Customer Reviews

How We Crossed the West

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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My son (4th grade)recently did a report on William Clark. He used several resources but kept coming back to this one. The day after he completed his project I sat down to read the book myself - what a treat! I think the information is so interesting - much of it taken from the actual journals of Lewis, Clark and the Corp of Explorers! The illustrations are a great compliment to the story being retold! Because the copy he was using was from the public library I am ordering one for us to keep. I look forward to finding more books by Schanzer - I hope all of her books are as well written and illustrated!

This book is an excellent example of a primary source of information. I originally bought the book because I believed it would be a good resource for teaching about the Lewis and Clark Expedition, but after I got it and realized the text was created from journal entries made by Lewis, Clark and others, I was truly excited to be teaching from this book. There is just enough text per page so as not to be overwhelming to elementary students and the illustrations are gorgeous.

The book about Lewis and Clark's journey written and illustrated by Roz Schanzer is terrific. The children that I teach at Schiel Primary School love not only hearing the story, but also love the fabulous illustrations. Roz Schanzer is truly a gifted author and illustrator. I hope to see more work from her in the future.

Set in 1804, How We Crossed The West by Rosalyn Schanzer is the true story of the incredibly adventurous Lewis & Clark expedition exploring westward from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean (May 1804 to November 1805). Superbly presented in an exciting picturebook format for young readers, the "reader friendly" text is taken from the original journals of the explorers themselves, though slightly edited for clarity. The wealth of illustrations are warm, colorful acrylic/colored pencil designs that bring a great journey through early America vividly to life. As educational as it is entertaining, How We Crossed The West is a superbly presented history and very highly recommended for school and community library collections.

The adventure and thrill of the Lewis & Clark Expedition is brought to life here in a story that both children and adults could appreciate. In beautiful and carefully rendered folk-style illustrations, and with descriptive text from the actual journals of the participants, the book has the appearance of something that almost could have been written in the early 1800's, when the expedition occurred. Rosalyn Schanzer's personal interest in the subject, especially the journals and the Indian tribes, seems to bring out the best in the storytelling, which primarily illustrates the first 1 1/2 years of the Corps of Discovery's journey to the Pacific Ocean. The story is accessible and easily understood, yet the attention to detail should satisfy those trying to learn, and even researchers in this important chapter in early American History.

Wow! This is a wonderful book. An engaging layout, colorfully descriptive illustrations, captivating text, and numerous extra little tidbits of information all combine to make this a most enjoyable and informative book. And that's not all! Perhaps the best feature of all is the fact that the text, while slightly adapted for the younger reader, is taken from the original writings of Lewis, Clark, and other members of the Corps of Discovery. All in all, this is a can't-miss resource for studying the Lewis & Clark Expedition with children. My 12-year-old enjoyed it every bit as much as my 9-year-old... although I'm not sure how either of them could have enjoyed it more than I did!

I read several books about Lewis and Clark to my homeschooled 6, 8, and 11 year olds. This was hands down our favorite. The kids said it was "awesome." Not only are the illustrations and text highly engaging, it has the wonderful additional benefit of being actual excerpts from their journals. My 11 year old had already read several pages to her brothers before I took over, and I enjoyed it so much that I went back later and read the parts I missed.

A very good book about the Lewis & Clark expedition. The illustrations were vivid and the best part of the book. I would recommend this book

I bought this book because our family is planning a summer vacation to Montana. We wanted to refresh our memory of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. We all enjoyed the diaries and illustrations in the book. It is the right amount of information to keep the story moving and keep all readers interested. It is full of interesting details of this famous journey.

This book just grabs my children's attention -- they love it. The reading level is very manageable (even for 1st or 2nd graders, but older kids are absorbed by the information, too)), and the graphic layout makes learning easy and fun.

We read it many times on our long drive along the expedition route -- one of our favorite books from the entire Lewis and Clark summer.