From my 11 y/o daughter:

This delightful book is about Mary Ellen Todd's adventure journeying to Oregon. Along the way she makes new friends, her calf, Daisy drowns in a river, and meets some scary looking Indians. But, her hardest challenge is, trying to become a brave, pioneer girl.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes history, adventure, and the wild west.

http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/... ( )

This is a mostly true tale. While researching the Oregon Trail--the route many settlers used to travel overland to the west coast in the mid 19th Century--Ms. Van Leeuwen came across the memoirs of Mary Ellen Todd, a woman who had traveled the trail as a nine-year-old back in 1852, as recorded by Mary Ellen's daughter. It was a fascinating account and, in order to make it more readable to a modern audience, Ms. Van Leeuwen rewrote the tale, fleshing out details with her own imagination and the accounts of other pioneers. She did a good job. The story drew me in and I started wondering how the characters would fare as they made the arduous journey. It's a tale well worth checking out.
--J. ( )