Gone West

Gr 3—6—Master storyteller Jim Weiss recounts his own version of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. After acquiring vast unexplored territories in the Louisiana Purchase, President Jefferson picks Meriwether Lewis to lead the Corps for Northwestern Discovery. Lewis chooses his friend William Clark, and together they select the adventurers who will accompany them from St. Louis across the Great Plains, through Indian territories, along the Missouri River, and over the Rocky Mountains all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Sacajawea plays a significant part in their journey's success. While this is the primary story told in nine consecutive parts, four much shorter stories follow, each independent of the others. These tell of Robert Fulton's steamboat, a wagon train on the Oregon Trail, a buffalo hunt by the Lakota tribe, and the making of the transcontinental railroad. Weiss creates individual voices for the explorers and pioneers, and his well-paced narration brings their stories to life. A rich resource for social studies units on this period.—Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN