How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis and Clark

by Rosalyn Schanzer

Appealing art and descriptive text bring Lewis and Clark alive for young adventurers. Carefully chosen text from Lewis and Cark's actual journals opens a fascinating window into this country's exciting history.

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

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Karen Witzler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent children's non-fiction picture book detailing the journey of Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery. Most of the text is taken from the actual account. The passages have been chosen with great care for the intended audience of ages 6 and older. They reveal just enough information to fuel further questions and study and provide a sense of the wonder and danger of the enterprise along with moments of humor. Sacajawea, York, and the faithful Newfoundland dog Seaman get their due in the tale. Rosalyn Shanzer's illustrations deliberately recall the style of Western, folk, and scientific illustration of the period. This is a National Geographic book and highly recommended.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally read How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis and Clark and I enjoyed it. I really appreciated that it is comprised of primary source material (from the journals, letters, etc. of Lewis and Clark). I think it's very meaningful and educational to hear "in their own words" historical accounts and I felt that the selections here were well-chosen and illuminating* -- though not comprehensive for a picture book I felt it was appropriate, maybe a tad long, and certainly too long and advanced for the younger picture book set. Lots of discussion points here. The illustrations were engaging and provided added context for time and place.

*Readers should note that these are Lewis and Clark's words and some of the terms are not "politically correct" today. Good talking points here. While L & C may not have regarded the Indians as equals, it is no small feat that the party established friendly relations with the various tribes they encountered.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was looking for a good accurate-but-succinct Lewis & Clark history read aloud for my 5&6 year old boys and this was perfect! Beautiful illustrations to keep my 5 year old engaged, firsthand journal account excerpts were well chosen and really whet the appetite of my 6 year old. He is extremely impressed by their adventures (they are exciting to read!) and the boys particularly enjoyed the journal entry where they got chased by a grizzly bear lol. Again, the illustrations in this book are fantastic! Highly recommend as a little history primer.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this simplified account of the Lewis and Clark journey with actual quotes from the journals and beautiful illustrations. I would have liked perhaps a few more details and maps of where they were (there is a map at the end, but little mention of locations during the actual text). My seven-year-old also read this book and enjoyed the details.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

With big, colorful photographs and actual quotes from the journals of the adventurers, this story brings the journey of Lewis and Clark across the Northwest U.S. to the Pacific Ocean. I thought the narrative was very readable and I loved that the actual diary entries were the bulk of the narrative.

Although we were very familiar with the story, we all learned something new. For example, Meriweather Lewis brought along a 150-pound Newfoundland named Seaman.

I also learned that William Clark brought his slave, York, on the expedition and he astonished some of the native american nations as they'd never seen a black man before. "By way of amusement he told them that he had once been a wild animal and to convince them he showed them feats of strength." (p. 18)

This book was featured as one of the selections for the June 2015 Rivers and Lakes-themed reads for the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.

I was a bit surprised when I read the author's bio info on the back cover - she lives in the same town as me! Who knew?

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosalyn Schanzer did her research, and the resulting National Georgraphic Society children's book depicting Lewis & Clark as they crossed the land on their way to the Pacific is well done. Schanzer's illustrations are loosely based on the style of the early artists of the west, and the story itself is told through the journals of the Corps of Discovery.

I grew up with the Missouri River as my back yard and have long lived with the tales of Lewis & Clark. The book is a nice introduction to their journey.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

My boys really enjoyed this and it gets pulled out over and over again. The information is solid but rather basic (good for elementary school) but I feel like you'd definitely need more for middle/junior high.

The illustrations are well done and you could easily use this to jump into some nature study to learn about the various animals/plants they discovered.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was terrific. It is told with well-chosen quotes from the actual journals of Lewis and Clark. The language doesn't come across as stuffy or old... it's very lively. Rosalyn Schanzer has used something of a folk style to illustrate it, making everything very clear and readable. An excellent read.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. It is written for children but it is just as enjoyable if read as an adult. It is packed with lots of details both in terms of the illustrations and the text, which more often than not uses direct quotes from the journals of Lewis, Clark, or other members of the Corps of Discovery.

[Cala · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit difficult to read aloud as it's mostly in journal entry format, but my 5 yo son enjoyed it and asked for "more Lewis and Clark books". A super introduction to this famous and important expedition in American history. The maps printed at the beginning and end of the book help you follow their path as you read about their adventures.

[Kayla Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly information social studies text, this book uses a variety of methods to present the most accurate information about the Lewis Clark expedition to survey the western territory in the 19th century. Including things such as transcribed letters, timelines, maps, and detailed illustrations in order to present as much information to the audience as possible. The book also describes key players in the expedition that are not as well known. The audience can expect to come away from reading this book with more knowledge about Lewis and Clark than before they began reading.

[Hannah Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been a little interested in the history of the Lewis and Clark expedition so I knew a little information on the subject but this book taught me so much more. There is so many bits and pieces to the story that I had no idea about. This book presents the information in a really neat way as it isn't just in paragraph after paragraph but is mixed in with the pictures and displayed in different ways. This would make it much easier for a student to read. I would consider adding this to my future classroom library.

Genre: biography
Reading level: 5-6

[Carly Bontrager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biography
3rd-5th grade
I don’t particularly enjoy history or learning about it, but I found this book really interesting! I really liked the illustrations and how detailed they were. I didn’t realize how young Sacagawea was when she went with them. I also didn’t know that she had a baby while she was traveling with them. That had to be a lot for her to handle, being so young, and being a new mom.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing that I enjoyed about this book was that took excerpts from the journals of Lewis and Clark and others on their expedition and quoted them. Sometimes the quotes were shortened to put them on the level of a children's book. The book was short, but it intrigued me and I'd like to read an adult book about the expedition.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an educational book that introduces a lot of facts about the historic Lewis & Clark expedition in the early 1800s. But, as beautiful as the illustrations of the book are, it sadly doesn't provide a coherent storyline. So, I found it difficult to read this book to my kids and get them excited about exactly how historic and significant this exploratory mission was at that time.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite Lewis & Clark picture book for younger readers. There is a lot to look at in the illustrations, but younger children will quickly get bored with the long text. Still, it contains great information and I like the use of actual journal entries. Despite the colorful illustrations, I think it works better for children who are ready for chapter books.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has made it on several living book lists including Sonlight Curriculum Kindergarten (2020) Exploring American History, Simply Classical Level 3, and more. We really enjoyed reading this after The Exploration of Lewis and Clark to bring illustrations and reiteration to some of the story.

[Carie Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book! My son and I read it for his history lessons in homeschool. It has journal entries made by Lewis and Clark about their travels, which I had never read before and found fascinating! The illustration art is remarkable.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended in IEW: Wonders of Science curriculum.

Beautifully illustrated, text of this picture book are actual excepts from the journals of Lewis and Clark. Visually pleasing and interesting to read.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historically accurate and beautiful illustrations. I throughly enjoyed this book as one of the selections in our study on Lewis and Clark.

[Heidi Kuipers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real journal excerpts, terrific illustrations

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice early introduction to the Lewis and Clark expedition for younger children. Interesting illustrations and simple facts. My son (5yo) loved the map.

[Laura The Book Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great historical book for young readers

[Adam T. Calvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great history of Lewis and Clark's travels across the country. This was a great read for our homeschool.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a really interesting story. I would recommend this for anyone who likes adventures.

[Jess Combs · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to read about Lewis & Clark in their own words but it was hard for my daughter to understand and she got confused sometimes which slowed our progress, but overall a good book!

[Brittany Isbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did a good job of telling the story of the adventure and gave the names of the tribes they encountered.

[Remy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are fantastic and bring the journal entries to life.

[Irina H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice introduction to Lewis & Clark. Great illustrations; most of the text is excerpts from their journals.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned a few tidbits I had not known before. Great art!