The Black Kettle Ride

In 1844 Tom Brown and his two newborn twin daughters join other pioneer families traveling by wagon train from Indiana to Missouri

Gr 3-6--Realistic day-to-day existence is detailed in this slow-moving pioneer tale. Thorough descriptions of building, blacksmithing, butchering, and food preparation fill the pages. Tom Brown mourns for his second wife, who died while giving birth to twin daughters. He decides to travel west to the Ozarks so that he and the babies will be near his wife's family. The man is a blacksmith, a carpenter, a sometimes minister, and a very handy jack-of-all-trades. He and the infant girls travel with several families, reach the Ozarks, and begin a new life, with Tom finding another wife. As family history (which this is), the book is well-done. As historical fiction, characterization and plot fall flat. The writing style is choppy, quotation marks for possibly "unfamiliar" terms abound, and Brown occasionally talks down to young readers. Garth Williams-style line drawings depict pioneer life. Ozark region libraries may want to own this for its historical content, but for a good pioneer story, stay with Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books (HarperCollins).

Angela J. Reynolds, West Slope Community Library, Portland,

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