York's Adventures with Lewis and Clark: An African-American's Part in the Great Expedition (Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children (Awards)) [Hardcover]

Rhoda Blumberg (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Series: Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children (Awards)

You've probably heard about Lewis and Clark. This famous duo led an exploration through uncharted lands.

Did you know that a black man, Clark's slave York, was part of this famous expedition? Working alongside free men, York paddled boats, lugged provisions, climbed mountains, and built shelters for the Corps of Discovery.

Throughout the journey, he significantly helped foster friendly relations with the many different Native American tribes whose goodwill was vital to the expe- dition's success. York was even allowed to vote, sixty years before the Civil War.

The award-winning author Rhoda Blumberg tells of Lewis and Clark's adventure with York's experiences firmly in view. Giving readers an unusual perspective, she draws on Clark's journal entries to reveal York's importance.

Insightful, historically accurate, and gripping, this account has an ending that will shock you. It will leave you with a clear understanding of what life was like for a slave, and a new appreciation of the role an African-American played in one of the nation's landmark events.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 4-8. Blumberg, author of The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark (1987), now offers an account of the same journey featuring York, the only African American member of the Corps of Discovery. William Clark's playmate as a child and later his personal slave, York joined his master on the expedition, where his strength, skills, and courageous acts were recorded in the journals. His black skin and strong physique amazed and impressed many of the Native Americans, perhaps helping the corps gain acceptance. Blumberg notes that without York, the expedition might have failed. Reproductions of paintings, prints, photographs, documents, and artifacts illustrate this large-format book, which concludes with a bibliography, Internet sites, and several pages of endnotes, containing background information and citations for the many quotations from books, letters, and journals. Although much of York's life was unrecorded, this clearly presents what is known and acknowledges speculation where it occurs. Your shelves may be bulging with Lewis and Clark expedition books in this bicentennial year, but make room for this one. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“Fine writing…full of maps, sketches, portraits, and other archival materials…one of the best new works on the subject.” (Kirkus Reviews (Starred review) ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (December 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060091118
• ISBN-13: 978-0060091118
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,506,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oprah pick of the week, October 21, 2004

By 

Kristin J. Johnson "Three-time published author" (Hilo, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: York's Adventures with Lewis and Clark: An African-American's Part in the Great Expedition (Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children (Awards)) (Hardcover)

Rhoda Blumberg's YORK'S ADVENTURES WITH LEWIS AND CLARK: An African-American's Part in the Great Expedition, cries out for an Oprah spotlight. Blumberg painstakingly and faithfully recreates how York worked, starved, sweated, suffered, and trailblazed alongside Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea (one of several slaves married to one of the expedition's interpreters, rough-and-tumble Toussaint Charbonneau), and the rest of the crew. A phenomenal human story and a tragic lesson of how prejudice causes society to undervalue a great man's contributions to American and world history.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nonsentimental and straightforward, February 11, 2006

By 

Lots "junewonder" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: York's Adventures with Lewis and Clark: An African-American's Part in the Great Expedition (Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children (Awards)) (Hardcover)

An overlooked character is given a very three dimensional portrait in this book. The book should be given credit for portraying all the people in the expedition what is most likely a more honest rendering (ie, that Lewis and Clark both owned slaves, weren't always kind to them, and that at the end of his life, York was not treated very fairly by Clark, and the two parted company in a sour way.) The expedition is presented in a way that is easy to follow, and with a historical perspective not typically seen in childrens book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Award winner, May 13, 2007

By 

K. Strong (Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: York's Adventures with Lewis and Clark: An African-American's Part in the Great Expedition (Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children (Awards)) (Hardcover)

Love the pictures. Great story, a perspective not heard much about. Read aloud with your Lewis and Clark unit.