Customer Reviews

Snowbound: The Tragic Story of the Donner Party

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Well-illustrated with black-and-white photographs, portraits, and drawings, "SNOWBOUND: The Tragic Story of the Donner Party" is a succinct, well-written summary of the misfortunes of a group of American emigrants who were trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains during the winter of 1846-47. Lavender tells the story of survival of the desperate people straightforwardly, neither glossing over the grim facts nor candy-coating the truth. With no extraneous material, large type and big margins allow the reader to buzz quickly through the 87-page book. Although the book is directed at students ages 9-12, I feel it would hold the interest of an even wider audience; high school students reading below grade-level would find this book an easy read, without being made to feel spoon-fed. The nonfiction account follows the Donner Party from their departure from Springfield, Illinois through to the end, when the last survivors finally reached the promised land of California. Biographical information regarding many of the survivors recounts their assimilation into California society. Lavender treats the discrepant viewpoints of the many Donner Party historians of the last century and a half fairly and in a matter-of-fact way. Includes a bibliography and an index.

I use the book as a read-aloud for my US History students. This book gives and accurate and detailed account of the typical settler's journey to "the West." Students, of course, are entralled by the accounts of cannibalism, but the overall scope of "The American Dream" is what they walk away with.

This book is great, especially because we are related to the author. The story is tragic, but really interesting.