Wagons West! On the Trail to Oregon

This summer, fourth grade Language Arts teacher Mrs. McGookin will be journeying across the country to the wild and wonderful Pacific Northwest. She and her husband will be attending a wedding and sightseeing in Oregon, the Beaver State, and in Washington, the Evergreen State!

Not surprisingly, Mrs. McGookin’s summer reading list includes a fiction favorite with an Oregon setting, Escaping the Giant Wave by Peg Kehret (RL 5.9). The Pacific Coast adventure begins while thirteen-year-old Kyle is babysitting his sister during a family vacation at an Oregon resort. An earthquake creates a tsunami, and Kyle must try to save himself, his sister, and a boy who has bullied him for years. Reading Road Trippers Alexandra D. and Mary Kate W. plunge right into Giant Wave action. Alexandra gives the survival story high marks: “It’s like you are in the book… It is so descriptive.” Camryn D. would definitely read other books by Peg Kehret, sharing that Escaping the Giant Wave is “thrilling, scary, and intense.” Sage S. recommends the book to “people who like excitement and adventure.” And while Teresa G. portrays the action as “exhilarating,” she cautions friends who are scared of the water or anxious about earthquakes and tsunamis to think twice before choosing this book.

Escaping the Giant Wave includes an author’s note with facts and information about tsunamis. We can learn more about the science of giant waves, experimenting with a Tsunami Simulator and with a Savage Seas  Wave Machine. Click on the red-highlighted words to get started!

Let’s explore other books by Peg Kehret.  Many are set in the Pacific Northwest, where the author makes her home:

In Earthquake Terror (RL 4.2), twelve-year-old Jonathan Palmer’s survival skills are tested when an earthquake hits an isolated island in northern California where his family has been camping.  Reading Road Tripper Samantha D. reports, “I like this book because of the intensity and the great descriptions. I also love the characters’ personalities and the relationships between characters.”

In The Ghost’s Grave (RL 5.0), twelve-year-old Josh is unsure about spending the summer in Washington state with his Aunt Ethel— but then he meets the ghost of a coal miner. 

Reading Road Tripper Hailey H. recommends Cages (RL 5.0) to friends who love animals. Hailey says, “The story is interesting from the start.” She admires the bravery of main character Kit, who gains valuable experience and learns things about herself after she is sentenced to twenty hours of volunteer work at the Human Society for shoplifting a bracelet.

 Peg Kehret talks about her life and her writing in two popular memoir-style biographies:

In Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio (RL 5.2), the author describes her childhood bout with polio and her efforts to overcome the ongoing effects of the disease. 

Five Pages a Day: A Writer’s Journey (RL 6.9) expands upon the story. Peg Kehret describes her ongoing struggle with polio and how she became a writer. She talks about family relationships and about the importance of writing in her life. 

Mrs. McGookin hopes to visit the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington.  Built in 1962, the landmark stands over 600 feet tall and is designed to withstand high winds, lightning storms, and earthquakes. The Space Needle features an elevator that travels ten miles per hour, an observation deck, and a rotating restaurant with awesome and always-changing views. We can get a virtual view from the Space Needle observation deck. Click on the red-highlighted words and take a look around!

If the weather is cooperating, we can see the skyline of Seattle, the Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains, and several of the Cascade Mountains—including Mount Rainier, a 14,411-foot volcanic mountain approximately fifty miles to the east of Seattle. Today's featured author Peg Kehret lives in a log house on a ten-acre wildlife sanctuary near Mount Rainier!

Mrs. Massam and Family on Mount Rainier, 2002

 

Riding in a Prairie Schooner? We’re pretty sure Mrs. McGookin won’t be traveling to Oregon by wagon train—or leading a mule train across the country—but we would like to learn more about the rich and important history of the Oregon Trail. In the mid-nineteenth century, pioneers followed the two-thousand mile east-to-west route from Independence, Missouri, to the Willamette Valley in Oregon:

Here’s a good book with a long title: How to Get Rich on the Oregon Trail: My Adventures among Cows, Crooks and Heroes on the Road to Fame and Fortune: Writing Journal of--Master William Reed, Portland, Oregon 1852 by Tod Olson (RL 6.9). The book offers a fictional account of the experiences and adventures of young pioneer William Reed as he travels with his family across the frontier and along the Oregon Trail. 

The Tragic Tale of Narcissa Whitman and a Faithful History of the Oregon Trail by Cheryl Harness (RL 5.9) presents a biography of Narcissa Whitman, a missionary who was killed-- along with her husband and twelve others-- by Native Americans along the Oregon Trail. 

A Souvenir from the Pacific Northwest: Totem poles (from a Native American Ojibwe word meaning family or kinship group) are tall sculptures carved by native people of the Pacific Northwest coast. Real totem poles are crafted from wood, but we can create and print a Reading Road Trip Totem Pole, complete with explanations of animal symbolism in Pacific Northwest native cultures. Click on the red-highlighted words to get started. Happy Trails, Reading Road Trippers!