Soft Rain: A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears [Paperback]

Cornelia Cornelissen (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

In Soft Rain, a 9-year-old Cherokee girl finds herself in the same situation as Sweet Leaf as soldiers arrive one day to take her and her mother to walk the Trail of Tears, leaving the rest of her family behind. It all begins when Soft Rain's teacher reads a letter stating that as of May 23, 1838, all Cherokee people are to leave their land and move to what many Cherokees called "the land of darkness". . .the west. Soft Rain is confident that her family will not have to move, because they have just planted corn for the next harvest. Because Soft Rain knows some of the white man's language, she soon learns that they must travel across rivers, valleys, and mountains. On the journey, she is forced to eat the white man's food and sees many of her people die. Her courage and hope are restored when she is reunited with her father, a leader on the Trail, chosen to bring her people safely to their new land.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In what PW called "an eye-opening introduction to a painful period of American history," a Cherokee girl recounts the hardships of 1838 leading up to and including the journey along the Trail of Tears. Ages 8-12. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-In the spring of 1838, nine-year-old Soft Rain learns that there will be no more school for the Cherokee children in her North Carolina community. The Tsalagi (as the tribal members refer to themselves) have signed a treaty with the white men and will be moving to new lands in the West. A short time later, soldiers abruptly force Soft Rain and her mother from their home, abandoning the girl's blind grandmother, her dog, and her father and brother out working in the fields. They follow the Trail of Tears, the path taken by 18,000 Cherokee traveling from stockaded holding areas across rivers, valleys, and mountains. Hungry, exhausted, and often ill from the white man's disease, some 4000 people died during the migration. But Soft Rain's story ends more happily; she and her mother miraculously meet up with her father, brother, and an uncle. The author makes clear the hardships these Native Americans endured and the injustice of their exile, but her protagonist remains remarkably positive. Because she has been relatively unaffected, readers may be, too. At one point the grandmother tells a story; at that moment, the book becomes more than just the record of a trip but a glimpse of a disappearing culture. However, there aren't enough of these stories to bring readers closer to this girl and her world. Still, this novel is a readable version of a shameful episode in U.S. history and may find use as a supplement to social studies units.
Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (November 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440412420
• ISBN-13: 978-0440412427
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.3 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #260,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Multicultural Stories > Native North & South Americans

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soft Rain tells of her family's forced journey west., September 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Soft Rain (Hardcover)

Soft Rain is a nine year old Cherokee girl living with her family on their little farm in North Carolina. One day at school, Soft Rain is told her people will be "relocated" to Oklahoma. Soft Rain is filled with sorrow at leaving her home. She and her mother are seperated from her father, brother, and grandmother. They endure hunger, hardship, sorrow, and the loss of friends and relatives. Through it all, Soft Rain can only survive by relying on her courage. I highly reccomend this sad, moving book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, October 19, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Soft Rain: A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears (Paperback)

This book tells about a young girl traveling west with her family and the trials they go through. I believe this book is a awesome book that you should read because it gives you a child's view of the Trail of Tears.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soft Rain, December 11, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Soft Rain: A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears (Paperback)

Soft rain is a good book. Soft rain lives in a village and the white men made them movie to the west and they don't want to move to the west I think it is a good book you should read this book if you like Indians.