Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Plying the same peppy format that powered their Gold Fever, Kay and Schindler once again head West: "Mother, Father,/ Baby John,/ Bouncing, jouncing,/ Moving on." The volume explores life on a wagon train headed for California through the eyes of one family. Kay packs a motherlode of information into brisk quatrains, whether describing a packing list ("Fodder, water,/ Guns and tools./ Clothes and blankets,/ Stubborn mules"), the itinerary ("Rocky Mountains,/ Massive, steep./ Rugged trail,/ Wagons creep"), or homesteading ("Building cabins,/ Clearing lands./ Rustic timbers,/ Helping hands"). Occasionally the format necessitates a surface treatment of the events (e.g., when the families have to lighten their loads on a steep slope: "Dumping, tossing,/ Trinkets, trunk./ Cookstove, treasuresD/ Now they're junk"), but for the most part her sound bites entertain as well as instruct. Schindler uses marbleized paper for his watercolor and gouache illustrations, creating a parchment effect that gives the pages the look of an old diary. From close-ups of the characters to sweeping landscapes of the rugged terrain, his vignettes and spreads brim with details. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
This story, written in the author's trademark rhyming verse, adds a dimension of humor to a family's grueling five-month journey from Missouri to California. Children will be drawn to this adventure through the characters of Mother, Father, and Baby John who, in the charming illustrations, are shown to be a close-knit, happy family. When the trio at last reaches California, they are snug in their log cabin, getting ready for bed, as the rhythmic text comes to a reassuring close: "Mother, Father,/Baby John/Fleecy flannel /Nightclothes on./ Sturdy windows, /Heavy doors./Warm and safe now, /Happy snores." (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Primary) Life on the trail is a rugged trek for Mother, Father, and Baby John-as Verla Kay conveys in her verse account of the westward movement. In spare quatrains, she sketches the rigors of the road as experienced by families traveling from the Midwest across the Rockies, through the desert and over the Sierra Mountains to the Sacramento Valley. As in their earlier collaboration, Gold Fever (rev. 3/99), S. D. Schindler handsomely augments the clip-clop rhyme with sweeping vistas and detailed close-up views of the wagons, animals, and people through various stages of the journey. Bits of ironic humor (that played out more strongly in the first book) accent the account. ""Dumping, tossing, / Trinkets, trunk. / Cookstove, treasures- / Now they're junk."" Indeed they are, as a jack rabbit gazes out over the profusion of furniture and homey goods littering the mountain while men push a wagon up the steep incline. The earthen colors, punctuated with bits of blue and red, aptly convey the changing terrain and seasons. The oxen grow thin and Baby John becomes a toddler as the small band struggles through the early mountain winter and down into the valley, where they set to work on building a cabin and hanging out laundry. A map of the California Trail and a brief author's note introduce this evocative rendering of the pioneer experience. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A pioneer family travels from Independence, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, in a covered wagon some time in the 19th century. The five-month journey is briefly described in rhyming couplets beginning: Covered wagon, / Bumpy road. / Plodding oxen, / Heavy load. / Mother, Father, / Baby John, / Bouncing, jouncing, / Moving on. Along the way there are storms, mountains, deserts, and snowstorms, till at last the new homestead site is reached, where the land is cleared, and a sturdy cabin built. Not bad for five months work. The author concludes: Sturdy windows, / Heavy doors, / Warm and safe now, / Happy snores. The humorous, softly colored illustrations have an appealing folk quality and give a panoramic view of the landscape as they sweep across the double page. Illustrations follow the text and show the wagons moving from the green, wet prairie, up craggy, rocky paths and through parched dry deserts till they come at last to the California meadows lush with wild flowers. The illustrations are even more cheerful than the text. Travelers, says Kay, were Weary, bleary, / Sweaty, hot, but it sure doesnt show. Upbeat and buoyant, the text and illustrations only hint at the awesome adventure, danger, or difficulty of the journey. Traveling west by covered wagon was no picnic, and this cheerful picture-book presentation tends to obscure rather than illuminate the difficulties of the historic journey west. Diane Stanleys Roughing It on the Oregon Trail (p. 722) does a better job of capturing the flavor of the journey by wagon train. (Picture book/poetry. 7-9)
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