Story of Amelia Stewart Knight on her journey across country as a pioneer woman during the 1800s. Story is from her accounts of her diary. Kids get a primary source of the hardships families encountered. The language, way of thinking, and customs give readers further knowledge that history literature otherwise cannot.
Oregon trail, native American, gender roles, family structure, customs are topics of discussion for any class. ( )

Lillian Schlissel adapted pioneer Amelia Stewart Knight's 1853 diary and created an authentic and intriguing picture book about travel on the Oregon Trail. I loved reading the typical language and expressions of the day..."The men all have their false eyes (goggles) on to keep out the dust." and "Passed a lot of men skinning a buffalo. We got a mess and cooked some of it for supper." Also typical for many people of the time, Knight refers to her spouse simply as "Husband" in her diary. Throughout her diary, Knight either describes Native Americans as being helpful (they helped guide wagons across dangerous rivers and sold her hungry family food) or as beggars. There does not seem to be any realization that the Native American way of life was being totally destroyed. This unfortunately, is also a typical attitude of the era. Amazingly, Knight nonchalantly mentioned on the last page of her five month diary (right before she wrote that her husband traded two yoke of oxen for land planted in potatoes and a cabin with no windows) that she had delivered her eighth child. This woman was tough! Although the book is about travel on the Oregon Trail, the pioneers shared many experiences with those traveling west to California. Illustrator Michael McCurdy's scratchboard illustrations are a perfect match for Knight's diary. I think students will be fascinated by the thought that this was an actual diary. I know I was. ( )

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