Cassie's Journey features a family of pioneers traveling across the United States in a covered wagon to seek a new life in California during the Gold Rush. Throughout the book we are shown the trials and hardships the pioneers had to face. Between famine, snake bites, and illness. Nothing was easy and everything that could go wrong often did go wrong. I think it's important to emphasize the determination and drive these pioneers had in order to find a better life for themselves and their families. Often times we do have to face long, difficult journeys in order to get where we're going and we have to remember the struggles are worth the reward. ( )

Cassie's Journey, Going West in the 1860's by Brett Harvey is a historical account about a family traveling west in the 1860's. The story is told from Cassie's point of view. She is a little girl who is traveling with her brother, mama, and papa in a wagon across the country to make a better life for themselves. Along the way, they encounter sickness, death, and Indians. The story ends on a happy note with them arriving at their first stop a week early and celebrating the Fourth of July.

I like this story because it is told from the viewpoint of the little girl and how she relates to the events happening around her. I also like this story because of the historical significance it offers young children. They can learn how life was for children back in those days.

This book would be a good book to teach children about what life was like for some of the people in America in 1860. I would then relate the hardships of these children to the way children live today.

This story shows the struggles faced in the 1860s when traveling west in a wagon train. The book is told from the point of view of a young girl named Cassie traveling to California with her family. Being told from a child's perspective gives the book a little more interest and wonder than an adult that would know all the answers to her questions, but we still are able to learn a lot through this character.
I remember reading this book at some point when I was younger and making my own covered wagon out of a shoebox afterwards along with some other projects of the unit study. Overall I think this is a great book that kids can learn a lot from. ( )

The author, Harvey Brett, based his story of a young girl's journey to California on actual pioneer diaries. Realistic hardships that "Cassie" and her family face such as harsh weather, swollen rivers, disease, near starvation, death, loneliness and boredom are included in this first-person narrative, but, incredibly, are not overly depressing. The black and white drawings by illustrator Deborah Kogan Ray add to the story. ( )

Cassie's Journey is a historical fiction book. The art in the book is all hand drawn and it is done with lead or charcoal. The book is about a girl named Cassie and her family moving to California in 1860 to find a better life. The reading level is fourth grade. The curricular connection is history and it would be a great book to read when talking about the 1800's and people moving out west.