Rachel's Journal: The Story of a Pioneer Girl

Young American Voices #1

by Marissa Moss

Traveling by covered wagon, young Rachel and her family follow the Oregon Trail from Illinois all the way to California. The terrain is rough and the seven-month trip is filled with adventure. Rachel's own handwritten journal chronicles every detail and features cherished "pasted-in" mementos gathered along the way.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Chapter Books, Family, Middle Grade

56 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

Marissa Moss has written more than seventy books, from picture books to middle-grade and young adult novels. Best known for the Amelia's Notebook series, her books are popular with teachers and children alike. Her picture book Barbed Wire Baseball won the California Book Award gold medal. Moss is also the founder of Creston Books, an independent children's publishing house.

Reviews

[ashes ➷]

Was excited to read a new (to me) Marissa Moss book but dear God the settler apologism. Describing California as land free for the taking, using not just the term "Indians" but "braves" and "squaws," the depictions of the above... I couldn't do it. Skimmed and then put aside; the best chance this book has is as part of a completionist Moss collection but alone I don't know if I can stomach having it in the house.

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the author of the "Amelia's Notebook" series, this historical fiction journal is written from the viewpoint of Rachel, a girl travelling to California with her family on the Oregon Trail. Rachel describes the adventures she has with eager excitement but also writes about the dangers of living on the trail, such as ferrying across rivers. Rachel's story combines the fictional events the characters experience with the historical locations and details of the Oregon Trail. There are also "souvenirs" collected by Rachel and pictures drawn in the margins as well to give her journal a personal touch.

This would be a good book to use to teach kids about the pioneers, introduce them to historical fiction, or to give examples of journal writing.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well told story of a covered wagon journey from Illinois to California. Pages are densely covered with text in a font mimicking cursive. This may be challenging for younger readers and an obstacle to an increasing number of readers that have not been taught to read and write script.

[Katherine Kapellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that this book was written in a journal format and talked about real struggles of crossing the United States during the California gold rush.

[Linda Spear · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really drawn to historical children's fiction and especially stories about the westward movement described from a child's point of view. This one is somewhat in the form of a diary but also intended as letters to folks back home. Rachel has much to say about the people, the experiences, her family (especially her brothers), her fears and hopes. I found her voice very realistic and thoughtful. I wish more kids would get interested in various periods of history and read more about those eras, both fiction and non-fiction. I remember being bored by history as a kid and even in high school. Reading more of these personal accounts would have been so much more appealing.

[Lisa M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read these as a kid. While shopping for picture books for my friend's child I found this and bought it again. I loved the interactive aspect of this series as a child--all the interesting details encourage exploration and fun. Unfortunately, this book is incredibly problematic--it includes racial slurs and describes California as "land for the taking." It really white washes colonialism. I don't know why I was expecting any different, but I am ashamed I bought this, even if it was second hand for $1.

[Rachel Votra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I homeschool my 9 year old daughter who was uninterested in history until this book. It’s a wonderful educational book told through the perspective of a child. My daughter was excited to be on the adventure with Rachel and because of that, we finished reading it quicker than anticipated. Although this is historical fiction, it’s filled with facts and experiences that people on the Oregon Trail actually went through . Definitely well worth the read! Highly recommend! :)

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I marked this as STEAM because I think you could do a lot of really cool stuff with this, especially engineering-type challenges with building miniature wagons and trying to do all the tasks they have to with them in the book. Also, cooking would be a huge for activities and that's clearly science.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book to read. Enjoyed showing this book to my young daughter to show about pioneer life.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was very informative and lifelike- so life like the handwriting is hard to read.

[Kaitlin Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book I really enjoyed it all the ups and downs!

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a detailed chronicle of a young pioneer girl who travels from Illinois to California along the Oregon Trail. Filled with vivid descriptions of the pioneer experiences through a child's voice and vision. This book is an informative yet entertaining depiction of the the struggles and hardships experiencd by the pioneers who transversed the frontier.

This is a wonderful resource for intermediate students. It would probably appeal more to girls, but would make a wonderful companion to Little House on the Prairie or Caddie Woodlawn,and builds strong background information that would better prepare students for the Oregon Trail CD (my students loved that!) I would hesitate to give it to certain readers who may struggle with the density of print and print style on the page.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a "hand written" journal that is about a young 10 year old pioneer girl, Rachel, who is traveling with her family from Illinois to California along the Oregon Trail. This journal is very informative yet still holds the readers attention with the struggles and problems of the pioneers who traveled the frontier. Since this is Rachel's personal journal, there are her own personal drawings that depict Rachel's corky sense of humor.

I rated this book a 3 out of 5 stars because I think the print style and the ideas of the book could be a struggle for some readers. This would be a really neat resource for a classroom who is learning about the Oregon Trail.

Deals With: Traveling, Family, Friendship, life, death, hardships

[Miss Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

gr 3-5 unpaginated


1850, Oregon Trail. Rachel tells of her family's adventure on their journey to California. The story, written in a journal format, has a nice mix of story and historical facts. I think readers will also enjoy all the additional drawings and facts that "Rachel" has written in the margins.

[Aubrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this when I was littler. It's illustrated by the same artist that does Amelia's Journals (American Girl). I used to love pioneer narratives when I was a girl. This was one of my favorites.

[Cws]

JAR5-Mos

[Amelia]

I remeber reading this book in third grade! I loved it so much

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think my granddaughter would love this book.

[Megan Rowland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rachel's Journal is a kid friendly journal, with illustrations, about a girl and her family going on a journey accross the country. This book is good during social studies when discussing pioneers.

[H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was okay. I can see the appeal at a certain level to younger readers with all of the drawings and doodles but I will stick with Laura Ingalls books and actual accounts for my fourth grader.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great addition to our Oregon Trail class. Great descriptions and artwork in the margins. The kids had a blast reading all of Rachel's doodles :)

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book!

[Sean Chambers ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love pioneer fiction, and this book was no accception. It was an excellent book and I think the author was realistic.

[Ella Dagou]

This book can be used to teach students: personal writing, plot, conflict, characterization, perspective, and climax

[Patricia McCowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about Rachel, a young pioneer girl whose family travels from Illinois to Oregon along the Oregon Trail by covered wagon. The seven month trip is long and the journal is filled with mementos gathered along her trip. The book is really cool because all of the pages are printed to look like an old journal and look handwritten. \Along the boarders of each page are little drawings that are labeled and pictures that look like they are glued in. A very fun read.