The Foul, Filthy American Frontier

by Heather E. Schwartz

From dust storms and swarms of bugs to poisonous water and spoiled food, life could be filthy for pioneers in the American West. Get ready to explore the nasty side of life on the American frontier.

Genres: Nonfiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Jacob_Tyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Foul, Filthy American Frontier" is a non-fiction book that is about the first pioneers to go out west in America. The book tells stories about what happened to the pioneers throughout the book. Overall it was pretty boring and it's a good thing it was short because otherwise I wouldn't have gotten through it.

[Evan N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty interesting. I liked it and thought it was interesting seeing how the living conditions where. I recommend this nonfiction book to anyone who wants to gain some good information.

[Colby S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought that this book was absolutely horrible. I usually don't rate books as poorly as I did but this book was just plain rubbish. The book was a very easy read, it had information that I already knew, and honestly I feel like it shouldn't be counted as a nonfiction book.

[Kameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very easy and quick read. It took me about 5 minutes to read. This book was very informative. It talked about what life was like traveling hundreds of miles. Overall it was a quick nonfiction book to read.

[Avalley · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was just a boring, disgusting informational book that was horrible. It was short though, which is good.

[Gracie B]

Mr. Shepard good job reading. I loved this book. Absolute favorite.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It can be difficult to find good history books for children. The format is often often too dry or too wordy, and the content includes way too much information or glosses over unpleasant but vital information. Heather E. Schwartz strikes a good balance in The Foul, Filthy American Frontier.
The format of the book is appealing. On each page she has included a heading, a few paragraphs of text, illustrations or photographs, and labels and captions that contain key points. She includes a glossary at the back of the book, but definitions of bold words are included in text boxes throughout the book as well.
As the title indicates, Schwartz’s book focuses on the foul, filthy aspects of pioneer life. She includes disgusting details about cooking with buffalo dung, using an outhouse, and scurvy. She doesn’t ignore that many pioneers died while traveling west, she simply states that as many as 1 in 10 pioneers died, and then she explains a few ways that pioneers respectfully buried dead bodies.
Because of the format and the content, this is a book that kids will enjoy. I will definitely read The Foul, Filthy American Frontier to my class when we are studying Colorado history.

[Tarah Denardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Foul, Filthy, American Frontier: The Disgusting Details about the Journey out West, by Heather Schwartz

Summary:
This book tells the facts that sometimes go unmentioned in history books. It is about westward expansion - the cause, and the journey itself. Unlike other informational books, this one focuses on the yucky, negative aspects of the journey such as: cooking with dung, disease, deadly traveling conditions, death, and more.

Review:
I enjoy this book as an additional book to read after learning the basics of Westward Expansion. I think it’s title, and “yucky” topics are perfect for striking kids interest, and keeping them engaged. This book also has a really nice mix of material - there is the standard text, vocabulary and definition boxes, real photos, detailed illustrations, a timeline, maps, and “foul facts”.

Books to pair with:
The Oregon Trail, by Mel Friedman
Rachel’s Journal: The Story of a Pioneer Girl, by Marissa Moss
Araminta’s Paint Box, by Karen Ackerman

I would use this book as an additional information text during the Westward Expansion unit.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Living up to the series title, these books expose the nasty side of history. Each title opens with a brief overview and time line, followed by two- to three-page chapters that discuss the dirty and disgusting conditions that were prevalent in the past. Topics include excretion and sanitation, spoiled food, grisly medical procedures, bug infestations, and early death. Large illustrations and photos, that are dramatic but not overly explicit, add to the texts. These books, which prove that the good old days never existed, are gross enough to be surefire hits.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up thanks to the gazillions of Scholastic bonus points I seem to accumulate, I was disappointed by American Frontier. The facts themselves were interesting enough (who doesn't like to hear about the Donner Party when you are in third grade?), but that's the point...it's for a younger target audience. I was hoping to use this one as a mentor text for older readers. Still, I like the informational text features enough to point out some of them as perhaps a first glance at the genre when introducing the writing form.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read through a lot of the reviews and was surprised at how wide the span was. The one thing that really surprised me was that it looked like a lot of kids had rated it low. (You know how teachers assign reviews on here? It looked like this book had a lot of those types of reviews, but I don't really know, so I could be wrong.)

I loved the reviews that found it "too disgusting" which just goes to show how different perceptions can be. I thought it was pretty mild and tame - appropriate for kids, but gross enough to keep their attention.

I really enjoyed it even though there wasn't a lot of new information for me. I grew up as a Mormon, in Utah, so I would get double doses during school (Utah History) and during church about the travails of the Mormon Pioneers. We covered all the hardships multiple times. In school it had a "tough people of Utah spin" and in church it had a "survived by faith" spin. For church activities we went on several youth "treks" at Martin's Cove in Wyoming. We would don pioneer garb (ick) and pull a handcart for what felt like days in the blazing sun of July with the only piddly amount of shade coming from the outhouse. That was miserable enough, so I can only imagine the hardships of being one of the pioneers who trekked across the US.

I thought this book had a great format, easy information, and was short enough that it didn't get boring. I'm worried though, after reading those reviews, that it might be one of those "teacher likes" that kids don't. Oh well. I always put them out in the library, but I don't force them to read anything.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was super dramatic and gross. I wasn't a fan, but I can imagine some students liking it as supplemental reading.

[Duane · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book talks about the struggles early pioneers endured while trying to go out west. I guess I've read enough other J Non Fiction books on the subject, I feel there are better resource books out there that covers more of the topic with better illustrations and ideas. It's an okay book, just not really that good. It tends to be vague and the illustrations just aren't interesting.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book to teach kids about what life was like on the American frontier. Would be a great way to keep their attention, as most children seem to love disgusting facts.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging book about traveling on the Oregon trail.