On to Oregon!

My fourth grade teacher read this enthralling story of the Oregon Trail to our class, and everyone listened attentively, some even crying at the sad bits. For me, it was also the first book that inspired research - I remember going to the well stocked school library immediately after Miss Barnes fin......more

I read this book many times growing up and was glad to revisit it as a read aloud to my kids. It is written so well and kept my kids’ attention from the first few pages. I appreciate that it is closely based on the Sager family’s actual experiences, and it shows a realistic look at the extreme strug......more

This was NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's list of favorite children's books, which he published earlier this year. I hadn't heard of it before that. Written in 1926, it tells the true story of seven children who make their way west in the 1940s after their parents have died. It wasn't clear fro......more