The Journal of Augustus Pelletier: The Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804 (My Name is America) - Hardcover

Grade 5-8-Gus Pelletier, half French, half Omaha Indian, is determined to go with the Corps of Discovery. With all the bravado of a young man on his own for the first time, the scrawny 14-year-old travels parallel to the expedition, not revealing himself until he's confident he will be accepted as a member. His literacy is attributed to education by Catholic priests, but his perspective and voice are not consistently in character. For example, he proudly enthuses about the "naming of America" by the Corps, but with his Native American heritage he would have been aware that there were Indian names for the many places the expedition "discovered." In other instances, he is given greater awareness than is credible for a mixed-heritage frontier lad. Lasky's ample talent is constricted here by the dictum of the series. She uses the inherent drama and well-documented account of Lewis and Clark's journey as the backbone for the story. While Gus brings an engaging young person's perspective to history, it can be jarring when he is inserted into well-known occurrences of the expedition, e.g., having him rescue Sacajawea's baby in the flash flood at the Great Falls of the Missouri. The story is followed by a historical note sketching the outline of the Corps of Discovery journey, complemented by period illustrations and photographs of expedition paraphernalia. It has been noted that this series is historical fiction, not history; this caution seems particularly relevant with The Journal of Augustus Pelletier.
Nancy Collins-Warner, Neill Public Library, Pullman, WA
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