Surviving Jamestown: The Adventures of Young Sam Collier

A stirring story of survival set against the backdrop of the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World.

In 1607, a year after the Virginia Company was granted a charter to establish a settlement in North America, 104 men set sail on a voyage to a new land. Among the brave adventurers who make the journey is a young boy named Samuel Collier, the page of Captain John Smith. Disease, famine, and continuing attacks by neighboring Algonquin Native Americans take a tremendous toll on the settlers. Samuel is one of the few to survive the harsh realities of the New World during the first few years of Jamestown.

Based on the author's careful research of the era, this fictional account portrays the struggles and successes of our country's earliest settlers. Young readers will enjoy this story of courage and survival while learning about this important period in the history of the United States.

Gail Langer Karwoski received a BA from the University of Massachusetts and an MA from the University of Minnesota. She taught third- and fourth-grade students for many years. Karwoski has published several picture books and historical novels for middle readers. She lives in Georgia.

Paul Casale graduated from the Pratt Institute, where he won numerous awards. A member of the Society of Illustrators, he illustrated many children's books before his death in 2013.