sixteen-year-old black cowboy,
records in his journal his experiences while making his first cattle drive under
an unsympathetic trail boss.
Journey
to Nowhere by Mary Jane Auch.
In 1815, while traveling by covered wagon to
settle in the wilderness of western New York, eleven-year-old Mem experiences a
flood and separation from her family.
A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich. After marrying Will Deal and moving to Nebraska, Abbie endures the difficulties of frontier life and raises her children to pursue the ambitions that were once her own. On order for MH Library.
Little
House in the Big Woods
by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Depicts the life of Laura
Ingalls and her family when they lived in a little log house in Wisconsin in
1872.
Little
House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
A family travels from the big
woods of Wisconsin to a new home on the prairie, where they build a house, meet
neighboring Indians, dig a well, and fight a prairie fire.
Little
House on Rocky Ridge
by Roger Lea MacBride.
In 1894 Laura Ingalls Wilder, her husband, and her
seven-year-old daughter Rose leave the Ingalls family in Dakota and make the
long and difficult journey to Missouri to start a new life.
Save Queen of Sheba by Louise Moerri. Ellie and Stevie learn about a family legacy when their grandmother tells them stories of her brother's historical quest for dinosaur bones on their Nebraska farm. On order for the MH Library.
Orphan
Train Adventures
by Jean Lowry Nixon: On order for MH Library.
A Family Apart. Book 1. 1860, when their widowed mother can no longer support them, six siblings are sent on the orphan train by the Children's Aid Society of New York City to live with farm families in Missouri.
Caught in the Act. Book 2. Eleven-year-old Michael Patrick Kelly from New York City is sent to a foster home, a Missouri farm with a sadistic owner, a bullying son, and a number of secrets, one of which may be murder.
A Place to Belong. Book 3. In 1856, having traveled with his young sister from New York to a foster home on a farm in Missouri, ten-year-old Danny plots to get his foster father to send for and marry his mother.
In the Face of Danger. Book 4. Deeply unhappy about the separation of her family because of poverty, twelve-year-old Megan gradually finds contentment and purpose in her new home on the Kansas prairie with a kind and loving adopted family.
A
Prairie Boy's Winter by William Kurelek.
Text and twenty color paintings
depict the rigors and simple pleasures of winter on the prairies during the
stark 1930s. On order for the MH Library.
Trouble
for Lucy by Carla Stevens.
As she and her family travel the Oregon Trail in
1843, Lucy's puppies persist in creating trouble. On order for the MH Library.
My
Daniel by Pam Conrad.
Ellie and Stevie learn about a family legacy
when their grandmother tells them stories of her brother's historical quest for
dinosaur bones on their Nebraska farm. On order for the MH Library.
Red Rock Over the River by Patricia Beatty
Sacagawea
by Joseph Bruchac.
A Shoshoni Indian interpreter, peacemaker, and
guide, and William Clark alternate in describing their experiences on the Lewis
and Clark Expedition to the Northwest.
Seaman by Gail Karwoski.
A Newfoundland dog proves his value as a hunter, navigator,
and protector while serving with the Corps of Discovery when it explores the
West under the leadership of Lewis and Clark.
Shane
by Jack Schaefer.
A stranger rides into a small Western town in 1889 and creates
a lasting impact on its inhabitants, especially on young Bob Starrett and his
family. On order for MH Library.
Streams
to the River, River to the Sea: A Novel of Sacagawea by Scott O'Dell.
A
young Indian woman, accompanied by her infant and cruel husband, experiences joy
and heartbreak when she joins the Lewis and Clark Expedition seeking a way to
the Pacific.
Trouble
River by Betsy Byars.
When he builds his raft, a twelve-year-old boy never
dreams that it will serve as the sole means of escape for him and his
grandmother when hostile Indians threaten their prairie cabin.
Wait
for Me, Watch for Me, Eula Bee
by Patricia Beatty.
With his father and
brother serving in the Confederate Army and the rest of his family murdered in a
Comanche raid on their west Texas farm, thirteen-year-old Lewallen seeks to free
himself and his younger sister from their Indian captivity. On order for MH
Library.
West
to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angeline Viscardi: New York to Idaho
Territory 1883 by Jim Murphy.
While traveling in 1883 with her Italian
American family (including a meddlesome little sister) and other immigrant
pioneers to a utopian community in Idaho, fourteen-year-old Teresa keeps a diary
of her experiences along the way.