The Young Trailers

The Young Trailers #1

by Joseph Alexander Altsheler

Young Henry Ware helps to establish a pioneer settlement in early Kentucky, joins in defending it against the attack of hostile Shawnee Indians, and spends some time among the Shawnee as a somewhat willing prisoner. This story of early Kentucky lent its name to Altsheler's The Young Trailers series.

Genres: Historical Fiction

142 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1907

About the author

Joseph Alexander Altsheler was an American newspaper reporter, editor and author of popular juvenile historical fiction. He was a prolific writer, and produced fifty-one novels and at least fifty-three short stories. Thirty-two of his novels were part of his seven series:

The Civil War Series (8 volumes)
The French and Indian War Series (6 volumes)
The Gold Series (2 volumes)
The Great West Series (2 volumes)
The Texan Series (3 volumes)
The World War Series (3 volumes)
The Young Trailers Series (8 volumes)

Although each of the thirty-two novels constitutes an independent story, Altsheler suggested a reading order for each series (i.e., he numbered the volumes). The remaining nineteen novels can be read in any order. [Note, however, that A Knight of Philadelphia was later expanded through the addition of nineteen chapters and some minor tweaks to become Mr. Altsheler's novel In Hostile Red.]

The short stories, of course, can be read in any order. However, some readers might prefer to read them in the order in which they were published. The short story list below is displayed in chronological order with the publication dates shown alongside the titles.

Reviews

[Mitzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an OK read - I might check out the rest in the series, I might not... The over the top perfectness of the lead character (which I've come to expect in most of these older novels, and doesn't usually bother me too much) got on my nerves after a while. It just got worse and worse as the book went on.... I actually enjoyed the side characters more, if I do read on in the series it will be with the hope of seeing some of them again.

[Jason Cummins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read by Joseph Altsheler!

An exciting story set during the early settlement days of Kentucky. The story follows the adventures of the young protagonist Henry Ware who is much like a young Daniel Boone.
The book has kind of a strange abrupt ending but otherwise I found it an enjoyable read and am looking forward to the rest of the series. I am hoping that this series will be as good as Altsheler's French Indian war series.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are the kinds of books kids should read to learn history. Planning to use it for homeschool history at my house. This book tells the story through the eyes of a teenage boy who moves to the wilderness of Kentucky with his family. The boy instantly falls in love with the wilderness and longs to roam where no English-speaking people have gone before. He has a dilemma between staying to help his family and friends build their new town or follow his desires to explore. There are many very exciting adventures involving getting lost, forrest fires, and encounters with Indians. Particularly interesting to me was learning how they acquired gunpowder when their supplies of it stopped coming from the east during the French and Indian war. I doubted the book until I did some googling and learned it was entirely accurate of that story. Definitely recommend this book for students ages 10+. Parts are as exciting as any modern adventure story with a whole lot less teenage angst.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read several of Altsheler’s books as a kid; I’ll guess around fourth grade. I can’t remember how many of them so I’ll just take credit for the first one in this Young Trailers series. But I loved them! They were great adventures set in the pioneer days and fueled my love for the outdoors. Glad to see they’ve been republished.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book after searching for it for my dad. He remembered reading it a long time ago. The internet is amazing for digging up stuff. I'm definitely going to recommend this for my son when he's a little bit older. It's a really good story. I enjoyed it. I haven't been able to read the entire series because they are hard to find. But the ones I've read keep me wanting more.
I just re-read this book. The entire series is now available for free on the Kindle. I enjoyed this the 2nd time through even though it is definitely not politically correct. Very stereotypical attitude toward Native Americans and women. Dax is old enough to read it now, but it's not the type of story he's interested in.

[Jamie Brame · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book, first in the series, when I was around 13 years old. Loved it then, without the awareness of all that white people had done to darker-skinned people or to the earth itself. Re-reading it, I see clearly the arrogance of the writer, although I also saw a certain innocence there as well. Henry Ware, the hero of the story, was meant to be a role model. Altsheler made him such with all the prejudice he could muster concerning the supremacy of the white race, as he saw it. While an ancient piece of me relived my childhood fantasy of roaming the woods freely and living off the land, I shuddered a lot at the attitude of the story teller. A readable book of you're a white kid, but I'd keep my children away from this kind of book if I were you!

[Gary Land · Rating 4 out of 5]

Altsheler was one of my favorite childhood authors. E-books have made it possible to revisit these books. The first volume of the Young Trailers series to my mind holds up well, though obviously dated in its frequent descriptions of Indians as savages, etc. But that is a relatively minor point in an otherwise excellent book. One of the most popular young people's authors early in the 20th century, Altsheler deserves to be better known today.

[Jeff Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

The prose is in a style that most modern readers would find off-putting, but it was written 100 years ago. The main character is always stalwart, brave, and true, which was the style for books written for boys back then.

That said, I will always love this series since Miss Marilyn Strike read it to us at Harding Elementary School. Some teachers are always in your heart, and she's one of mine.

[Dan Braun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read these when I was 15. They are better now that I am 70.

[Mackay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just reread after decades. Loved these books when I was a kid. Maybe Altsheler is where part of my love of wilderness came from...