Sacagawea Hardcover – Picture Book, August 1, 2003

The art is the best part of this book. Lots of speculation, but well worth the read. Leads to good conversation.

Great book for younger kids. Arrived timely and in great condition. Very pleased with purchase and vendor.

My grandson needed to read “Sacajawea” as part of a Summer reading program. He loved the story of this brave young woman who was a part of the expansion of our country. What a wonderful read.

I really liked the explanation of the pronunciation of Sacagawea's name. The biography gave a thoughtful story of a native American woman's role in the exploration of our country.

Very pleased with both purchaes

My niece loved the book; I'm a happy customer!

This shares the story of a young Native American girl abducted by another group and taken far away from home. She is eventually given to a French trapper who gets her preggers. Lewis and Clark show up and share that they aspire to reach the area that she is from. Her husband offers his services and he signs on with the Corps of Discovery and she will come along to translate and ask to trade for horses. She is moved into the fort and births a son.In the Spring they all head out and she assists with food collection and when her lame husband flips a boat she rescues precious cargo. They reach her people and are able to get the horses to cross the mountains and reach the ocean. She is allowed to vote on where to build the winter fort.They return her home and Clark raises her son. Some question as to when she died. RIP.

If only this story had the texture of the oil paintings, this would have been an excellent book. Instead, there is very little context about Native American (or Indian, if you prefer) life, the relationships among the tribes and the white explorers/invaders, and the Thomas Jefferson's motivation for conquest that motivated and funded the Lewis and Clark expedition.Relationships are mentioned but not explored. How was Sacagawea "given in marriage" to the white fur trapper, was it consensual; for that matter, were such marriages ever consensual? Why did Lewis and Clark have such affection for her son, nicknamed "Pompy," and what was the meaning of the nickname?" Was Sacagawea especially resourceful, or were her talents fairly typical for a female Shoshone?Of course, this is a book for kids, and we can't expect mature psychologically-oriented portrayals. Still, the author aims her book for a somewhat older audience (perhaps older elementary and junior high), and she doesn't spare factual details. What's missing, perhaps, are the kind of details that help an audience identify emotionally with the protagonist. At one point, Sacagawea, as interpreter, attends a meeting with Lewis and Clark and the Shoshone chief:"But when she looked at the face of the Shoshone chief, she burst into tears. He was her brother, Cameahwait! Sacagawea jumped up, threw her blanket over her brother, and wept!Cameahwait was moved, too. But the council had to continue. Though tears kept flooding back. Sacagawea kept to her duty until the council ended."Howver, we don't learn what happened after the council ended. Perhaps no one knows. Still, we are told that something happened when the council was over--why bring it up if it just ends abruptly? THe narrative skips is too episodic, and doesn't delve sufficiently into the personalities (we think, ), or the magnitude of their journey. Still, one does get an appreciation for this skilled and relatively independent woman. At least, we think she is highly independent, since there is no explantion of women's roles. KIdnapped by a rival tribe, forced (or not?) into marriage and a long journey (how many miles and years?), and persuaded (coerced?) into leaving her son with Clark for a white man's education, Sacagawea's is a fascinating story that is not adequately told here.Fortunately, the book's spirited oil paintings, heavy with texture from the painters knife, yet fluid and with pastel chalk shadings draw us into "Sacagawea." There's also a one-page afterward explaining Sacagawea post-Lewis and Clark (the details are conflicting), a somewhat cursory map, a timeline linked to the story's events (rather than other significant dates), and a bibilography for those interesting in learning more. Beautiful and somewhat unusual illustrations by Julie Buffalohead, and an occasionally exciting narrative make this book a satisfactory starting place to about the culture and history of the era.

My six year old daughter recently developed a fascination with Native Americans and this book was a welcome addition to her collection.The illustrations are superb and the story is told well, without resorting to sensationalism or exaggeration.A fascinating story.