Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847
by Kristiana Gregory
My Story: Girls, Dear America - Publication Order (5), Dear America Collections (Dear America: Westward Expansion, 1847), Dear America Re-issue - Publication Order (15), My Story, Dear America (1847. Westward Expansion: The Oregon Trail)
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In her diary, thirteen-year-old Hattie chronicles her family's arduous 1847 journey from Missouri to Oregon on the Oregon Trail.Tags
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This was the first or second book I read of the series and its spinoffs (Royals plus a few of the My Name is America books). I have a definite soft spot for it, and was pleased to discover I hadn't outgrown it. Still a really good historical fiction diary, and what a way to write! Most of the action takes place over three months, but feels much longer. The descriptions were vivid as ever, the stakes just as high. I shook my head at the teenagers and was shocked they were marrying so early, and with their parents' consent. It was a different time, indeed. I was fascinated at the references to other trails and groups and how they were approached. When the Donner party was first mentioned, I thought of the Youtube video by Caitlin Doughty, show more which examines the events with modern knowledge. That made it even sadder. I laughed when Hattie discovered Pacific NW weather for the first time (born and raised Seattle, here), and crowed, "You're Southern and the sun's never gonna appear again!" I was teasing a fictional teen, but it's fun to poke fun at people who don't know what a sun break is. I had fun reading this again. I'm glad I was able to get it at my library. show less
This is probably my favorite Dear America book. The story feels real, Hattie is flawed, and the setting is unsettling. It's fun to read, and you learn more than you would being lectured in 5th grade history.
One of my favorite Dear America books! I remember liking this as a young girl and this one still held its own with a reread. Would recommend it to lovers of historical fiction and/or girls 10 .
From a Christian perspective, Hattie wrestles with accepting God’s will and wonders why the Lord lets bad things happen. Her mother tells her that sometimes God works in mysterious ways, and Hattie takes comfort in her belief that God will protect her and her family and work everything for good. She learns throughout the book to love and help others, even those who seem completely unlovable, and this theme is built upon many times. She also learns to value those who are different from her.
Content warnings (spoilers ahead): A man falls from a show more roof and dies. A coffin on its way to burial is sucked under a steamboat and the body disappears. The main character’s sisters are mentioned to have died from disease before the story starts. A little girl is lost on the trail, and it’s implied that she was never found again. A mother dies from illness. Three characters die by hemlock, and their deaths are moderately described (you’d be surprised how much hemlock, which is extremely deadly, can be found in neighborhoods and parks!). One character wonders what marriage is like. Two young characters are married and the bride becomes pregnant. One character dies by suicide. Another dies from a snakebite. Another gives birth, and this is mildly described. Multiple characters die in river crossings from falling into the water, wagons tipping over, etc. Mentions of guns and shooting, scalpings, the Donner Party, cannibalism, maggot-infested meat, snakebites, buffalo droppings, butchering animals, oxen dropping dead, hemlock, birth, and thievery. The word “Injun” is used multiple times by a few characters. I may have forgotten a few potential content warnings as this was written from my memory and not from any notes I took (I didn’t take any notes). Overall, Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie seems very true to the real experience of many pioneers of the Oregon Trail. My 10-year-old sister read it, and I knew she could handle the content. However, this book still might not be appropriate for the more sensitive. Some caution is advised when giving this book to younger readers. show less
From a Christian perspective, Hattie wrestles with accepting God’s will and wonders why the Lord lets bad things happen. Her mother tells her that sometimes God works in mysterious ways, and Hattie takes comfort in her belief that God will protect her and her family and work everything for good. She learns throughout the book to love and help others, even those who seem completely unlovable, and this theme is built upon many times. She also learns to value those who are different from her.
Content warnings (spoilers ahead): A man falls from a show more roof and dies. A coffin on its way to burial is sucked under a steamboat and the body disappears. The main character’s sisters are mentioned to have died from disease before the story starts. A little girl is lost on the trail, and it’s implied that she was never found again. A mother dies from illness. Three characters die by hemlock, and their deaths are moderately described (you’d be surprised how much hemlock, which is extremely deadly, can be found in neighborhoods and parks!). One character wonders what marriage is like. Two young characters are married and the bride becomes pregnant. One character dies by suicide. Another dies from a snakebite. Another gives birth, and this is mildly described. Multiple characters die in river crossings from falling into the water, wagons tipping over, etc. Mentions of guns and shooting, scalpings, the Donner Party, cannibalism, maggot-infested meat, snakebites, buffalo droppings, butchering animals, oxen dropping dead, hemlock, birth, and thievery. The word “Injun” is used multiple times by a few characters. I may have forgotten a few potential content warnings as this was written from my memory and not from any notes I took (I didn’t take any notes). Overall, Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie seems very true to the real experience of many pioneers of the Oregon Trail. My 10-year-old sister read it, and I knew she could handle the content. However, this book still might not be appropriate for the more sensitive. Some caution is advised when giving this book to younger readers. show less
This is such a good book to use as a read-aloud companion to studying the Oregon Trail! The girl is about the age of students studying the Oregon Trail (usually 4th grade) and so they can relate to her experiences. And it is exceptionally well written. There is drama and comedy and is written so vividly I teared up with one of the characters slipped into the river during a crossing. If you time it right, you could even match up Hattie's journey with the students' pretend journey on the Oregon Trail, giving them a different view of what they were just learning. Definitely makes me want to check out other books in this series to supplement other subjects.
Loved this book when I was a kid. Still have the copy my grandma bought me. I like that Hattie is not a perfect person- she has unkind thoughts just like anybody else, and this is her (fictional) diary, so of course it would be only natural to write in one's diary the ugly things you can't say out loud. It contains some unpleasant subject matter, but traveling the Oregon Trail was not all sunshine and rainbows, so this is appropriate.
Not my favorite of the Dear America books I've listened to. Nothing wrong with the audio recording or narration. The subject matter is a little more mature than some of the others I've read - people dying left and right on the Oregon Trail (seriously - drowning, poisoned, fevers, discussion of the Donner party...). My main problem was that I hated the main character. Just, personally I could not connect with her. She was so judgmental! And yes, she did change her mind about being afraid of the Indians by the end, and yes, I get that in the 1800s being afraid of Indians was something that really happened and it was how people talked and all that. It was just a rather offensive road to get to the end of the story where she realized that show more Indians were all different, just like white folks are. While I've liked the series as a whole, I won't be recommending this particular title. show less
This books tells the story of a young, teenage girl, Hattie, as she travels across the Oregon Trail with her family. As with all the "Dear America" books, it is told in the format of a diary from Hattie's point of view. As her aunt in the story tells her to record "the good & the bad" she does just that, recounting the wonders of travel, as well as the hardships. I enjoyed how the dates of the diary entries began getting question marks next to them as Hattie begins to lose track of time, and eventually gives up keeping track of the days entirely. It gave it a more realistic feel.
I am impressed by how this story handled various aspects of history. It makes the concept of Manifest Destiny easy for younger readers to understand, briefly show more introduces some historical figures, and covers less-than-pleasant topics like the Donner Party with tact, but doesn't gloss over it either. show less
I am impressed by how this story handled various aspects of history. It makes the concept of Manifest Destiny easy for younger readers to understand, briefly show more introduces some historical figures, and covers less-than-pleasant topics like the Donner Party with tact, but doesn't gloss over it either. show less
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Dear America 6 Books Set 2 (The Winter of Red Snow, West to a Land of Plenty, Dream in the Golden Country, Voyage on the by Kristiana Gregory
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847
- Original title
- Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847
- Original publication date
- 1997
- People/Characters
- Hattie Campbell; Pa Campbell; Ma Campbell
- Important places
- Oregon, USA
- Important events
- Westward Movement; Oregon Trail; 19th century; 1840s; 1847
- Dedication
- This book about a journey is dedicated, with deep appreciation, to the outstanding editors who have guided and encouraged me along my own journey as a writer: Jeff Fairbanks, Charlie Ferrell, Scott Gray, Regina Griffin, Kar... (show all)en Grove, Tracy Mack, Ann Reit, Art Seidenbaum, and Elinor Williams; most especially to my literary agent and friend, Barbara Markowitz.
- First words
- Sleet and rain.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)In 1906 Aunt June's granddaughter, Daisy Valentine, would be one of the survivors of San Francisco's great earthquake and fire.
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- 16
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