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chelse34's review
5.0
I've always been fascinated with the Donner party. I grew up around a lot of the famous landmarks associated with them. When I saw this graphic novel at the library, it piqued my interest enough that I checked it out. I was not disappointed!
Despite the tragic events, this book has a lot of humor which made me laugh. It is a juvenile nonfiction book, so it's simple and easy to read. I learned a lot, and there were a lot of little facts that I didn't know about.
There's quite a few in this series. It seems like a fun one.
Despite the tragic events, this book has a lot of humor which made me laugh. It is a juvenile nonfiction book, so it's simple and easy to read. I learned a lot, and there were a lot of little facts that I didn't know about.
There's quite a few in this series. It seems like a fun one.
jacquelinecrane's review
4.0
A good way to read history in a graphic novel style. Well researched and handled hard topics as good as can be expected. Interested to read a couple more by this author.
megatsunami's review
I didn't actually get a chance to read it, but my 8 year old did. She normally loves things with a lot of drama and danger, but when I asked her what she thought of this book, she said "It was... stressful." She recommends not reading it at night.
mw_bookgraph's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Cannibalism, and Child death
lindseythelibrarian's review
adventurous
dark
funny
sad
fast-paced
3.5
This is my first book in the series!
This is definitely a book for younger kids, even though it deals with some intense topics! With that being said, it’s childish but deals with topics, like death and cannibalism in an accessible way, having jokes jokes, and banter between the individual who is telling the story, and the two who are listening.
Even for a kids book, I found myself really engaged with what was happening. I was mad about the choices. That mean we’re making to endanger their families. Let’s smash the patriarchy!
One thing that I think would’ve made this book a little bit better, even though it was kind of out of scope, would’ve been a slightly more accurate and well rounded portrayal of the Native American tribes. In this book, it talks about how the native Americans did not respect the treaty but, I think it would’ve been more fair to highlight that they were taken of.
This is definitely a book for younger kids, even though it deals with some intense topics! With that being said, it’s childish but deals with topics, like death and cannibalism in an accessible way, having jokes jokes, and banter between the individual who is telling the story, and the two who are listening.
Even for a kids book, I found myself really engaged with what was happening. I was mad about the choices. That mean we’re making to endanger their families. Let’s smash the patriarchy!
One thing that I think would’ve made this book a little bit better, even though it was kind of out of scope, would’ve been a slightly more accurate and well rounded portrayal of the Native American tribes. In this book, it talks about how the native Americans did not respect the treaty but, I think it would’ve been more fair to highlight that they were taken of.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
katrinareadsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Animal death, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Terminal illness
sandraagee's review
4.0
This was the first book that I read after starting my maternity leave. Like its predecessors, the graphic novel tackles an under-discussed historical event in American history, provides a lot more detail than you would ever find in a textbook, and presents it in a way that the average 5th grader will find appealing.
Given that canibalism is all that most people know about the Donner Party, I was a bit surprised that the actual cannibalism wasn't discussed more. It was mentioned, but not dwelled upon. Instead the focus seemed to be more on how the pioneers struggled to survive and the individual interesting characters who made up the party. I thought this was actually kind of nice. Getting to know undersold figures in history is what this series excels at, and I felt that for a story that revolves around such personal struggle and loss it was handled very tastefully. I can see how a kid looking for a cannibal story might be a hair disappointed, but hopefully there us enough else going on to make up for it. I know there was for me.
Given that canibalism is all that most people know about the Donner Party, I was a bit surprised that the actual cannibalism wasn't discussed more. It was mentioned, but not dwelled upon. Instead the focus seemed to be more on how the pioneers struggled to survive and the individual interesting characters who made up the party. I thought this was actually kind of nice. Getting to know undersold figures in history is what this series excels at, and I felt that for a story that revolves around such personal struggle and loss it was handled very tastefully. I can see how a kid looking for a cannibal story might be a hair disappointed, but hopefully there us enough else going on to make up for it. I know there was for me.