On This Long Journey, the Journal of Jesse Smoke, a Cherokee Boy, the Trail of Tears, 1838 (My Name Is America)

excellent. trail of tears was not mentioned in my high school history class back in 1970. jesse gives you first hand account of the atrocities perpetrated on the eastern cherokee indians by the heartless slave owning democrat president, andrew jackson. jesse opens up his heart to us. a most personal account.

Very interesting history of such a horrific time in the history of the U.S. because of it's treatment of our Native Ameticans.

This book is awesome it is because it has a lot of information and it has a fonamonal story line.

Another selection from Scholastic's historical fiction epistolary novels for middle-grade readers, this time from Joseph Bruchac. I'd not heard of his books before, but it turns out Bruchac has a number of Native American themed novels under his belt!Our protagonist this time is 16 year old Jesse Smoke, a Cherokee boy who unfortunately comes to experience The Trail of Tears. When we first meet Jesse, he only hears stories of other small communities outside of his own being moved across the country. The movement all begins when a group of Cherokee chiefs sign a treaty that, unbeknownst to them, completely signs over all Cherokee land to the U.S. government. In exchange, starting in the fall of 1838 the Cherokee people, along with members of the Muscogee, Seminole, Chicasaw, & Choctaw nations as well as black slaves and white family members of the Native American people are made to walk what came to be known as the Trail of Tears until they reach government allotted land for them (in this story they are being relocated to Mississippi from Tennessee). Chief John Ross goes to Washington, D.C. to try to reverse the treaty or at least try to get postponements for the remaining scheduled relocations. His efforts are for naught. Jesse and his family -- in fact, his entire community -- find their time come around the following May. Jesse's experience throughout the following months is shared via his journal entries, which carry through to February of 1839.As I said with Kathryn Lasky's Blazing West, this diary-style format of teaching the historical period is bound to appeal to middle-grade and YA students / readers in general. There is a bit more reference to violence in this one though. Jesse tells of his father being murdered by a white man and a woman who was an eyewitness bystander to the incident later being found dead with her throat cut. Jesse also shares stories of having to witness family and friends die of illness or exposure to the elements as well as his own experience of trying to speak with a soldier, getting the butt of a rifle to the face in response, leaving him in serious pain for months after.This novel will help young readers gain a rudimentary understanding of the time period, not only through Jesse's fictional story but also through the supplemental material included at the end of the book, which offers a brief synopsis of the actual history, including photographs, maps and other images to further explain the story. I personally struggled with what felt, to me, like a lack of an authentic voice. The tone or the way Jesse spoke either sounded too old to feel believable for a teenage boy, or it was simplified to the point of making him sound much younger. All in all, a good starting place to get young readers interested in learning more, but definitely have supplemental references.

I really enjoyed this book. I took one star away because I wanted more action and adventure, but overall the book is really good. It is told as a diary from the point of view of one person, but he does include a few other stories of other people. I would have preferred to read about more characters from more points of view. There isn't a lot about women or girls. And we don't get to hear from the Cherokees who betrayed everyone and signed the agreement, but the story that we do hear is compelling. You get to see how this boy becomes a man during the long trip because he takes on a lot of responsibility. You also see how hard it was for so many people to move so far across this country. I think this book is good for 7 and up.

Excellent account.

Excellent recollection of sad removal of Cherokees.