If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon (If You Lived...

by Ellen Levine, Elroy Freem (Illustrator)

If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon <> Prebound <> EllenLevine <> PerfectionLearning

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens, American History, School, Adventure

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Ellen Levine's books have won many awards and honors, including the Jane Addams Peace Award. Although she enjoys writing both fiction and nonfiction, most of Ellen's books for young readers have been nonfiction. "Writing nonfiction lets me in behind the scenes of the story. I enjoy learning new things and meeting new people, even if they lived 200 years ago."

Ellen Levine was born in New York City. She received her B.A. degree in Politics from Brandeis University, graduating Magna cum laude. She has a Master's degree in political science from the University of Chicago and a Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law. She has worked in film and television, taught adults and immigrant teenagers in special education and ESL programs, and served a law clerkship with Chief Judge Joseph Lord, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. A former staff attorney with a public interest law group, Levine now devotes her time to writing, lecturing, and teaching. She is on the faculty of Vermont College's MFA program in writing for Children and Young Adults.

Ellen Levine divides her time between New York City and Salem, New York.

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This excellent and interesting read answers all the questions curious kids have about what it was really like to live and travel in a covered wagon in the 19th century. The adventure may have been fraught with challenges, but it was also exciting and eye-opening as the pioneers traveled first across the plains and then through the mountains towards the Oregon territory. I learned several facts but the only thing I still don't understand is how they managed to fit so much stuff in a covered wagon!

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is part of a great series that allow young readers to be given a history book without being too overwhelming. The book focuses on a time period while exploring in detail the particulars such as in this case what it would have like to have traveled West when there were no modern transportation methods such as cars, trains or planes. The series explores in a general sense by a very easy question-and-response method.

As such readers are given a chapter heading in the format of a question and then a detailed answer is given such as how you would transport fragiles like eggs, what you may hunt on the way, how you may have slept, how you would respond to other people whether they were in your train or even if they were Native Americans. As a result the reader gets a nice rounded view into the problems and the possible tediumness of traveling the Trail with a bit of romanticism thrown in.

The pages are illustrated with bright colored illustrations, which is more or less the romantic ingredient at least for me such as the kids staring up at the stars. And along with the old game Oregon Trail these are the tools that brought this part of history to life for me while it would make a great stepping stone into a history lesson about this time of history for teachers or adults who are interested in teaching children just how much things have changed when it comes to transportation or even settling new areas.

[Kevis Hendrickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

...If You Traveled West In A Covered Wagon is an excellent book for kids, especially younger children who have not yet heard of the adventures of the American pioneers who braved the frontier of the American West to expand the territory of the United States. This book does a wonderful job of transporting its readers to the past and has lots of remarkable, but easy to remember facts.

One of the most impressive things about this book is how easily the author uses simple language to relay facts to the reader without making the information seem dry. Although both an adult and a history buff, I learned quite a few things while reading this book. In fact, I was happily surprised by how interesting this book turned out to be. The complimentary illustrations are terrific and inviting. In fact, ...If You Traveled West In A Covered Wagon is a solid, well put together book that leaves the reader thirsting for more information on this wonderful subject. That alone makes the book worth reading.

I would recommend that parents or teachers get their younger children a copy of this book so that they can read it to them. It will not only inform and entertain, but will leave kids begging to read more fascinating books such as this one.

[Shelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! A perfect book for young readers discussing the many questions that one might ask about life on the Oregon Trail in the early to mid-1800s. The interesting information led to several discussions between my daughter and myself about how we would have felt if we were traveling that trail. At the end of the book there was a small quiz to test what you remember. This book is a bit longer; to properly read and discuss the information with your child or students I would recommend breaking it up into 2 or 3 reading sessions.

[Shannon Brasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great informational book about settlers who traveled west along the Oregon Trail to settle in Oregon. I like how the book is organized into mini chapters, contains a table of contents as well as an index. I can see this series as being a valuable resource for the classroom and to give students a real picture of what it was like to participate in these historical events.

[Rani · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those of us who wish we could go back in time and travel the wagon trail, here is a book that gives you the experience.

[Saylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was a child and but I forgot the name of the book all I could muster up was did oxen pull wagons? Then after googling that I saw the Oregon trail and then I decided to search for that and then I finally came across this book again.
As a child I found this book very interesting, it captivated my attention and I think I read it more than once and kinda wished I could go on an Oregon trail myself.

[Jenny Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love this series for school!

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reason for Reading: read aloud to the 9yo as part of our history curriculum.

Comments: Presented in a question and answer format this book tells of daily life for the people who crossed the American West travelling the Oregon Trail in the 1840s. The questions start out with "What was the Oregon Territory?" and each subsequent question follows in a natural order from the previous. The book is very thorough and covers pretty much anything a kid could want to know from how they crossed rivers to how they made butter to what the children did all day long. The answers are written as if speaking directly to the reader and have both a sense of humour and amazement making history fun and interesting. The illustrations, which were replaced in 1992, are wonderful bright realistic watercolours. The 9yo really enjoyed this book. I also found this to be a great entry in the "If You" series.

[Tabatha Mulkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: People pack up and travel west in a covered wagon. They run into difficulties on their way. It tells you what life was like as a pioneer.

Evaluation: I thought this was a good book because it teaches students what it was like to travel long ago. It shows what happens when it snows, when the wagon breaks, etc. It has good pictures, too.

Teaching Idea: I would use this book to compare and contrast life long ago to life today. The students will use a venn diagram to compare and contrast life long ago to today.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these “If You” books! This one is very well written and organized. It’s like reading a cliff notes version of this particular point in history, highlighting the important and interesting facts. I read this to my 8 year old in 3rd grade. It was perfect for him because he has a smaller attention span. So this book is the only book we read covering this time period. I also had my 5th and 6th graders listen in just to reinforce what we have read in textbooks and fiction reading about this subject and time period. We split the book up into 2 days of reading.

[Katieb (MundieMoms)]

I got this to read to my kiddos, especially since I grew up in Oregon learning a lot about the Oregon trail and most importantly having ancestors who actually crossed over the plains to go West. This will help them understand it a little bit more. It's a great book to have for the family and for younger kids.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like to get the information in a quick and easy format. One of the places for leaving was Independence, Missouri and of course I loved that good old Soda Springs was mentioned! I like Ellen Levine, everything I've read of hers has been good quality.

[Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not exactly a living book, it wasn't just factual/dumbed-down, either. We did enjoy this one alongside other more living literature. We read a little each day and it gave us some things to think about. The pictures were good, too. :-)

[Julie Surface · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a history book. It showed us what the pioneers did when they had to move out west.
i liked it. it was kind of like the Oregon Trail game.

[Mellanie C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative. If I were going to write a historical novel, this would be a very helpful resource.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good reference book, written appropriately for middle age children seeking answers to how this experience might have been for pioneer children.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, the nostalgia! I read the "...If You" series when I was a kid and found them captivating. I was really excited to find this book in the library when I was browsing for some Oregon Trail books to supplement our recent trip along part of the Old Oregon Trail down to Shoshone Falls. I love the format of this series because it really gets into the details that kids want to know, what would you eat? what would you wear? would you have school? chores? what would you do for fun? These details really stayed in the mind of my kids and captivated them.
Specific to this book, Levine answers such questions as
"Why did some people want to travel all the way to Oregon?"
"What was a covered wagon?"
"Did anybody lead the wagon train?"
"What was the best time of year to start the trip?"
"How would you cross rivers when there were no bridges?"
"What were the dangers and difficulties of the trip?"
"Could you send a letter or receive one?"
"Without road signs, how would you know where you were?"
and many more!
It's especially good for younger elementary age kids because it presents reality without being too harsh or grim.
Reading this today, I do wish the book included a Bibliography. Also, while I realize that the book is about the pioneer's experience, I would appreciate an Afterward that explained more about the impact of Westward Expansion on the Native Americans
There’s only a brief section in the book about the “Indians” and it's less than ideal, simply mentioning that most Indians were friendly and wanted to trade with the pioneers or would help them with river crossings etc; it also mentions that some were "not friendly" and might try to steel cattle or horses. "Sometimes a group of Indians got very angry that all these strange people were crossing their lands. So they would fight with the pioneers [however] most of the time in the 1840s, though, there was not much fighting. The real wars with the Indians began in the 1850s and 1860s. It's frustratingly simplistic and I would hate for this to be a kids' only explanation of the Native American experience in this time but, fortunately we've read many Native American stories to our kids already so we can fill in what is lacking here.
So, with that word of caution, I recommend the rest of the book as my kids were quite captivated by the straightforward approach and variety of details provided that helped the Oregon Trail experience come alive.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids were quick to offer up their five star rating for our latest book in the “If You...” collection. For a nonfiction book written in the Q&A style, one would imagine it would be pretty dry. However, it’s really not! There are so many interesting tidbits to learn and though not a “living book” it’s written engagingly enough to keep my little group interested. It was fun to make connections with other books we have read, too.

[Shilo Quetchenbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kiddo has developed an interest in the Oregon Trail and we both enjoyed this informative guide to life in a covered wagon traveling west along the trail. It uses "Indians" instead of Native Americans which seems like an oversight.

[Kelle Treadwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oregan Trail. My kids played going west for months.

[Jennifer Cafardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

We love this series… so informative. This was a great book that kept the kids’ attention. The book helps to paint a picture about life on the Oregon Trail as pioneers.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Learned some things I didn’t know.

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting information

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What was it like to travel as a pioneer out West on the Oregon Trail in the mid 1800s? The book has 32 sections answering the many questions a child may have about life at that time.

[Brynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought this was gonna be a cute read for my 4 month old… so why did I just read an 80 page book to her 🤣🤣🤣

[Lynette Murray denham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really entertaining book for kids that are interested in learning about pioneers travelling west in a wagon train. Very historically correct. I will be reading it to my young nephews.

[Sarah Howlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trait: Sentence Fluency
ATOS: 5.2
Lexile: 860L
This book is filled with great information and provides details of the Oregon trail. While I probably would not read this book aloud, I think this book would be a great reference for students if they needed it for a research project. The beautiful pictures combined with the kid friendly historical writing provide the ideal way for kids to receive information.

[Tracy Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a read-aloud with my fifth-grader and second-grader in our RoadTrip USA homeschool study.

Years later I read it to their siblings (then 5th and 3rd grade) in our study of Early American History.

[M.S. Blues · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3 ⭐️) This was a short, cute little educational book about traveling West in a covered wagon. I will say, I found this rather advanced for being a “kid’s” book. I learned a lot and it was interesting to see how life was back then.