Web Book Report
Across the Wide and
Lonesome Prairie
Kristiana Gregory
Samantha-
34 November
12, 2004 Language
Arts
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Have you
ever wondered
what it was like to be a child on the Oregon Trail in the 1800Õs? Well if you read this book, Across
the Wide and Lonesome Prairie, you will feel like youÕre there and learn many things, like
how to survive, and about how it really is to love and care for someone. |
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These words, from
thirteen-year-old Hattie Campbell's journal entry for February 18, 1847, mark
the beginning of her adventure that unfolds over the next ten months and two
thousand miles. A sense of amusement, the ability to dream, and a chance to
escape sad memories while building a new life motivate Hattie Campbell and
her family as they set their sights on the acres of land available to daring
settlers at the end of the Oregon trail. This story is very dramatic, especially
when Hattie is angry as a stray bullet kills a young boy, her sense of guilt
when youngsters get sick and die from eating poisonous hemlock that they took
were vegetables, and when Hattie is jealous when her best friend, Pepper,
falls in love with a seventeen-year-old boy, Gideon. Hattie begins her journey afraid of
Indians, but eventually writes that she doesn't need to fear them. "If
Indians come maybe we can make friends instead of run." Because of her
relationship with Mrs. Kenker and 300 pound Mrs. Bigg, Hattie learns to look
deeper than outward appearances and to understand and value people's inner
qualities. Throughout the journey, Aunt June
reminds Hattie that the purpose of her new journal is to record the adventure
of a lifetime. "Remember, Hattie, tell the good and the bad." Hattie and her family are survivors
and they move to a green, lush forest with many more surprises to come. |
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¯ Hattie ¯ Hattie was a thirteen-year old girl from Missouri. She was very polite and
lady-like. She was just like any
other thirteen-year old girl in 1847 because she wanted to fall in love, get
married and have children. She
was very kind to little children and very polite to adults. If it was a cold night, and she saw a
child shivering, she would probably give her blanket to that child or if an
adult were mourning for a loved one, Hattie would have went over and comforted
that person. ¯ Mrs.Bigg ¯ Mrs.Bigg was the most caring person on the trail. Her last name fit her well for she
was a big lady herself and she had a big heart. Everyone ignored Mrs.Kenker because she stole from him or
her, but Mrs.Bigg never ignored her like everyone else. She always was there for everyone and
was a very sweet lady. She
had a husband with no legs so she carried him around and loved him more than
anything. Anywhere he wanted to go, he would be on her back and she would
walk there, even though she walked really slowly because she was so big. Hattie loved her because Mrs.Bigg
always gave her things and was always there to listen to her. When everyone was tired of going on,
she would motivate him or her to keep on going. ¯ Ma ¯ Ma was a very sensitive and caring person. She only wanted what was best for her family, to live in a
bigger and better home. She
cried almost every night, but she never let anyone see her tears. She always helped her neighbors if
they needed something and would give them anything they wanted. She was a very smart woman because
she gave everyone good advice when they needed it. Setting: The
setting is 1847, Booneville, Missouri.
When theyÕre on the trail, there are many rivers, deserts, lush green
forests, big mountains, and many wild animals. |
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I recommend this book to anyone, especially young adults who want to
read about the American past from same place other than a textbook because
this story is fun and exciting.
This story is extremely well written and it seems like the author was
actually there writing it. The
story is very easy to read and it seems accurate.
Some cons of ÒAcross the Wide and Lonesome PrairieÓ are that it could
do with some more character development. The only character that you really get to know in the
story is the main character, Hattie.
Author Kristiana Gregory does an excellent job of capturing the spirit
of American pioneer during one of the most progressive periods in
history. She has provided
readers with a glimpse of harsh reality of the Oregon Trail, as evidenced in
a journal entry dated ÒMid-June,Õ as the wagons prepared to cross North
Platte River. Hattie writes
ÔÉright before our eyes, the animals began to drown. They sank so fast they pulled the
wagons underwater before anyone had a chance to jump out. Two families disappeared just
like that. I am sick at
heart. The screams of their friends
on shore I will never forget as long as I live.Õ |
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About the Author Kristiana Gregory was born on June
12. 1951, in Los Angeles, California.
She grew up two blocks away from the ocean in Manhattan Beach. Kristiana went to three elementary
schools, two junior highs, and three high schools in Manhattan Beach;
Lancaster, California; and Alamogordo, New Mexico. After graduating high school, she took many college
courses and jobs that helped her for her writing career. She was a daily newspaper reporter
and a book reviewer for the Los Angeles Times. Kristiana Gregory started writing
when she was ten years old, but she never thought she would become a
writer. ÒSchools didnÕt promote
writing as they do now, so I never knew girls might grow up to be
authors. I dreamed of being an
airline stewardess or a ballerina!Ó ÔJenny of the TetonsÕ was
KristianaÕs first book published in 1989 and won the Golden Kite Award for
best childrenÕs fiction. ÔThe
Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart,
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777Õ was Kristiana GregoryÕs third Scholastic
book, published in 1996, which helped start the popular Dear America
Series. Scholastic published her
second book in the series ÔAcross the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon
Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell,Õ in 1997. From then on she has written many Dear America books,
including ÔCleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile,Õ one of the first books in
the Royal Diary series.
Kristiana Gregory has written a numerous amount of books about
California history and the old west.
She won the 1993 California Book Award for best juvenile fiction for
the book ÔEarthquake at Dawn,Õ a book about the 1906 San Francisco
earthquake. Novels o Jenny of
the Tetons [1989] o Legend of
Jimmy Spoon [1990] o Earthquake
at Dawn [1992] o Jimmy Spoon
and the Pony Express [1994] o The
Stowaway: A Tale of California Pirates [1995] o The Winter
of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley
Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777 [1996] o Across the
Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847
[1997] o Orphan
Runaways [1998] o Great
Railroad Race: The Diary of Libby West, Utah Territory, 1868 [1999] o Cleopatra
VII: Daughter of the Nile, Egypt, 57 B.C. [1999] o Five Smooth
Stones: HopeÕs Revolutionary War Diary, Book One [2000] o Seeds of
Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild, California Territory, 1849
[2001] o Eleanor:
Crown Jewel or Aquitaine, France, 1136 [2002] o We are
Patriots: HopeÕs Revolutionary War Diary, Book Two [2002] o Journey of
Faith [2003] o Grateful
Harvest [2003] |
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