Customer Reviews

Dog of Discovery: A Newfoundland's Adventures with Lewis and Clark

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I used this book in my classroom to teach about Lewis and Clarks journey. My students loved reading from the point of view of the dog, Seaman. This is a great book to use with kids who enjoy animal stories.

A very well organized, enjoyable, and informative book. The author does a good job of explaining which parts of the story are true history and which parts are fictional. Although fast-paced and fun, this book is packed with accurate information about the Corps of Discovery. The only reason I did not award five stars was that I didn't think the story matched the title. I didn't get the feeling that Seaman, the dog, was central to the story. However, I would still highly recommend this book to parents and teachers who want their children to learn about Lewis and Clark in a way that they'll remember.

This non-fiction book easily held the attention of my children ages 6-11 years old. Every evening when I put the bookmark in, they begged for just a "one more day". Although the book has four lengthy chapters, it is also divided up into days in a journal format. The original quotes from the explorer's journals are added in with the author's description of the day's happenings. As another review said, the author does a great job making the reader aware of the difference between conjecture and historical fact where Seaman, the dog, is concerned.
I did not give it five stars because there were several places in the writing where the verb tenses shifted from present to past tense or vice versa within the paragraph, making it just slightly confusing as to whether the author was speaking or the author was quoting an original journal entry. I just felt a little more editing would have made it even that much better.
All in all, well worth the read. It has earned a place on our shelf.