From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-In 1828, the Damron family heads home to Kentucky, where relatives and fertile land beckon after a disappointing turn at farming in Illinois. Tragedy strikes when both parents succumb to "milk sickness," leaving their four children to finish the long journey alone. Twelve-year-old Jesse narrates the story, portions of which are truly gut-wrenching. Immediately after their mother's death, they receive precious little comfort and some jarringly blunt specifications for a coffin: "Be sure to explain that your mama is heavy-the box needs to be short and wide." When their father dies soon after, they face the constant threat of being "bound out" as indentured servants-a common fate for orphans. Ultimately, the siblings navigate the hostile terrain with relative shrewdness and aplomb and reach Kentucky safely. Based on fact and originally published as a newspaper serial, the book boasts the same rough-hewn scratchboard illustrations that accompanied the first printing. Cliff-hanging chapter endings make it as suitable for sharing aloud as for independent reading. Ketchum creates realistic problems for her believably drawn young protagonists; as the Damrons approach Kentucky, complicated tensions mount regarding slavery, sickness, and the grim likelihood that the family could be forcibly torn apart. The author depicts an America that was often unremittingly cruel through the narrative voice of a quick-witted, resourceful young girl. An author's note addresses original readers' questions and feedback. A riveting adventure.
Catherine T. Quattlebaum, DeKalb County Public Library, Atlanta, GA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
When Jesse's parents decide to abandon their Illinois farm and return to their first home in Kentucky, Jesse is happy at the thought of seeing her grandmother again. Her older brother, Moses, would rather travel west, where the prairie goes on forever. He hates the idea of returning to a slave state and joins the family only reluctantly. But just a few days into their journey, Mama and Papa both die of the milk sickness.
Now Jesse, Moses, and the two younger children are orphans, and must make the long journey on their own, in a pioneer world where orphan children can be bound out and forced to live as indentured servants until they are grown. Armed with a letter of protection from their father and the heart and will to survive, the children brave the wilderness. They don't know whom to trust. Will they ever find their way to Kentucky? And when they do, will they have a home?
When Jesse's parents decide to abandon their Illinois farm and return to their first home in Kentucky, Jesse is happy at the thought of seeing her grandmother again. Her older brother, Moses, would rather travel west, where the prairie goes on forever. He hates the idea of returning to a slave state and joins the family only reluctantly. But just a few days into their journey, Mama and Papa both die of the milk sickness.
Now Jesse, Moses, and the two younger children are orphans, and must make the long wagon journey on their own, in a pioneer world where orphan children can be bound out and forced to live as indentured servants until they are grown. Armed with a letter of protection from their father and the heart and will to survive, the children brave the wilderness. They don't know whom to trust. Will they ever find their way to Kentucky? And when they do, will they have a home?When Jesse's parents decide to abandon their Illinois farm and return to their first home in Kentucky, Jesse is happy at the thought of seeing her grandmother again. Her older brother, Moses, would rather travel west, where the prairie goes on forever. He hates the idea of returning to a slave state and joins the family only reluctantly. But just a few days into their journey, Mama and Papa both die of the milk sickness.
Now Jesse, Moses, and the two younger children are orphans, and must make the long wagon journey on their own, in a pioneer world where orphan children can be bound out and forced to live as indentured servants until they are grown. Armed with a letter of protection from their father and the heart and will to survive, the children brave the wilderness. They don't know whom to trust. Will they ever find their way to Kentucky? And when they do, will they have a home?
