Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Donner Dinner Party - Hardcover

Hale, Nathan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1419708562 ISBN 13: 9781419708565

Publisher: Abrams Fanfare, 2013

Synopsis

  The Donner Party expedition is one of the most notorious stories in all of American history. It’s also a fascinating snapshot of the westward expansion of the United States, and the families and individuals who sacrificed so much to build new lives in a largely unknown landscape. From the preparation for the journey to each disastrous leg of the trip, this book shows the specific bad decisions that led to the party’s predicament in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The graphic novel focuses on the struggles of the Reed family to tell the true story of the catastrophic journey.
This popular topic is a perfect addition to the Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales brand, and a great showcase for Hale’s storytelling skills.
 
Praise for Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Donner Dinner Party
"This informative graphic novel capitalizes on enticingly gross history to great effect, balancing raw facts with strong storytelling."
--Booklist
 
Awards
YALSA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens List 2014
New York Public Library’s list: Children’s Books list: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2013
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2014

About this title

About the Author:

Nathan Hale is the author of Big Bad Ironclad and One Dead Spy, as well as the illustrator of the graphic novel Rapunzel’s Revenge, which was an Al Roker Book Club for Kids selection, an ALA notable book, a YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens, and the recipient of three starred reviews. He lives in Provo, Utah.

From Booklist:

Hale, still narrating juicy history tales (after One Dead Spy, 2011) with the help of a British soldier and an effusive, bumbling executioner, tells the harrowing story of the ill-fated Donner party. Beginning with their departure from Springfield, Illinois, in 1846, Hale depicts the party’s progress in small but clear panels and includes lots of factual details, such as a roster of everyone in the party, how they died, and a helpful map showing just how tantalizingly close they came to California before meeting their grisly end. It’s a difficult story, and Hale makes ­allowances for sensitive readers: “Horrible things are going to happen. If you are easily upset, skip ahead.” But despite the gruesome facts, Hale keeps it relatively light and lifts the mood with some much-needed humor, thanks in no small part to the over-the-top executioner—who, for instance, is outrageously sensitive to the death of cute and fuzzy animals but surprisingly nonchalant about cannibalism. This informative graphic novel capitalizes on enticingly gross history to great effect, balancing raw facts with strong storytelling. Grades 3-6. --Sarah Hunter

About this edition

• Publisher: Abrams Fanfare
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1419708562
• ISBN 13: 9781419708565
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128