The Tragic Trip of the Donner Party
by John Micklos Jr.
In the spring of 1846, the Donner and Reed families joined a wagon train bound for California in hopes of a better life. But when the party took an untested shortcut, it set them down a tragic path. As they crossed the Sierra Nevada, heavy snow fell in the mountain pass. They were trapped. Supplies were already low, and now they faced a winter of starvation. Told through the gripping, full-color graphic novel format, this Deadly Expeditions tale transports readers back in time to follow the Donner Party's disastrous trek west and their struggle to survive.
Hardcover
English
Brand New
Author Biography
John Micklos, Jr. has written more than 50 children's books spanning a wide range of ages and genres. His work includes picture books, poetry books, and numerous nonfiction books. Popular titles include One Leaf, Two Leaves, Count with Me! (Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books, 2017), which was chosen for inclusion in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program for multiple years. John's other top-selling books include 125 True Stories of Amazing Pets (contributor) and 125 Cute Animals (contributor), both published by National Geographic Kids. He also has written dozens of biographies, history books, and social studies books for educational publishers such as Capstone and Cavendish Square. Biographies include Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Amelia Earhart, Alexander Graham Bell, Abraham Lincoln, Muhammad Ali, Sequoyah, Geronimo, and others. History topics include the Revolutionary War (six-book series), Civil War, Challenger tragedy, Gold Rush, Lewis and Clark Expedition, and many others. A resident of Newark, Delaware, John enjoys visiting schools (in person or via Zoom) and conducting writing workshops with students of all ages. His presentations and workshops center on writing poetry, nonfiction, and persuasive pieces, as well as the art of research and revision, to name just a few. Learn more about John's work at Daniele Dickmann is a freelance artist born and raised in Rome, Italy. He graduated from the IED (Europe Institute of Design), where he's now a professor. His career began as a visual and storyboard artist for advertising companies and movie productions. Daniele has since gone on to work for Usborne Publishing and many other publishing houses, illustrating historical series and fiction tales for young readers.
Review
Not every journey is smooth sailing, as evidenced in the stories shared in the Deadly Expeditions series. These narrative nonfiction graphic novels, each with a different artist, take advantage of the visual format to share accounts of difficult adventures in history. They reference historical materials like diaries, photos, and records to help piece together each journey's pitfalls, which are often weather-related. The Greely Expedition's Fatal Quest for Farthest North shares the struggles of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, led by U.S. Army Lieutenant Adolphus Greely, just 600 miles from the North Pole. Henry Hudson and the Murderous Arctic Mutiny likewise tackles challenges of the Arctic, relating Hudson and his crew's attempt to find a Northwest Passage for European trade in the 1600s. The Mount Everest Disaster of 1996, though more modern, similarly finds adventurers embarking on an extreme journey riddled with obstacles as they endeavor to reach Everest's summit. The Tragic Trip of the Donner Party tells probably the most familiar historical account, the westward trek of the Donners and their friends and the deadly outcomes of the trip. Each work concludes with further details of each expedition, a map charting its course, a glossary, and supplemental resources.--Kelly Ferreira "Booklist"
Feature
Gripping, real-life stories told through action-packed art will appeal to reluctant and struggling readers;
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