Oregon Trail: The Road to Destiny

Oregon Trail: The Road to Destiny is the account of 11 year-old Rebecca Weston's family's trek across the USA from Baltimore to Oregon in 1848. It is chock full of historical details, family drama, sadness, triumph, trials, and tribulations. At the beginning when the family prepares for the journey, it feels much like the classic video game about the same topic, but as matters progress I felt more and more connected to this family and their experiences.

I love the simply realistic artwork, here in black and white. It very much captures the grit and texture of life in the 19th century with its cross hatching. Traveling by wagon train was no easy thing, and the rigor and hardship, both physical and mental, is well portrayed. The artwork also is great at relaying the characters' emotions and capturing the various vistas and cityscapes the Weston family find themselves in.

Although this book is fictional, it is based on many different journal accounts of similar trips west. It is also very well researched, which is evident in scenes based on photographs, several maps, and occasional infographics such as the following one about the Pawnee:

I feel it would be an excellent addition to any classroom library and well suited for use in upper elementary or middle school classrooms.

This book's authors, writer Frank Young and artist David Lasky, also collaborated on The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song.  The book's creators also have a blog that shows pictures in process, lots of photo references for the book's images, various school signings, and other interesting goings-on related to this book.

I could not find many reviews for this book, which is unfortunate given how well done it is, but the two I found were very positive. Teddy Rose wrote, "I didn't pay that much attention to history in school.  I found the old text books dull and boring.This book is very engaging." Corey Blake commented that Young and Lasky "tell an engaging story" and that the book is "targeted to preteens but it’s smart enough for older readers."

Oregon Trail: Road to Destiny was published by Sasquatch Books and they have more info here. There is a preview available at Amazon.

The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song

The Carter Family today are probably best known for their association with Johnny Cash via his marriage to June Carter Cash, but they were a music group that recorded songs between 1927 and 1956, preserving and propagating American folk music traditions and influencing many musicians beyond their time. They were among the first nationally popular recording and radio artists, certainly the first big country music stars, and their sound had a huge impact on folk, bluegrass, country, and rock and roll music. Their vocal styling and guitar work are foundational. Their songs like "Keep on the Sunny Side," "Wildwood Flower," and "Can the Circle Be Unbroken" have been immortalized as standards, covered by countless others, and become part of the great American songbook.

Don't Forget This Song chronicles the career of the Carter Family, from scenes of Alvin Pleasant (A.P.) Carter courting and marrying the beautifully singing Sara Dougherty, them scraping together a living in rural Poor Valley, Virgina, and then forming a musical group with Sara's sister Maybelle in the hope of making a few extra dollars.

Slowly, royalties from recordings and song writing credits make life somewhat easier for the families, and they make music their primary vocation. They rise to success and fame, but there also is a toll. Eventually, a grueling travel schedule, long periods away from home, a multitude of performances, different business concerns, and the demands of family life combine to create dissent, discontent, and divorce.

There is much pain, sorrow, and longing in this book, but it also is mingled with beauty in terms of creativity and discovery. The story is told via short, well paced chapters that are packed full of import, atmosphere, and emotion. The art is spare but highly expressive. I found myself drawn into the characters' plights via the simple color palette, clever use of symbolic conventions, and facial expressions. Also, there is a CD of Carter Family songs included with the book so readers can further immerse themselves in the sounds of the characters and their lives.

Creators Frank M. Young and David Lasky partially funded this book via a Kickstarter campaign. Young is a writer and editor who worked on The Comics Journal. Lasky is an alternative comics artist who has been sharing his work in various anthologies since the early 1990s. He shares his comics on this blog and shares more about his career on this other blog. The duo also collaborated on another graphic novel about a family traveling the Oregon Trail. They speak about their work on The Carter Family in this interview.

This book won an Eisner Award and was nominated for a Harvey Award for best graphic novel. It has received many positive reviews. Richard Gehr wrote that Young and Lasky "will charm the pants off you with a book full of characters who are all too human." Jason Sacks concluded, "This is an interesting book that works on several levels. As a simple biography... As a piece of comics art... And as a depiction of the older, weirder America." Michael Taube called it "a superb graphic novel."

The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song is published by Abrams ComicArts. Many reviews, previews, and other tidbits are available at the book's official site.