Wagon Wheels

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Chapter book
Grade: 2-5
Historical fiction
Wagon Wheels by Barbra Brenner is a very engaging and emotional children's chapter book. I think the book did a great job of depicting how difficult life really was for pioneers settling in the west. Brenner begins the book by writing, "We had come a long way to get to Kansas. All the way from Kentucky. It had been a hard trip, and a sad one. Mama died on the way. Now there were just the four of us- Daddy, Willie, Little Brother, and me" ( Brenner, 8). I knew from this point that this was going to be an emotional story, and it was. The author did an excellent job of depicting the emotions of the characters. Another aspect that I enjoyed about this book were the illustrations. Many show more chapter books do not use illustrations, but this one did, and it really added to the story. Most of the illustrations were small and at the bottom of the page, but they were colorful and gave me a better sense of what it looked like out west. During one part of the book, the small family was weathering the harsh Kansas winter in their underground dugout. They ran out of food and firewood, "Then one day there was no more cornmeal. There was not a lick of food in the whole town of Nicodemus. And nothing left to burn for firewood. Little Brother cried all the time- he was so cold and hungry. Daddy wrapped blankets around him. "Hush, baby son," he said to him. "Try to sleep. Supply train will be coming soon. But the supply train did not come. Not that day or the next" (Brenner, 21). The picture on that page was dreary and desperate looking. It helped me as a reader to understand the seriousness of the family's situation. I really enjoyed reading this book and feel that it taught me a quite bit about life as a pioneer. show less

Based on a true story.

Formerly enslaved Ed Muldie and his family travel to Kansas in 1878 to claim land under the Homestead Act. Mother dies on the journey from Kentucky. The family joins a free Black community in Nicodemus, Kansas. They survive a difficult winter thanks to help from the Osage Native community. But in spring Daddy must leave the boys to find better land for farming.

The two older boys, eleven and eight, take care of their three-year-old brother in these difficult times. Then a letter arrives via Pony Express. Daddy has settled and gives the boys a map to follow. The three boys must begin their own journey. They must care for one another as they travel 150 miles on foot to join him in their new home.

This book is the story of an African American family as they travel West to claim land. It is based on a true story from 1878 when the Homestead Act promised anyone willing to settle in the West, free land. Ed Muldie set out with his family to claim land. This book tells of the hardships of the early West: death, family separation and prairie fires. It is written for younger readers with a short historical note at the back of the book.

This is an exciting story. Three boys, under the age of twelve, are left alone while their father looks for land in early American history. ("Free land," the father says. This is irony.) Then he sends for them to come the 150 miles to the new house.

The skeptic in me is still uneasy. I'd love for more information before I swallow the story and admire the characters. I'm also bothered by the use of God's name in the book. If it's a prayer, then I believe it should have been portrayed as such. By itself, it is taking the Lord's name in vain, just as many secular people do in trouble.

This book follows the travels of a family of black pioneers. The Muskie family travels from Kansas to Kentucky to have free land. On their journey to Kentucky the mother of the family passed away. It is just the father and his three sons. They travel to Nicodemus Kentucky and build a dugout in the ground to live in. Winter comes around and it is a brutal winter, the family can't leave there dugout to go fish or hunt. They begin to run out of food to eat, untill one day a group of Indians come by and leave the town food. Shortly after winter is over the father leaves his three sons in hopes of finding better land for them to build a house on. The boys wait in Nicodemus for a letter from their father to let them know when he has found show more land. As the boys are waiting one day there is a prairie fire and they must run into the river to escape the flames. A few months later the boys receive a letter with a map to the land that their father has found. The next day they say their goodbyes and set out on the journey to reunite with their father. After 22 days of travel the boys make it to their father, where he has built a home and has a garden. This book has a central message of persevering through hard times. show less

Fun and interesting book about a family who is traveling west. It introduces children to hardships that pioneer kids faced, and will keep their interest.

I just read it because I was bored took me about twenty minutes to read...It says its based off a true story. It was a cute little story that's about the survival of a black family right after the Homestead act.