Kirkus Reviews

This spry outing contrasts parallel westward journeys of two families—one traveling by covered wagon in 1846, the other by car, trailer and moving van in a modern-day relocation. Each travelogue is narrated by a big sister, a device that deftly reveals the striking differences—and similarities—between children in the two eras. Jenny says, "Our trip will take five months, from May to September. I've heard that some people die on the trail. I hope we survive the journey." Katie journals, "Our trip will take five days, from Monday to Friday....All that driving—not to mention my brother driving me crazy the whole way. How will I survive?" The pioneering Johnsons must sell livestock and leave behind heavy furniture. Jenny and her brother Ned walk most of the way, leaving the jouncing wagon's 4x10-foot interior for provisions. The Millers ship or stow most possessions and utilize hotels en route.  Children will respond to the emotions linking the children across time—Jenny must give away her beloved cat, while Katie observes "All I do is say goodbye." Avril's appealing illustrations combine cartoonish, kid-friendly sequencing and engaging details. Design elements that include split panels and contrasting typography highlight the dual experiences, while speech bubbles and chatty details unite them. Vibrantly enlivening pioneer migration for primary readers, this is a fine addition for both home and classroom. (preface) (Informational picture book. 6-9)

School Library Journal (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

K-Gr 3 Excitement is high and challenges abound when a family relocates halfway across the country. This was true for early settlers following the Oregon Trail, and it is still true today. Pictures and text follow two such westward moves: the Johnsons in 1846 and the Millers in 2011. Colorful spreads provide side-by-side and top-to-bottom comparisons of travel in the difference centuries. Carefully chosen facts make contrasts and similarities easy to comprehend. Cartoon panels and brief text highlight the preparations, the goodbyes, and daily activities on the way. Some things are very different (speed of travel), yet others are quite similar (missing friends). Introductory paragraphs provide more facts and information. Readers will relate to the travel activities and smile at the humor in the pen-and-ink and watercolor drawings. Together, the art and text make a good introduction to the Westward Movement. The format is best suited for individual or small-group reading. Fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" series (HarperCollins) will appreciate this fictional/factual picture book. Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH

Horn Book (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2012)

Two fictional girls who must move west to Oregon--Jenny, from 1846, whose family faces great hardship, and Katie, from today, whose biggest challenge is an annoying brother--present their experiences side by side, in a nifty comics-style format. The initially revelatory aspect of the book fizzles out somewhere on the Oregon Trail: like Jenny's move, this book takes ages.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

What do a farm girl in 1846 and her 21st-century, cellphone-using counterpart have in common? When their respective families announce they're moving from Missouri to Oregon, both face some of the biggest challenges of their lives. Jenny, the pioneer girl, must leave her pet cat behind with cousins and risk life and limb on the Oregon Trail, including crossing the Rockies on foot ("It takes almost two months to cross them"). Modern-day Katie has it a lot cushier ("We stay in a hotel with a pool!"), but she still has to say good-bye to her BFF Sophie and share the backseat with her carsick little brother, "Mr. Annoying." While debut author Hallowell and the prolific Holub effectively intertwine history lessons with personal revelations, Avril (The Pirate of Kindergarten) handles the dual narratives and contrasting time frames with aplomb, often employing parallel or side-by-side panels so readers can compare the two girls' great adventures. While Jenny comes off as rather dutiful and dreary compared to feisty Katie, the book is packed with detail about the girls' lives, revealed in captions, conversations, and vignettes. Ages 6-9. (Sept.)

ALA Booklist (Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

This colorful picture book simultaneously tells two stories of families moving from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City. Leaving in 1846, Jenny makes the two-thousand-mile route in five months, walking alongside the covered wagon filled with her family's belongings. She calls her little brother "Mr. Trouble." Leaving "now," Katie travels to Oregon in five days, sharing the car's backseat with her younger brother, nicknamed "Mr. Annoying." A moving van hauls the family's belongings to their new home. Along the way, both girls cross the Kansas River (by raft or bridge), see Chimney Rock, climb Independence Rock, cross the Rockies, and arrive in Oregon City. Cartoon panels help organize the many lively illustrations into two parallel stories, while the first-person narratives convey the girls' hopes, fears, joys, and laments, along with bits of information and humor. Maps of their journeys, purportedly by Jenny and Katie, show the differences in the country between 1846 and now. A vivid introduction to the Oregon Trail.