Lewis and Clark: Explorers of the American West

by Steven Kroll, Richard Williams (Illustrator)

An illustrated account of the amazing two-year journey of Lewis and Clark across the American West.

In the early 1800s, William Clark and Meriwether Lewis set out, at the request of President Thomas Jefferson, to explore the Louisiana Territory.  For two years, four months, and nine days the men and their crew traveled the rivers, plains, and forests of the west, discovering unknown plants and animals and making contact with many native tribes.

This simple introduction to their epic journey is perfect for young readers, featuring large-format illustrations, a timeline of important events, and an afterword that describes the lives of the explorers after their return home.

Genres: History, Biography, Picture Books, American History, Nonfiction, Childrens, Kids

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1993

About the author

Stephen Kroll spoke at schools and conferences all over the world. He was married to the journalist, Kathleen Beckett, and they lived in New York City and an old carriage house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. When he was not writing or traveling, he played a lot of tennis and walked around looking at everything.

Reviews

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great illustrations and a good narrative of the travels of Lewis and Clark.

Ages: 6 - 12

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[Marleah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, brief narrative of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The illustrations were wonderful.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very pretty artwork. Interesting choices for an overview of the story.

[Eileen Ackerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lewis and Clark: Explorers of the American West written by Steven Kroll is a non-fiction picture book that is targeted for children 7-10 years old. It tell of the harrowing yet rewarding 2 and a year expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark appointed by Thomas Jefferson to explore the lands west of the Mississippi. They and their crew of 27 men (and a dog) encounter both trials and tribulations as they discover the beauty of the wild lands. They also encounter many Native American tribes both friendly and unfriendly.
I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 as I do not believe it was probably not a fair representation of Lewis and Clark's time with the Native Americans. As in most stories written in the 20th century the white man is always the good guy. However, putting that aside I think the book is a beautifully illustrated first account of their expedition. The plot is straight forward and told in chronological order which is effective to relaying the length and breadth of their exploration. The language is simple and informational. The themes of adventure and perseverance resonates through at the book. For me, the highlight of the book are the beautiful and realistic full-page paintings on every page. They draw the reader in to experience the adventures with the explorers. I believe this book is a great beginner book for young readers to learn the basics of our countries exploration out west. I would use this book in a history class.

[Rebekah Guiliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, but a more personal look at the members of the Corps of Discovery can be found in David A. Adler's picture book, Sacagawea.

[Abby Williams]

This follows the story of Lewis and Clark and their exploration. Each page is filled with beautiful illustrations and paintings. This would be a great book to use as a read-aloud for the k-3 grade.

[Christian Books and Dolls · Rating 3 out of 5]

No my favorite but it was good

[Lexi McClelland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the map of their journey on the inside cover and then the timeline of important events during the expedition that readers can easily reference to as they are reading through the story. I really enjoyed the story overall, I just think it was too detailed and drawn out for my liking of a picture book about this story. I believe it could've been made shorter while covering just as much of the story. Even though I enjoyed the details while reading it by myself, from a teacher's perspective of hopefully a class full of kindergarteners, I just don't feel like they would fully enjoy and stay engaged for this story about Lewis and Clark, therefore I would probably choose a different book about it if I chose to teach about the expedition.

[Amanda Northrup · Rating 2 out of 5]

A brief overview of their journey. Not much detail, but more of a first - next - then telling. For me it brought up more questions than answers: What about the native peoples' responses to the journey? How did the Corps treat the native peoples? How was Clark's slave, York, treated during the journey? What was his role? Etc etc etc
Still, a decent starting place for a study of Lewis and Clark. Perhaps a good way to generate questions in the classroom - What wasn't said in this text?

[Elizabeth Heath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biography book- THis book tells of the adventures of Lewis and Clark mapping out and making findings of the west coast of America. I really enjoyed learning about all the places they went to that I am familiar with.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good potential read-aloud for this time in history. Help students understand more about Westward Expansion and what North America looked like before settlement west. Students could use this as a biography too.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure summarizing this 2 year, 4 month and nine day journey into a small picture book felt next to impossible for Steven Kroll. I don't know if I walked away from this book feeling like I knew a lot about these men and their journey, but it was informative and beautifully illustrated.

[Kaitlyn]

This book is a short biography of the life of Lewis and Clark. It describes their adventures in the woods, with indians, and rapids. This book was good for information. I would probably put this book on a book shelf for resources for my students to look at for a history project.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of good information about the Corps of Discovery in a short picture book. This would be a good introduction to the unit.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starts with Louisiana purchase. HAs fantastic vocabulary and important dates for 5th grade content. Great book to use in the classroom!

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a brief overview of Lewis and Clark, but as is often the case, unfortunately it leaves out the Native American perspective and is again a euro-american view of it.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great illustrations and information in this book! Would be a great example of how an older picture book could be used in a history project or unit.

[Maisie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely artwork! I hadn’t read this book since I was a little girl, but I remember that I loved reading it. It’s just as good now as it was then!

[Jaylin Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice illustrations and tells a detailed story of the Lewis and Clark expedition.