The Great Expedition of Lewis and Clark: by Private Reubin Field, Member of the Corps of Discovery [Hardcover]

Judith Edwards (Author), Sally Wern Comport (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up

A flavorful account to commemorate its bicentennial

In 1803 a young farmer named Reubin Field enlisted for a journey of enormous import. Commissioned by President Jefferson and headed by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, a "Corps of Discovery" was to make its way through dangerous terrain and harsh conditions to blaze a trail to the Pacific Ocean. Focusing on a lesser-known figure from the Corps, Judith Edwards has imagined what Reubin’s voice might have been like, and how he might have told his version of the long journey.

The folksy narrative provides an accessible and entertaining overview of the expedition, and Sally Wern Comport’s majestic pictures honor this grand moment in the story of America.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-5-On May 14, 1804, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set off with their Corps of Discovery to explore the newly acquired territory of the Louisiana Purchase and hopefully locate a Northwest Passage. They were to return two years, four months later, having made numerous detailed maps and kept copious journals relating their many adventures and hardships. Edwards has chosen the voice of a lesser-known member of the Corps to relate the story of this remarkable journey as she "imagined what Reubin's voice might have been like-." The narrative is entertaining and lively as the intelligence, good nature, and fairness exhibited by the captains are conveyed and the highlights of the trip are described. Comport's watercolor paintings are effective whether depicting the majesty of the land or the humor of attempting to chase down a prairie dog. With the bicentennial of the expedition fast approaching, this book will help to satisfy the need for information. It makes a nice complement to Rosalyn Schanzer's How We Crossed the West (National Geographic, 1997), which uses actual quotes from Lewis and Clark's letters and journals to tell the tale.
Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-4. In this picture book for older children, Edwards pulls an actual name (Reubin Field) from the company that Lewis and Clark led on their epic venture, then gives him a voice to explain the expedition's purpose, ruefully recall its hazards, and describe encounters both friendly and hostile with indigenous residents. Children will get a clear sense of both the danger and excitement of the journey, and meet Sacagawea, York, and other historical figures along the way. Though the text is printed in conventional typeface, the pages are designed to evoke those of a private journal, with mostly small, interspersed watercolor or ink pictures of flora, fauna, people, and the occasional landscape. The narrator's undimmed enthusiasm for new sights and experiences lends rare immediacy to his sketchy but coherent overview of the several-thousand-mile journey, giving children not yet up to tackling the plethora of fuller accounts (several of which Edwards lists at the end) a basic outline. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374380392
• ISBN-13: 978-0374380397
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #737,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #96 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Exploration & Discoveries

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A first-person, folksy narrative brings history live, December 14, 2003

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Expedition of Lewis and Clark: by Private Reubin Field, Member of the Corps of Discovery (Hardcover)

In 1803 a young farmer Reubin Field enlisted for a journey headed by Lewis and Clark. Edwards focuses on his experiences, imagining what his voice might have been like and what his experiences would've been on the 2-year plus journey. The result is Judith Edwards' Great Exploration of Lewis & Clark, a first-person, folksy narrative brings history live with facts blended with rich observational insights.