Alaska Purchase in American History

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-In a rather chatty, gossipy style, Fremon first relates the actual signing of the treaty of March 30, 1867, in which Russia agreed to cede Alaska to the United States. Assigning thoughts and feelings to the key players is a bit presumptuous, but often documented quotes follow. Then the author goes back in time to when hunters crossed over the land bridge in search of food and describes the three major Native groups inhabiting Alaska at that time: the Northwest Coast Indians, the Eskimo, and the Aleuts. In writing about Alaska Natives, Fremon is vague-not totally inaccurate, but not clear, e.g., there are statements about igloos and blanket tosses that are misrepresented. Yes, both the Inupiat and the Yupik (commonly called "Eskimos") built snow houses as emergency shelters when caught out in a storm, but Alaska Natives did not use igloos as their primary dwellings. Yes, Eskimos did/do use blankets as "trampolines" to help locate game, but these blankets were made out of walrus or caribou hide. The description in the book would lead readers to envision warm acrylic blankets. Misstatements aside, the book provides a serviceable addition to the history shelves. It has several attractive features, such as footnotes; source-document inserts; and clear black-and-white photos, reproductions, and maps. Daniel Cohen's The Alaska Purchase (Millbrook, 1996) is for slightly older readers and the text not as choppy as Fremon's "over the backyard fence" retelling of this slice of U.S. history.-Mollie Bynum, formerly at Chester Valley Elementary School, Anchorage, AK Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|