Children of the West: Family Life on the Frontier

by Cathy Luchetti

In search of land and a new life, couples created farms and ranches in the rugged frontier. The children of the West took after their rugged and individualistic parents--they grew up learning determination with their prayers. While families worried about wild animals and Indian raids, their greatest difficulty might be just growing enough food to eat and staying sheltered. Yet, there was fun to be had, from tumbling down haystacks to grasshopper races,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393049132
• ISBN13: 9780393049138
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 2.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 10.9" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Excellent pictorial for all ages

This really gives you a good taste of what childhood was like in the 1800's. I use this book with my 4th grade class when we study the pioneers. They enjoy having the visuals...nice large pictures, which look even better under my document camera.

The immediacy of anecdote

Luchetti's book is a beauty, conveying all the joy and hardship, freedom and hard work, creativeness and schooling that went into the experience of being a child during those brief years we call the settling of the West.Luchetti has written several books on Western themes, and this one, like all the others, is chock full of wonderful archival photographs, anecdotes told in the person's own words, snippets of letters and journals... Wonderful!

A fascinating book!

I read every single word of this book, and that is quite rare for me. Anyone, no matter what their interests, would find something of interest in this book. This book documents, through first person accounts as well as photographs,the daily life of our country's western pioneers. The hardships these families went through make our lives seem simple in comparison. The rate at which family members died, the difficulty of finding enough food or nutritious food to eat, the constant dangers of wildlife attack, Indian attack, or unclean conditions are all well documented in this fabulously written book. The courage, fortitude, and generosity of these settlers can be an inspiration to all. The book also documents the experiences of Asian, Black, and Spanish settlers. You don't have to be interested in history to read this book; you merely have to be interested in the human condition.