The Louisiana Purchase

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-Clearly written texts explain factors that lured people west and the impact on the Native peoples who had inhabited the area for hundreds of years. The volumes are richly illustrated with historical photographs, illustrations, maps, and quotes from primary sources presented in sidebars. Captions for the illustrations include their date or origin, which is admirable, yet problematic. For example, the text about mid-19th-century cattle drives and cow towns is accompanied by a photo of cowboys celebrating their arrival in a Kansas town and is dated 1908. Another photo is dated 1895 but describes mountain men who thrived in the West decades before. The use of 20th-century photographs when describing 19th-century events can be confusing and misleading for readers. There is some overlapping information among the books. Still, these flaws do not detract from the overall readability of these introductions to an important and fascinating era in U.S. history.-Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel, IL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.