Of Courage Undaunted - Across The Continent With Lewis And Clark

by James Daugherty

An account of the resourcefulness and courage of Lewis and Clark on their journey through the wilderness from St. Louis to the Pacific. Written from original records and diaries of the expedition.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, School, American History, Childrens, Geography

Paperback

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

aka http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

Reviews

[Challice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this right after I read the What Was the Lewis and Clark Expedition by Judith St. George. I found that the two worked really well together. Of Courage Undaunted is mean to be a non-fiction viewpoint of the Lewis and Clark expedition told in an easy way for students. I read this aloud for a broad range of children from 13 years down to 4-- and then I would have them narrate to me what just took place in the section we read. They all could tell me what was happening and even some of the slower parts that were harder to follow, for the most part they could tell me what was going on. I thought it was great narrative about the expedition. We learned how they traveled up the Missouri, over the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, where quiet little Sacajawea voiced her desire to see the big fish (whale) and the great lake. This book was a wonderful and delightful read, giving insight to President Jefferson, Meriweather Lewis, William Clark, and many of the other participants of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

[Kellyn Roth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for school.

[elena ✧˖° · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a lot better than I expected. I actually kind of enjoyed reading it. It was quite fascinating. I liked that it was short with lots of pictures, though, because I would've lost interest without it.

[Leah Waggoner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pulled me in at first, but I lost interest midway into the book.Most interesting to me me: Lewis and Clark’s relationship w each other, the Indians and nature. Fun to think of thin period in history. Made me want to reread Seaman, L and C’s story through the eyes of their dog.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

probably 3.5 stars. i'll never get tired of reading about the Corps of Discovery.

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whimsical poetry begins each chapter of this factual accounting of the Lewis and Clark Discovery Corps expedition to the Pacific Ocean that was commissioned by President Jefferson.

There, I fit it in one sentence!

Two tips:
1) Be sure to note the dates as you read, or it might escape your notice that it took 2 months to go from one camp to the other.
2) This is not a literary narrative ala the historical fiction genre that is so popular with modern readers. Rather, this is non-fiction, historic accounting of the events of the expedition. It is important for readers (especially students) to understand the difference. Recounting all the adventures and trials of a two year journey is occasionally tedious, but you will just have to push through the pain as they did so that you can share in their satisfaction in the end!

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this retelling of the Lewis and Clark expedition--especially the vigorous drawings and fun poetry.

[Maddie · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was an okay book! I learned a lot, but overall I wasn't into it. I'm glad I had the chance to read it though!

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read-aloud with Grayson. We really enjoyed this adventure across the mostly Western part of the United States. I have never read a book about this before so it was nice to fill in another hole of history. Of Courage Undaunted is an apt title. I can't imagine doing that. I appreciated learning about all of the Native American tribes, some I knew of and some I had never heard of. Thankful for Jefferson, Clark and Lewis' need to write it all down so that we might learn of it even in our day.

[Sara Hollar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pre-read for my Form II history student. It was good- written in a living way that will be interesting to my boys. There were quite a few names thrown around that I wasn't familiar with, so made some of the details hard to follow. My son will definitely use a map as he reads this, but I think he will enjoy it.

[Bella Rowell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this book for school. It was honestly so boring. While it's great for learning about history and the travels of Lewis and Clark, I would not recommend to read it for fun. I had to force myself to get through it.

[mckenna (draco’s version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great insight to the Lewis and Clark exhibition. The font was big and there was a lot of picture so it was really easy to read.

[Brit Chhangur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pre-read for year 5!
Loved it!!

[Catherine Gillespie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of Courage Undaunted was supposed to be a school read-aloud. After waiting for it week after week in the library hold line to no avail, I eventually purchased a copy. I tried to read it aloud for several days but for some reason I just don’t think it lends itself to reading out loud. The kids agreed. So Sarah looked at the pictures and sounded out bits here and there, and Hannah and Jack read it to themselves. That meant I had to read it too so that I could discuss it with them, and it was ok. I didn’t love it. I remember loving reading about Sacagawea as a child, but this book is more about the crew as a whole. It gives good information, and I do really like the illustrations, but it just wasn’t particularly a favorite.

{Read more reviews of read alouds and books for kids (and adults!) on A Spirited Mind}

[Hilary Forrest · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was our history read-aloud for our first part of the third year in Tapestry of Grace. I really enjoyed traveling with Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery across America in this novel. The author made you feel like you were right there with them, without getting bogged down in too many details. There were areas of sadness for me as an adult that my younger kids probably didn't pick up on. I don't like when the author used words such as "savage" to describe the Indians. I don't like how the Indians were treated during early American history. Daugherty put forth an optimistic view of all the Indian tribes coming together in peace and being united fairly with the new, expanding United States. But the reality is-that rarely happened. It is amazing how Lewis and Clark survived this trip-downright miraculous at times.
I think the Ken Burns documentary follows a similar narrative as this book and compliments the book nicely.

[Andy Mathews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book to my kiddos as a part of their homeschool curriculum. I think it does a pretty good job of summarizing the story of Lewis & Clark, and getting the main themes of exploration and growing the continent of America. The illustrations are kind of weird, and I did not care for the little poems at the beginning of each section, which seem to be haphazardly organized - some are a dozen pages and some are a few dozen pages. Overall, the author writes the story in a captivating manner that keeps you turning the pages to see what happens next. Settings and scenery are described well without being boring, which is a tough task in a travelogue, I think. The author's descriptions of the weather and environment while the men are working and hiking, sleeping, eating, etc., are very well-done and impactful. Overall, a good book for an elementary school student to get an intro. to what Jefferson's dispatching of Lewis & Clark to survey the West meant to a growing America.

[Laura Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in advance of giving it to my sixth grade son for next year’s American history reading. It’s a wonderful, wild, and thrilling account of the adventure that Lewis and Clark had with their company. Their personalities really come to life, and you can imagine so easily the different triumphs and also difficulties they faced as they crossed the continent.

I’ll be discussing with my kids that the Indian people are commonly referred to as “savages“ and although when this was written that was widely accepted, that’s not an appropriate thing to say or think now. At the same time, the author did an excellent job of naming the tribes and the various chiefs as Lewis and Clark met them, and was glowing in his different descriptions of Sacagawea. What’s interesting, is that at the end of the book, when he’s describing Sacagawea, he says she is “of courage undaunted”. Interesting to me that the description for her is what also was used for Lewis and Clark themselves.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ambleside year 5.
If I am honest, I didn’t look forward to this one as much as I have some of the other titles on Nolan’s narration schedule. I noticed that I did seem to enjoy this more when we read it aloud, than when I read it silently to proof a written narration. We flip flopped between written and oral narrates on this. Good introduction to Lewis and Clark Expedition, nonetheless. Plan to commit to a read aloud next time around... boys never tire of hearing about bear sightings, gunfights, rogue Indian tribes, and the like.

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

My oldest (11) will be reading this this year, and I wanted to read ahead. While there are some outdated terms for indigenous people used throughout (which is common for a book of that time period), I did feel like this book presented Lewis and Clark's expedition in a pretty factual way. Yes, there were certain stories/people who were not given as much attention as they deserved. But that will happen with any book. Overall, I feel it was well written about this somewhat controversial time in American History.

[Rebekah Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt that this book was well written and pleasantly paced. There are plenty of convenient and helpfully labeled section breaks within larger chapters and sections. I enjoyed the excerpts from Lewis’ and Clark’s individual journals. They added life and historical backing without cutting into the flow of the narrative. The map in the back was quite helpful, and I don’t think it will be too hard to map this out on our own. It might also be helpful to list out important characters from the expedition and the native they met on the way.

[Christy Kaperak Strain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pre-read for my children’s homeschool reading selections. I am surprised at how well it kept me interested. It gives a beautiful description of the wildlife in the uninhabited west and will introduce several Indian tribes. It really brings to life the Lewis and Clark expedition. I enjoyed learning a little about people such as Sacajawea and the other members of the Corps that traveled with Lewis and Clark. I also enjoyed the poetry before each section.

[Amy Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I read this as part of the AO Year 5 curriculum and thoroughly enjoyed it. The illustrations are beautiful and Daughtery includes quotes from Lewis and Clark's journals throughout the book. The bravery and tenacity of the entire corps was amazing and we loved following along on the journey to the Pacific with the map that I got from the Lewis and Clark Museum (if you email them, they will send you one for free).

[Emma Star · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. I love the author’s usage of words. I also like how there are lots of small adventures in the one big adventure. I definitely recommend this book although they don’t clearly state the true purpose of the adventure. I still think it is interesting and it gives you a wider understanding of Native Americans.

[Remy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used this in my homeschool years ago. Picked it up and read through most of it today to see if I wanted to use it again and decided not to. I didn't remember much of it and now I see why. I like Daugherty books to some extent, but this one is just kind of blah and forgettable. There are better books out there about Lewis and Clark (imo).

[Brandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed learning about the interactions the crew had with the many American Indian tribes they encountered. Very interesting. Not much detail is given on Sacagawea but enough to make me want to read more about this fascinating young woman. Good read.

[Luna Scheffer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is extremely dated in language and attitude. While it is a good, detailed overview of the Lewis and Clark expeditions, slurs for American Indiginous peoples are used throughout, along with a general view that Native Americans are untrustworthy savages.

[Grayson · Rating 5 out of 5]

2024: read-aloud with mom. "Can you imagine going on a such a humongous adventure like Lewis and Clark did, that you could sit and tell it to your grandkids?! And that really you crossed a great part of the United States of America"

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preread for Ambleside Online year 5.

[Gina Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

AmblesideOnline year 5, Well written and interesting. I especially liked all the excerpts from Lewis and Clark’s journals.

[Angela Bergeron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it better than the Landmark Lewis and Clark book, which I thought was good as well in a different way.