Journey to the Alamo

Mr. Barrington's Mysterious Trunk #1

by Melodie A. Cuate

fr“Hannah stared a second time at the crumbling fossil of a building before her. Her eyes opened wide. This was the same building as the wooden figure Nick had taken from her. This building was the Alamo, the Alamo of the past! Mr. Barrington’s voice echoed in her mind, ‘You will choose an event in Texas history and become part of it.’”Hannah finds nothing adventurous about the seventh grade—until she meets her new Texas history teacher, Mr. Barrington, who brings in a mysterious trunk and assigns an unusual to become a part of history. While seeking inspiration among the historical artifacts contained in the trunk, Hannah, her brother Nick, and her friend Jackie are suddenly thrown back through time, finding themselves at an old Spanish mission in San Antonio. It’s the Alamo, and the famous battle is about to begin!Join Hannah, Nick, and Jackie as they dodge cannonballs and bayonets; meet William Barret Travis, David Crockett, and Jim Bowie; and learn valuable lessons about honor and the importance of history.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Childrens

151 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2006

About the author

Melodie A. Cuate writes books about Texas history for children.

Reviews

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Journey to the Battle of the Alamo by Melodie A. Cuate, Hannah Taylor is a middle school student assigned a project over the battle of the Alamo. First off she knows nothing about the battle and is bored by the books her teacher hands her. She notices a mysterious trunk belonging to her social studies teacher Mr. Barrington. Hannah and her friend Jackie soon realize this is no ordinary trunk, it can travel back into time. The trunk brings Hannah, Jackie, Hannah's brother Nick, and Mr. Barrington back to the scene of the Alamo. They meet old Alamo legends like Davy Crockett, Susannah Dickenson, William B. Travis. They learn things that they could have never learned from a paper text book. But now, how do they get back? They fear they will be stuck in this era forever. They have to find Mr. Barrington's trunk to get out. Will they stay stuck in the old Texas days or will they make it back to the 21st century?

I really liked the Journey to the Battle of the Alamo because it made it feel like you were experiencing this all yourself. I also felt like this author did a good job of making this information seem interesting to teens. It was more interesting when you add in all the things about Hannah and Jackie. I think if this book had been all about the Alamo without any fictional information mostly adders would have lost interest. I really enjoyed this book and I recommend this to anyone looking for a good historical fiction.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this with my kids. I would put this book around a third grade level of reading and understanding. Light on the history, heavy on the kid characters. Very simple plot.

[Jonathan H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hannah Taylor and Jackie are working on a school project one day after school when they try to get some books out of their teachers trunk. But they can't open it, so Hannah's brother Nick is asked to help. When they open it there aren't books but artifacts. They are whisked away and wake up inside the gates of the Alamo, 1836. Soon they adapt to the time travel, but are scared as March 6th approches and so does the Fall of the Alamo. As they siege comes, Hannah learns some key life lessons from William Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett. But can Hannah, Nick, and Jackie escape the siege? Or will they be stuck in the past forever?
This is the first book in a series and is the best. Overall this book isn't good. The story is good and accurate, but it is just boring. Given the Texas Revolution is a hard subject to make a historical fiction book about, I will give Ms. Cuate some leniency. But I didn't like this book. I wouldn't recommend it.

[Kenzie Wallis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl Hannah, her friend Jackie, and her brother and how they ended up going back in time to the Alamo. Hannah's teacher has this trunk and his class is supposed to choose something out of the trunk and do a project on it. When Hannah chooses the Alamo, her, her brother, and her friend are thrown back in time into the middle of the Battle of the Alamo. They meet famous people from history and experience what it is like. But they know they need to get back before they lose the fight and are killed. They eventually make it back and have a whole new perspective on what happened.
This story gives a different take on the Battle of the Alamo. It is easy to relate to since it is told from a young girl's point of view. I would use this book in a classroom when talking about the Texas revolution.

[Sophia Whitsett · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spin on the occasional story of the Alamo. In the book there is a seventh-grader Hannah, her brother Nick, and her friend Jackie. They are curious about a mysterious trunk belonging to Hannah’s new history teacher. When they open it, something magical happens, and they travel back in time to the Alamo, where the famous battle is underway. I thought the book was going to be a typical historical book with all of the boring facts. However when I continued to read, I realized that it was actually really good. It had some very boring parts that it could have been fine without. Other than that the book was impressive because it was from a different perspective. If I were to rate it, I would give it 3 and 1/2 stars out of 5.

[Lukav · Rating 1 out of 5]

Journey to the Alamo by Melodie A. Cuate is about Hannah and Nick, a brother and sister, with Jackie, Hannah's friend, who are transported back to the Battle of the Alamo when they open their teacher's trunk. They must find the trunk before time runs out and they are captured or killed by the Mexican troops.

Journey to the Alamo is the first book in a series of five books (at the time of my writing). I would recommend this book to young Texas history fanatics.

[Mira · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book you learn so much about the Alamo! This is not the average boring text book! This is for boys and girls. This book makes you want to read the next chapter and then the next! I currently just finished the second book of this series to! I can't wait to read the next book!
-Mira

[Isabella · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was absolutely boring. I mean, the beginning was really good, and I thought that this book might actually be good, but the results disappointed me. I am not satisfied with this book and I am rating it one star.

[Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mrs. Cuate is my reading teacher!

[Daniel varghese · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was not Boring ._.

[Hayden Sadd]

It was a lot better than the book i read previously in this series.

[Alexandria K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reviewed this on my blog at Musings of an Arthritic Artist

[Orlando Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could have found myself reading something better?