When Joshua’s family leaves Missouri in hopes of finding a new home in the Oregon territory, his grandfather gives him a journal so that the young boy can record “the good and the not-so-good.”
Thus begins the My America series by Author Patricia Hermes which illustrates the joys and tragedies of travel along the Oregon Trail.
Thus begins the My America series by Author Patricia Hermes which illustrates the joys and tragedies of travel along the Oregon Trail.
My eight year-old first found these books, but I too have enjoyed reading the first-person, journal-entry formats. The themes of life and death, growing-up, caring for others, and greed are explored through Joshua’s young eyes with a wonderful innocence. After several losses among the wagon train, the boy begins to understand a glimmer of the worry his mother must feel for him and his young sister. As an admittedly overprotective-mother, I was touched by the story that unfolds over the trail, in Oregon City, and as the family builds their new home.
After reading all three books in this series, my son and I talked about the relationships in the books and how they are similar and different than our own. In books (and life) I have great respect for any boy’s journey to becoming a man.
After reading all three books in this series, my son and I talked about the relationships in the books and how they are similar and different than our own. In books (and life) I have great respect for any boy’s journey to becoming a man.