Streams to the River, River to the Sea: A Novel of Sacagawea

by Scott O'Dell

A young Indian woman, accompanied by her infant and her cruel husband, experiences joy and heartbreak when she joins the Lewis and Clark expedition seeking a way to the Pacific.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Historical, Childrens, Native American, Adventure

191 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Scott O'Dell was an American author celebrated for his historical fiction, especially novels for young readers. He is best known for Island of the Blue Dolphins, a classic that earned the Newbery Medal and has been translated into many languages and adapted for film. Over his career he wrote more than two dozen novels for young people, as well as works of nonfiction and adult fiction, often drawing on the history and landscapes of California and Mexico. His books, including The King’s Fifth, The Black Pearl, and Sing Down the Moon, earned him multiple Newbery Honors and a wide readership. O'Dell received numerous awards for his contribution to children’s literature, among them the Hans Christian Andersen Award and the Regina Medal. In 1984, he established the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction to encourage outstanding works in the genre.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man, I loved this book as a tween. Upon rereading as an adult who has a general working knowledge of the subject matter it covered, I see it as ridiculous. Published in an era when people still believed only girls would read books with a female protagonist and who apparently thought that females would only be interested in a book if it included romance, it spends a disproportionate amount of time on an imagined love affair between Clark and Sacagawea, rather than putting much effort into fleshing out what we do know happened.

We used this book in our homeschool to talk about historical fiction and how it's colored by the demands of the day (see above re: target audiences and perceived demands of readers) and author bias, and the importance of confirming the "facts" resented in historical fiction before integrating them into our understanding of what we know actually happened.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my absolute favorite book when I was in fourth grade. Even now as an adult, I'll randomly remember a part of the story and it always makes me smile. In fact, my ten year old self loved it so much that the librarian had to ask me to return it. I read it at least six times.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wrote a song about my experience with this book. I spent a lot of time on it, so I hope you like it.

Required reading!
It sucks so much.
Required reading!
This book turned my brain to mush.
Required reading!
I fell asleep four times.
Required reading!
This is an educational crime.
Required reading!
Why can't it be fun?
Required reading!
I am so done.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! I read it while we were studing Lewis and Clark and I could realate so much of it. 1 thing, on the real expidition Scacawea and Clark don't share the amout of romance as they do in the book, otherwise Scott O'Dell does an amazing job getting facts into this book.

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

In-depth historical fiction research was Scott O'Dell's strong suit, and he must have done a fair amount for Streams to the River, River to the Sea, based on the journals of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Sacagawea is a Shoshone girl only thirteen years old when the Minnetarees raid her village, murdering her parents and absconding with Sacagawea. She is doomed to be a slave, forced to obey the whims of whoever owns her, be they benevolent or cruel. The future seems bleak, but Sacagawea escapes and attempts to return home.

"Rewards unasked for fade like morning mist."

—Streams to the River, River to the Sea, P. 16

Sacagawea's fortunes shift when she meets Toussaint Charbonneau, a Frenchman who desires to marry her. Sacagawea adapts to life with Charbonneau as her spouse and master, but her course changes again when she meets Lewis and Clark preparing to embark on a voyage at U.S. President Thomas Jefferson's behest. Sacagawea accepts a role as guide, helping Lewis and Clark navigate local tribes and waterways. History will revere these two men, but is Sacagawea to be remembered? All she knows is that life on the trail is better than captivity.

Scott O'Dell won just about every award possible for a children's author, but this book is a mess. The characters have almost no personality, and the narrative takes a 30,000 foot view, with little detail to engender excitement or frame the stakes. This is a dry progression of facts more than a novel; I can't imagine many adults enjoying it, let alone young readers. I'll rate Streams to the River, River to the Sea one and a half stars, but Scott O'Dell is capable of much better. It's a pity his take on Sacagawea's life story didn't receive that "much better".

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

eponymous sentence:
p101: We found water everywhere--springs bubbling into rivulets, rivulets into brooks, brooks into streams, streams into rivers, and all this great flood of water rushing, rushing, down the mountains to the enormous water that Captain Clark called the sea and that the Shoshone called the Big Lake That Stinks.

ocr:
p2: Houghton Miffiin Company

p32: Fie still looked like a wounded bear.

p45: "boon."

p73: 1 told him that the baby had no teeth to chew with.

p84: We cams out suddenly upon the river at a place where it divided and flowed left and right around a wooded island.

p84: I found Captain Clark and Captain Lewis with the csnoes at a narrow bend in the river, held there by a beaver dam.

p114: But the log was hard, like the water, and I smashed tie ax.

punctuation marks:
p39: "Sacagawea.".

p72: "Long way.
"Yes, a very long way."

p111: Our men thought this fish tasted like dogmeat:.

I am not sure if I knew of this expedition before, maybe during my student days; I can't recall any detail from it except the names Sacagawea, Lewis, and Clark are familiar.

[Abhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It helped me learn history! And I was happy when Sacajawea went back to her people.”

[Gale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a fictionalized account of two years in the life of a young Shoshone girl, called "Bird Woman" in her own tongue. Kidnapped by a raiding tribe, whose language she must learn, she is enslaved and groomed for the chief's son. Something about Sacagawea excites the interest of several warriors during the course of this story, but she is forced to marry a sly, truculent French trapper named Charbonneau, by whom she has a son at only 14.
While attempting to maintain historical accuracy (based on Clark's journals), O'Dell weaves an interesting tale of suppressed emotions, greed and jealousy, sacrifice and intrigue in wilderness America. The famous Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804/5 was commissioned to explore and document the geography, geology, flora and fauna of the newly purchased Louisiana Territory for President Jefferson. With the presumptuous claiming of Native American land as far as the
Pacific coast. This ardurous journey to the salty ocean, with her infant son on her back, was undertaken in simple faith and steadfast loyalty to the copper-haired captain. Yet the return proved a trail of unshed tears by the devoted young mother, who realized that the famous white man would never marry an Indian woman and be demeaned as a squaw man.

This story will appeal more to girls, since it is narrated in the first person by Sacagewea herself. Fort Clatsop, where the party wintered near the Washington/Oregon border, has been reconstructed for tourists interested in America's Western history. Of note: the courage of this brave Native Amreican young woman has been preserved (with her infant son on back) in a 2002 commemorative coin.

(May 23, 2012. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as a teen. I loved this book again now.

Streams to the River, River to the Sea is a fictionalized account of Sacagawea's life. It begins with a fictional description of her life beginning as a pre-teen when she is captured by an enemy tribe and literally groomed to become the chief's son's wife. A half-French trapper named Touissaint Charboneau wins her in a gambling game and decides to make her his second wife. Shortly before she gives birth to their first child, the Lewis and Clark Expedition shows up at the village where Sacagawea lives.

From there on, the book mostly follows the known account of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, but tells it from Sacagawea's perspective.

Things I particularly love about this book:

+ the extremely well-researched depiction of American Indian life

+ getting to see a real-life adventure through the eyes of a young woman

+ Sacagawea herself.

Things I'm not so fond of in this book:

+ the portrayal of Sacagawea as a young teen, maybe 14 or 15 -- she was actually more like 19 at this point in her life

+ the portrayal of romantic feelings between Sacagawea and William Clark -- they're not historically accurate, they're based on a novel from the early 20th century that has since been debunked by historians as having fabricated a lot of things, including the supposed romance between Sacagawea and William Clark

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real rating: 3 1/2 stars

This was a really great book! Scott O'Dell is one of my favorite authors, and this book is just as wonderful as all the others I've read.

The best way to describe this, and all his books I've read, is charming. The characters were lovable, there was a good antagonist, and it was all wrapped up in a bitter sweet ending.

The fact that it revolves around the true story of Lewis and Clark was particularly interesting, and I would love to know what liberties O'Dell took, as it all felt relatively realistic.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, and the change of pace in the writing in comparison to modern day books.

[LeeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

1987 Scott O’Dell Award winner- Very charming and informational first step into learning about the Lewis and Clark expedition for a young reader. I have enjoyed all of O’Dells detailed historical fiction books. This one seems to lean more favorably to girls as it is a first person narrative from Sacagawea’s perspective and gets a bit cushy on her feelings for Clark. But she was 13 years old and in a forced, abusive marriage with Charbonneau who already had another wife. She put her new baby on her back and trekked from North Dakota to the Pacific Ocean and back guiding the whole expedition through all kinds of peril and hardship.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott O'Dell writes top notch historical fiction. This tale of Sacagawea is as captivating as it is informative, showing his strength in this genre. My only complaint is that the rich detail from Sacagawea's kidnapping to her arrival at the ocean with Lewis and Clark is capped off with a scant handful of pages for the return journey and no epilogue that tells us the fate of the key figures. Still, I am looking forward to replacing Indian in the Cupboard with this fine novel in my class this year. Pick this one up off the shelf. Solid 4 stars.

[Bart Blumberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a gr. 5 teacher and thought I'd read this to my class as a way to help cover the L&Clark unit. It was narrated from the perspective of Sacagawea and was "lite" on the L&C expedition. I'm not sure there are chapters I can read. From the perspective of an adventure by a young woman with a baby on her back and an abusive "husband," it has more appeal. Sacagawea is humanized, yet stil has a strong Native American presence. It's an "easy" read with lots of dialog, but since it is from S's viewpoint there is little description and the development of the character is weak. It seems to be aimed more at middle school since it puts an emphasis on S's unfulfilled "crush" on Captain Clark.

This book may be more suited as an exposition of relations among the various tribes and how they varied from scalping and stealing women and children to make slaves to friendly tribes willing to help the expedition.

[Sharon Riegert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely remember reading this novel in my childhood. Reading it now as an adult, I have a new appreciation of the author and the subject. He brings to life past history and an amazing story of Sacagawea, a truly strong, wise and brilliant Native American woman who serves as an inspiration for all the children (and myself) who have and will read about her.

[Olena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Neviah D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timeless classic.

[Kyera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Streams to the River, River to the Sea is the story of Sacagawea, a Shoshone Indian who guided Lewis and Clark on their journey across the United States. Although it is a relatively short book, it follows Sacagawea from her home with the Shoshone, through her time with other tribes having been kidnapped, and finally on her trek to see the ocean. The first third of the tale took place during the time that Sacagawea was shunted between different tribes. It was heartwrenching to read how much she went through over the course of her life. The rest of the book delved into their journey across the plains. The author seemed to cram the return journey and everyone returning home into a very small portion of the end of the book, which made it feel rushed.

Although she is called their guide, there was very little guiding described in this story. Sacagawea spent much more of her time tending to her baby, dealing with her own illnesses, pining after Clark, and being a symbol of non-aggression than being the brave and strong person that she likely was. Too often, she was just brought before the attention of men to show that the party had a woman with a baby in it, so they must be friendly. I was a little let down by that fact because I feel as though it could have been more inspiring if she shone more in the story. That being said, she did travel without complaint and many times on foot, while the men rode horses.

I love history and the journey depicted in this novel was one of the foundational moments in our country's history. It was written with an authentic voice that would allow readers to really sink into the narrative and feel as though they are experiencing the same trials and tribulations as the characters. Overall, this did not feel like a young adult historical fiction novel, but more like one I might have read in elementary or middle school. Due to the shortness of the story, I feel as though there was a lot that was left out and if the author had made the book longer then there could have been more character development and history packed into the narrative, which would have made the story more appealing to older readers.

[Claire Withrow]

The purpose of O’Dell writing this book was to give the true story of Sacagawea and her journey. This book tells us about the young Shoshone Indian girl, Sacagawea. The hard times she had to go through with getting kidnapped and being forced to marry. After being kidnapped with her cousin Running Deer, she tried to escape at their first stop by using force. In order for Scott O’Dell to write this in the perspective of Sacagawea he used many journals to help.

O’Dell did well with writing this story as if it was Sacagawea writing. There was lots of action with going into the way she would be treated and the journeys she had with the men that kidnapped her. The way O’Dell writes this story gives us a deeper understanding of what it really was like for Sacagawea, with going through how she was poorly treated on multiple occasions. She even had to carry her own son on her back and care for him on the expedition with Lewis and Clark after only having him 2 months prior.

This book may appeal more to girls since it is written in the eyes of a young girl. Also those who tend to be more interested in history type books, this would be a good read for them. Sacagawea is a well known girl in history today with the things she did and went through. For girls especially to read this I think it would leave a big impact on how they live their life today.

[Tim Chaffee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I stopped teaching my 7th grade class this book a few chapters before the ending. It was horrible! I read ahead of my class, as teachers do, and could not submit my students to the ending of this story.

The book starts off in an exciting fashion. There is an abduction, lots of action, and an interesting protagonist. However, the plot gets mired in minutiae and the reading becomes a bit boring halfway through.

One of my biggest problems with this book is how O’Dell changes history and characterizes the indigenous people. Fortunately, my class did an internet research project before reading, so we know that the ending of the book is complete malarkey. Maybe I am wrong for thinking that this is supposed to be historically-based. Perhaps O’Dell meant to compose a speculative alternative history.

Another critique that I have is his characterization of Sacajawea. This young lady gets married and pregnant in the span of a few paragraphs, and the delivery of her child takes up only a small space on the page as well. While I know women were treated like chattel, O’Dell makes the protagonist seem rather blasé about her repeated beatings from her husband and all the attention from multiple men.

I could go on, but I will just sound like I am full of vitriol.

[Rosanna Girguis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book Streams to the River, River to the sea, is a book that is written after a true story that happened in the past. This story is about a Shoshone, little girl that was kidnapped from her home village, to be kept somewhere she doesn't belong. Eventually, after a few short years, she was married to a man who had "saved her life". She then had her first child, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. Unlike most women around her, she didn't stay at home to take care of housework or look after her newborn. Instead, she agreed to go on the Expedition with Lewis and Clark, along with her husband and newborn son. This journey was not only tough on the men, but she had it much worse due to her son, which she still had to care for. But what she did help all of them immensely, without her they wouldn't have been able to have succeeded. This gives her a great name in history, and this book highlights her journey and successes. And if I were to be more into the topic of history, this book would have been perfect for me.

[Tiffany Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Streams to the River is about an indian girl named Sacagawea who goes from having a normal life to becoming a slave and dealing with the hardships of love and a journey . Sacagawea is captured and becomes a slave where she learns a new language , well some of it . She runs away from a guy who kidnaps her and has to be saved from Charbonneau an evil man . He declares she has to marry him and so do 2 other guys . Charbonneau wins and makes her his wife . He eventually becomes abusive and rude . She becomes prenant and gives birth to a son . 2 men come and want Charbonneau and her to go on their journey because they are going on her territory . Captain Lewis and Captain Clark were theirnames . Capt. Clark looks at Sacagawea in a way no one ever has . Soon they have a forbidden love but at the end of their journey it ends . Meko , her son , will go to the U.S with Captain Clark and Sacagawea to get an education . But Sacagawea promises to have him still be an indian .

[malak Mosilhy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very interesting and filled with lots of adventure. "Clatsops had made a trail to the shore, but it was very steep and we had to hold on to bushes as went down one step on time." This story was beautiful because it contained a love story between the narrator and her leader. " It is you that I choose. It is you that I love, were the words that I longed to say to him." Few weaknesses that the book had were being a little confusing and the descriptions weren't clear enough. Few strengths the book had are that it had a great and strong climax and it also used many academic words. I will love continuing reading of this book is a part of series. I suggest this book highly for readers who enjoy romantic, adventure, and dramatic books or novels.

[Jessie Antonio]

This book is about a independent women going on a adventure, with a man that she loves. If you like adventure and romance this is the book you will like. The beginning of the story is very sad because the main character get separated from her family. This book shows how strong and independent a women can be. The way the author told Sacagawea's story is very interesting. Sacagawea gets capture by a creature called Minnetaree, she tries to escape once, it doesn't work, she tries to escape again, and it works. She meets a man she has to marry, but she doesn't want to. After she meets Lewis and Clark, they go on a adventure with them.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Streams to the River, River to the Sea is an exciting book about a young Indian girl named, Sacagawea. She was kidnapped from her tribe with her cousin.The whole tribe had been destroyed. Sacagawea goes on an adventure with her husband Charbonne,Meeko her baby, Cap.Lewis,Cap. Clark, and many others.During the expedition Sacagewea falls in love with Clark.Charbonne didn't treat anyone right, and only married Sacagewea because he won her over a game.Sacagewea goes on the trip to lead the captains. But finds her tribe and sees again runningdeer her cousin.Once the trip is over Clark leaves and she stays because she wants Meeko to know that he will always be a shoshone.

[Jessie Antonio · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a independent women going on a adventure, with a man that she loves. If you like adventure and romance this is the book you will like. The beginning of the story is very sad because the main character get separated from her family. This book shows how strong and independent a women can be. The way the author told Sacagawea's story is very interesting. Sacagawea gets capture by a creature called Minnetaree, she tries to escape once, it doesn't work, she tries to escape again, and it works. She meets a man she has to marry, but she doesn't want to. After she meets Lewis and Clark, they go on a adventure with them.

[Daniel Cortez · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author Scott O' Dell takes the reader back to the time of the Lewis and Clark Exhibition. We learn about how Sacagawea had such a major impact on the adventure. For people who enjoy learning and reading about important events in history, this book is for them. It provides a thorough description of what occurred and the conditions of the voyage. However, this is not a book that I would recommend to people that are not interested in history. It has a good story and interesting plot, but it seems to be very slow and loses the reader's interest. Personally not the book for me, but for history lovers, it will be a great book.

[Hernan Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a really good book, but if you like history it would be an even better one. This story is about the narrator"Sacagawea" is about her finding who she is and what strengths does she have. The story actually starts when the Shoshone Indian princess and her cousin "running dear" get kidnapped by the Minnetaries. During these scenes, Sacagawea breaks her peaceful personalities a couple of times when she was stuck in certain situations. But she never forgot who she is and the nobility of her people. Overall this story is really action packed but also some serious drama between family and friends.

[Yeimi Alvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about a young indian girl that gets captured by enemy tribes. one of the other girl that was captured was able to escape. sacajawea goes through a lot of expierances. She is supposed to marry black mocasins son but destiny takes her another way when she meets charbonne. Thats when sacajawea meets Captain cvlark who has a journey to go to, to reach the sea and tell about there journey. They chose sacajawea because she knew how to get to the sea and while they were headed to the sea sacajawea gets pregnant. She has her baby meeko and she is like the happiest person when she has him.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having loved biographies as a kid and loving historical fiction, I picked this book up out of a pile the school library was moving out. It was a quick read that was both enjoyable and good. However, reading it an adult, I have to wonder why the author chose some of the scenes; for example, in this book Charbonne, the husband of Sacagawea is a just a tag-a-long without a role except to "slap" Sacagawea when he doesn't like what advice she is offering Capt. Clark. As an adult, I also question the accuracy of some of the other events depicted but none-the-less, a good book.

[Emily M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this brought the Lewis and Clark expeditions to life for my kids, and the kids enjoyed all the details about Native American life, but the perceived romance wasn't of interest to us, and the totally fictional ending made me wonder what else in the story contradicted the historical record.

After reading aloud four Scott O'Dell books this year, I feel like his Native American girl narrators all share a very similar voice, one that is stoic and understated.

The kids liked but did not love this. It felt like it took us a while to read it.