An Indian Winter [Hardcover]

Russell Freedman (Author), Karl Bodmer (Illustrator, Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1992 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Relates the experiences of a German prince, his servant, and a young Swiss artist as they traveled through the Missouri River Valley in 1833 learning about the territory and its inhabitants and recording their impressions in words and pictures.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Newbery Medalist returns to the subject matter of Indian Chiefs and Buffalo Hunt --though with a narrower scope--in this recounting of the 1833-1834 expedition of Prince Maximilian of Germany and the artist Karl Bodmer up the Missouri River. While Maximilian's own journal provides details of a difficult trek, the book's primary focus is the winter spent by Bodmer and the Prince with the Mandan and Hidatsa tribes--details of their daily lives, customs, modes of dress and beliefs. The book is generously if unevenly illustrated, chiefly with works by Bodmer, whose watercolors of individuals are direct and immediate. However, engravings later produced in Europe seem stereotyped, and several large oil paintings are not well reproduced. Background information and sites to visit today fill out the volume. Readers of Freedman's other titles on Native American topics will find much of interest here, though some may question the reliability of two European dilettantes concerning a culture they visited only briefly. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4 Up-- In 1833-34, Maximilian, a German prince, and Karl Bodmer, a Swiss artist, travelled by river to what is today North Dakota. There they wintered with the Mandan and Hidatsa, fascinating and flourishing peoples who would be all but exterminated in the 1837 smallpox epidemic. Drawing expertly on his own knowledge and on Maximilian's own detailed account, Freedman tells the story of the Europeans' adventure against the background of the Indians' culture. In a simple but assured style, he conveys copious information effortlessly in the course of a compelling narrative. His ability to bring the Mandan and Hidatsa vividly to life is rendered especially poignant by his final description of their passing. The superb, limpid prose alone would make this book a winner, but the outstanding illustrations guarantee its irresistibility. Bodmer was a competent draughtsman but a master of figure studies. The Mandan were stylish dressers, and Bodmer delighted in depicting them in ceremonial regalia. Unforgettable, bright watercolor portraits punctuate genre scenes of domestic life and landscapes delineating the villages, river, fort, etc. It is hard to imagine a more appealing tribute to the best of two cultures: Native American integrity and European intrepidity. --Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 88 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House; 1st edition (March 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823409309
• ISBN-13: 978-0823409303
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 10.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #676,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Russell Freedman received the Newbery Medal for LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY. He is also the recipient of three Newbery Honors, a National Humanities Medal, the Sibert Medal, the Orbis Pictus Award, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and was selected to give the 2006 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture. Mr. Freedman lives in New York City and travels widely to research his books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Indian In Winter, January 14, 2011

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Linda Wagner (BELOIT, WI, US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: An Indian Winter (Hardcover)

This book was a "Really want" on my daughter's Christmas List; thanks to the prompt delivery, and great condition of the publication sent, it made a great gift that was truly a hit! The books condition was exactly as stated and I was very satisfied with my purchase and the seller.