Product Description

In Kansas Territory in 1847, Willow Chase is swept away by the flooded river she and her pioneer family attempt to cross and is forced to struggle through difficult terrain to rejoin them once again.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1874575 in Books
• Published on: 1997-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7. Two fictional diary entries frame the story of Willow's journey to California in 1847. The first entry finds her contemplating her wagon train's imminent crossing of the swollen South Platte river. A third-person narrative follows in which readers meet the girl's cheerful mother, good-natured sister, strong brothers, stern stepfather, and faithful dog. Willow faces the challenges of westward emigration?hard work, illness, fear of Indians. When an Indian approaches the wagon train and asks for medicine for his sick child, Mother gives him a bottle of quinine. Later, the same man helps Willow when she is swept downstream. The book ends with another diary entry in which Willow is safely across the river and looking forward to California. Similar in style to the "American Girl" series (Pleasant), but for older readers and without illustrations, this book's value as historical fiction is slight. Readers never learn why the family is moving, and the man who rescues Willow seems to be a generic Indian with no nation.?Rebecca O'Connell, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 4^-6. Willow Chase has been given up for dead after being swept into the Platte River while fording it with her family. Now she must cross the river on her own and make her way back to her family's wagon train. The story idea is exciting, but Duey doesn't make the most of it. The accident doesn't occur until nearly the end of the novel, and Willow has a relatively easy time of things: she comes out of the river with only a few minor bruises and soon encounters the very Indian her mother helped earlier in the story. The Indian shows his gratitude by giving Willow his horse to ride across the river, and Willow is soon reunited with her stepfather, who has returned to look for her again. Readers expecting a survival tale will be sorely disappointed, but middle-grade girls in search of a heartwarming family story with a likable protagonist will be pleased, especially if they enjoyed previous books in the American Diaries series. Lauren Peterson

Customer Reviews

Separated from her family, a pioneer girl must survive.
Ever since her father drowned crossing a river the first time her family attempted to head west, twelve-year-old Willow has been terrified of water. And ever since her mother remarried and and the family headed west again, she has resented her new stepfather, Mr. Hansen. But nothing can prepare Willow for the challenges she will face in one short day. Swept out of the wagon during a river crossing, Willow is left for dead. Now she must make her way through a harsh, merciless wilderness in an attempt to find her family before they get to far ahead for her to ever catch up. This was an excellant survival story, and Willow was a well-developed character, especially considering how short this book was.

Another good American Diaries
This was another great book in the American Diaries series. Willow's father was drowned the first time her family tried to head west. Now, Willow's mother has remarried, and once again the family is headed west. But when the wagon train crosses a river, Willow falls out of the wagon and must survive and search for her family. Read this book!

Could it get anymore DISCRIPTIVE?
It was sickening, the amount of details used in this short book. I have three words that explain my opinion on all of that unnecessary junk... I DON'T CARE! I don't care how exactly their water looked or how exactly the pioneers stored their food. I just want to know about Willow and her quest to survive. That's why I bought the book for goodness sakes! Not to read a textbook on pioneer life! If the author is so obsessed with putting those details in, the least she could do is put them in in an interesting way. I know these books are supposed to take place in just one day, but one day just doens't work for the Oregon Trail. The only thing I liked was that Willow was a pretty good character in that she was terrified of the river for a reason and in her feelings about her stepfather. But, I mean, where was the stinking survival in the book? WHERE?