How Many People Traveled the Oregon Trail?

Gr 5–7—Aronin addresses each question in a four- to eight-page chapter, and topics include trailblazing the route to Oregon, the commercial and missionary impulses that drove early settlement in the region, preparation for and "jumping off" onto the trail, the hardships of life on the journey, large-scale migration to Oregon, and the effects of the transcontinental railroad on settlement in the West. The text is supplemented with primary-source excerpts, four large maps, and a mixture of period and contemporary illustrations and photos. Terms are defined in boxes on each page, and sidebars offer additional information about important people and related topics. This is an attractive and readable overview of the migration to and settlement of Oregon, but it is not as strong as Cheryl Harness's The Tragic Tale of Narcissa Whitman and a Faithful Tale of the Oregon Trail (National Geographic, 2006), which provides more in-depth coverage about early Oregon and the relationships between white settlers and Native peoples. However, the format will help younger or struggling readers identify and understand the most relevant points about the trail and how it affected American claims to and settlement of the Pacific Northwest, making it a good supplemental choice.—Mary Mueller, formerly at Rolla Junior High School, MO