Grandmother’s Bell and the Wagon Train 1849
Award winner! Available in paperback and hardcover
Experience a day on a wagon train!
Life on a wagon train is hard work, but every day was still a great adventure for these pioneers. Ride along for a day with Crystal and Johnny and their family as they travel across the wild west as part of a wagon train.
When the contents of their covered wagon must be thrown away to lighten the load, Grandmother insists that her brass school bell be kept. After their horse spooks and runs away, Johnny and Crystal are able to find their way back to the wagon train when Grandmother rings her bell. This story is based on an actual incident in the author’s family. The book is illustrated with oil paintings by Carol Mathis, and it contains fun facts and a bibliography.
In 1849 over 25,000 people emigrated to California as part of the overland journey and most of them walked, even the children. They also did chores, played games, experienced the dangers of the west, and made friends, just like Johnny and Crystal do in this story. Barsotti’s research included her own family’s history, interviews with historians (especially Jack Clough), and the reading of many diaries and books of this period.
“Approaching the crossing of a mountain range, Johnny and Crystal’s grandfather is forced to leave family heirlooms by the side of the trail — but not grandmother’s bell. She is a teacher and will not leave it behind! As the readers follow one day’s journey on the wagon train, they will discover what it meant to ‘go west’ in the 1800’s. Historical notes are included at the end of the book. (The most interesting is a list of recommended food provisions for such a trip.) Bright oil illustrations will please young readers.” Parent Council Ltd.
Recommended by the California State Sesquicentennial Committee, the El Dorado County Sesquicentennial Committee, the California Department of Education, and the Parent Council Ltd. Awarded Best Children’s Book by Sacramento Publishers Association.
Grandmother’s Bell and the Wagon Train 1849
by Joan Barton Barsotti
Illustrated by Carol Mathis
8-10 years, 32 pages, 24 illustrations, 1,500 words
ISBN 978-0-9642112-3-0 (Paperback); $6.95
ISBN 978-0-9642112-4-7 (Hardcover) $14.95