Daily Life in a Covered Wagon

Children's Literature - Judy Katsh

This thoroughly researched and abundantly illustrated book tracks the Larkin family as they travel west to Oregon from their home in Indiana. The year is 1853-they are neither among the first nor the last overlanders to set out along the Oregon Trail. Their journal entries help the author tell an authentic and de-glamorized tale of pioneer life. Neither tragedies nor heroics predominate here, just a fascinatingly personal view of the daily reality for travelers on a Wagon Train west.

Kay Weisman

Using color photographs of original artifacts interspersed with text, diagrams, drawings, and original photos, Erickson re-creates a day in the life of a typical family traveling the Oregon Trail in 1853. Devoting special attention to the necessary equipment, the author describes many activities along the trail, including cooking, hunting, setting up camp, crossing rivers, and caring for the sick and injured. He also notes famous landmarks along the way and the Native Americans who frequented the area. Although members of the fictional Larkin family narrate the story, they function as a means of giving information in a personalized manner, rather than as true characters. Appended with a chronology of westward expansion, a glossary, and a list of places to visit, this will be a welcome addition to American history units and an excellent companion to the computer program "Oregon Trail". The presentation of individual topics on separate double-page spreads will appeal to browsers, too.