Westward ho! Follow the adventures of Josephine and Stephen on the long, laborious Oregon Trail in 1845. The short, easygoing story is punctuated by well-placed callout boxes comparing modern life to the days of the Oregon Trail, on such topics as communication, speed of travel, medicine, entertainment, and kids' chores. The cheerful, cartoonish illustrations are joined by a simple map and time line of major Oregon Trail events. The text briefly touches on meetings between Native American and white settlers, describing them as "mostly peaceful," but lacks further exploration into the implications of the Oregon Trail migration on Native Americans. Historical information is balanced nicely with an engaging pair of protagonists, making this entry in the If You Were a Kid series a wonderful choice for an introductory read-aloud.