Journey to Cahokia: A Boy's Visit to the Great Mound City [Hardcover]

Albert Lorenz (Author), Joy Schleh (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: K and up

In ca. 1300, Little Hawk and his family take a trip to trade with the Indians of Cahokia, the great city along the Mississippi River.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-6–The mound builders are among the most mysterious of Native American groups. Flourishing between 800 and 1400 C.E., their center was the great city of Cahokia, located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Based on recent research and illustrated with both archival photos and historically accurate drawings, this oversized volume brings their civilization to life via a fictional trip to Cahokia. Little Hawk lives in a stockaded village of wigwams near the shores of Lake Erie. An especially good harvest of furs means a trading journey, and the men decide to take their families with them. Thus, the boy takes a canoe trip down the Sciolo River to the great Ohio to the Mississippi and then north. The engaging pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations are detailed in composition, giving readers much to look at and to absorb. The four pages of photos of artifacts pale in comparison, though they certainly add interest. The story is compelling and instructs simultaneously. An author's note gives factual information on the Cahokia site. Reminiscent of Holling C. Holling's classicPaddle-to-the-Sea (Houghton, 1941) in story line, size, and pictorial style, this book is sure to be popular with students interested in Native American life or archaeology, and it will also draw those who just like a good story. Excellent historical information, perfectly packaged to move.–Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. The excitement of a small boy going on a long journey to the big city with his family is captured in a fascinating picture book for older children, but here the destination is a civilization probably unfamiliar to most young readers. The great mound city of Cahokia in what is now Illinois was one of the largest urban centers at its height (the early fourteenth century, when it was bigger than London). Little Hawk and his family travel the Mississippi river with furs and other goods to trade in Cahokia. The two-month journey is not uneventful, but the arrival is even more exciting: the huge population, the buildings of clay with thatched roofs, the platform mounds. Farming tools, and carved and artfully sculpted containers become objects to trade for. The oversize format allows for chock-full paintings, and Lorenz stresses in an informative author's note that the detailed, colorful images showing clothing, tattoos, household objects, homes, and canoes are as accurate as possible. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810950472
• ISBN-13: 978-0810950474
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,478,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good companion to a site visit or as a stand-alone, November 26, 2009

By 

K. Volz (Rolla, MO USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Journey to Cahokia: A Boy's Visit to the Great Mound City (Hardcover)

I recently visited the Cahokia mounds with my 8-year-old son and purchased this book afterwards. My son enjoyed the story, which I found to be much better than average for the type of book that it is (primarily educational). I was very impressed with the illustrations, which are sufficiently detailed and engaging to hold a child's attention while being read to. We really enjoyed it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for bringing history alive, October 8, 2011

By 

SeaShell (WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Journey to Cahokia: A Boy's Visit to the Great Mound City (Hardcover)

We've visited Aztalan, an archeological site similar to Cahokia, many times with our children, but it is really hard to picture what it must have been like when it was inhabited. To them, it has always been just a peaceful field with some strange looking hills and huge fence posts sticking out of the ground where the stockade once was. This book has brought the site to life for them. The story is engaging and easy to relate to. A wonderful book that helps explain a part of our history that is long gone.

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book that shows a boy's impressions of Cahokia, July 29, 2011

By 

M. Heiss (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Journey to Cahokia: A Boy's Visit to the Great Mound City (Hardcover)

We are planning a trip to the mounds of the Mississippi culture -- this book gives your kids a sense of what the civilization was like, and what structures may have been ON TOP of the mounds.

Very interesting; easy for kids to relate to. Some good activities, making masks, a cattail doll, crossword puzzle. Great glossary, includes words like: adze, awl, bastion, chert, equinox.