As Far As I Can See: Meg's Diary, st Louis to the Kansas Territory, 1856

Meg's Prairie Diary #1

by Kate McMullan

After their mother and sister become ill in the midst of St. Louis' cholera epidemic, Meg and Preston are sent to Kansas to be safe where they soon discover that country living is quite a change and a challenge from the city life they left behind.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Diary, Historical, Fiction, Young Adult

112 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2001

About the author

Kate McMullan is an American children's book author.
She is the author of the Dragon Slayers' Academy series. She is married to author and illustrator James McMullan.

She also has books published under the name: Katy Hall.

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

In spite of its short length and elementary reading level, this book manages to cover important historical topics and offers a solid look at prairie living.

It all starts when two children journey from their well-off home in St. Louis, MO to the prairies of Kansas. They are accompanied by a vegetarian on his way to Neosho (my research tells me Neosho was a cooperative vegetarian settlement that also opposed slavery and advocated for a moral life) and along the way they experience travel on a steamboat, meet a shady character, cross the prairie in a wagon, and encounter border ruffians, who are endeavoring to keep slavery in as many states as possible. While the adventure of traveling to Kansas Territory is exciting in itself, there's still more to come when Meg hears whispers about someone named Del, the Underground Railroad, and Canada.

This high interest story is nicely paced with more action always just another diary entry or two away. It's a really good and worthwhile read; I'm glad I took the chance as I almost put this back on the shelf.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars & 3/10 hearts. This My America book is more juvenile in feel than the Dear America books, probably for ages 7-9. But I still found it enjoyable. Meg was a nice, realistic little girl. I appreciated that she and her family had natural, healthy relationships. I also liked learning a little more about Kansas and the people who went there in the 1830s, as well as the surrounding history—Border Ruffians, Miss Bloomer, and vegetarians were all new information to me. It was a quick, easy read and suitable for young readers’ independent reading.

Content: slavery is a topic of the book & Meg’s family helps hide a runaway. There’s some lying, and a little bit of strife between Meg & her little brother. Meg & her aunt take off their skirts and work in their pantalettes in their kitchen and the creek; some feminism is expressed (mostly talk about how women should wear pants—bloomers—instead of skirts.)

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story takes place in 1856, where Meg and her parents live in St. Louis. Her mother takes ill, and her father worries that it might be a cholera plague, so he has Meg and her young brother taken out west to friends in Kansas. This forms one of the themes of the book. The other theme is slavery, where Meg and her brother become involved in helping a young Black woman hide out from slave hunters.

In effect, the cabin becomes a stop on the Underground Railroad. The historical section of the book goes into the slavery issue and how Kansas suffered through a lot of fighting between pro-slavers, who came into Kansas from other states, and abolitionists.

The book also has some material about Meg's life on the prairie.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated how the story focused on all the craziness that went on in Kansas during the 1850’s instead of just being like Little House on the Prairie.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book One: As Far as I can see: Meg’s Prairie Diary, by Kate McMullan
Synopsis: St. Louis, 1848 – Meg’s story begins. In Book One of her diary, Meg must leave her beloved family behind and move in with relatives on the Kansas prairie, to escape a cholera epidemic in St. Louis. Meg’s pioneering spirit will help her adjust to the rugged country lifestyle, even as she hopes every day to be reunited with her family.
Review: It’s obvious that Meg’s family is pretty well off. The family has a servant. Meg wears silk dresses. There is a piano in the parlor. Meg is very concerned as her mother and the baby develop cholera. To protect Meg and her brother Preston, they are sent to live with relatives in Kansas Territory.
The steamboat ride on the Mississippi river is both dangerous and exciting. Meg and her brother are put in the care of a man who is traveling to Kansas to live as a vegetarian in an area called Neosho that has rich soil for growing vegetables. When Meg arrives in Kansas Territory, it is a shock to her as her aunt’s family lives in a dugout and has pretty much only the clothes they are wearing. One of the biggest eye-opening things for Meg is witnessing a slave auction in St. Louis, and then realizing that her aunt’s friends in Kansas are hiding escaped slaves. Meg’s diary is a great tool to communicate her thoughts on her changing life in this newly-settled western territory.

[Shawnda Manuel macdonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always wanted to read the Dear America books even if they are for a younger crowd. I like how in this book that although the characters are fictional this book gives an idea what it was like to live in that time and to live in Kansas during that time. Where if you were certain clothes you had more money, there were more epidemics back in the time that Meg would've lived. Living in the city Meg and her family had more, but when Meg and her brother had to leave due to her mother and sister's sickness, they had to go to stay with their aunt who lived in the country and country life was much more different. I went through this quickly of course because it is a chapter book and I am an adult. Easy read and one other thing I liked about this is that the book did talk about the issue of slavery back then and Meg's character had empathy and not everyone you faced did.

[Rachel Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strangely enough, I don't think I ever read any of the Dear America books when I was a kid, or the My America subset of those. But I knew the general premise, so when I discovered this book recently I figured I'd give it a whirl. Unfortunately I found it rather dull, and it didn't seem like a good book to get kids interested in prairie history or the idea of the homestead act out west; even the cholera epidemic at the center of this book was barely touched on. It was just not that engaging of a read. I was definitely more of a Royal Diaries girl and based on at least this book I'll probably remain that way as I revisit old childhood books.

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is about Meg and her family and starts to talk about how Meg and her sister have to move away to Kansas. It then goes into talking about their long trip to Kansas with who they call the Bear. Meg hopes everyday that she can go back home to her mother and father. The book doesn't have any photos to add to the story but I do think it would be better with a few to show you what things looked like. This was a good one to read though.

[JadeShea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book. I enjoyed the story, and how the author portrayed the life and struggle going on. It was really enjoyable. The hardships are interesting, and the plot flows very well. I think this is an interesting book to use for older grades as it ties into life on the prairie and the beginning settlers. This would really highlight some of how it was back then, and the students “feel” it.

[Chelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I found travel back in the 1850s interesting. Meg traveled by steamboat from St. Louis to Kansas City, then by wagon to Lawrence. It took them four days to travel 40 miles by wagon. It’s hard to fathom that since we can typically go 40 miles in less than an hour now. I look forward to reading the other two books about Meg and her life on the Kansas prairie!

[bookishdoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sweet, informative little book. As a huge fan of the Dear America books since I was little, this made me pretty happy.

[Bri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brought back memories of reading it as a little girl.

[PottWab Regional Library]

SM

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these intro-to-history type middle grade books.

[Makayla Rehbein · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as I can see Meg's Prairie Diary author by Kate McMullan. It's about a family who lives in St.Louis. One the kids Mother gets really sick after she has a new born baby named Grace. So a couple days later the 2 kids Meg and Pres leave home and go to their aunts and uncles for the summer since their Mother is sick. So the day that they leave Mr.Baer comes to their house to get Meg and Pres ready to get on the boat to head to Kanas City. It takes Meg, Pres, and Mr.Baer 4 days to get to Kanas City to. When they get to Kanas City they find their aunt and uncle and were happy to see them. When Meg and Pres get to there aunt and uncle's house, they are glad to see the two kids. Meg's aunt is happy that their is another girl in her house for now. Then when Meg was in the kitchen by herself the door opened and it was Mother. Meg could not believe that she was in the door way. So Meg and Mother went outside, and Meg showed Mother the baby apple tree of hers and Mother started crying because of it.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

When she is given a diary for her ninth birthday, Margaret Cora Wells, called Meg by her family and friends, expects to record her daily life in St. Louis, Missouri. But then a cholera epidemic strikes, and Meg's mother and little sister, Grace, fall ill. Having already lost two children to cholera seven years before, Meg's mother is determined not to lose another. So Meg and her seven-year-old brother, Preston, are sent to live with their aunt, uncle, and cousins in the Kansas Territory. Accustomed to a comfortable city life, Meg finds frontier living to be tough, but at the same time full of adventure. But in 1856, Kansas is a very dangerous place, where pro-slavery Border Ruffians attack northerners like Meg's family, who have come to Kansas in the hopes of making it a free state. Can Meg come up with a plan to help her family? I highly recommend this new title from the My America series. It has a nice story and good historical details.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book I read this month is As Far as I Can See by Kate McMullan. The genre of this book is historical fiction. I know because it takes place the summer after the cholera outbreak. The setting if this book is St. Louis and Kansas a year after the St. Louis Cholera Outbreak. The main characters are Meg, Pres and Aunt Margaret. Meg's mom and sister get Cholera. Her and her brother have to go live with their aunt until their family gets better. They get there and are surprised and joyed by the prairie life. I rated this book two out of five stars because it wasn't very interesting and didn't have a good plot.

[Molly]

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.

[Mrs. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with a small group of girls in my class for a "book club". We all liked the book. It gave lots of information about what it was like to live back in pioneer time. :-)

One of the many interesting things we learned about....Buffalo chips. Yuck! They used them to keep their fires burning in the winter. Stinky! Stinky! Gross!

[AlixJamie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not great. The story lacked something and I found it less than intriguing. Meg constantly spoke about her clothes and how they successively got ruined seemed to overshadow the more important points of the plot. This is for younger readers though, who would probably enjoy it more than I did.

[Anna Cagnassola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thouht the book was more historical the a novel. So I liked it but I would rather pick it for project. But it doesn't have that many facts. I picked it for a book report. I liked it but I didn't think it had so many facts.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this to my son to read. He wasn't happy about it until he started reading and now he is on the third book. My only complaint with the way it is written is that I am pretty sure many of the phrases this little girl ueses is incorrect for the time period, a little too modern.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice! A solid historical fiction title for 3rd graders. Mostly realistic and I'm really glad that Kate McMullan chose to include the whole Bleeding Kansas situation leading up to the Civil War. It's one of those things that not a ton of people know about, and I liked seeing it in a kids book.

[Elissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm reading this with my daughter for a school project. We are enjoying it. A very simple book that chronicles a young girl's journey from St. Louis to Kansas in 1856.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Meg's prairie diary as she travels!

[Alisse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really don't know what to think about this book. I think it is sad because like a 1,000 people died from cholera.

[Patrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was well researched and sounded like a realistic 9 year old. I intend to recommend this book to my nieces.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this with my daughter Marcela for her school.