Reviews for Sacagawea

The average rating for Sacagawea based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-07-31 00:00:00 Miss Patrick This was one of my favorite biographies as a kid, and when it came across the library desk I had such an emotional reaction that I snagged it. It is very readable, as remembered, and has a pretty good explanation of some of the events of the Corps of Discovery, as well as a delightful number of mentions of what kinds of food they were able to find and eat. I loved that as a kid, I love that now, I couldn't really say why. Reading it now as an adult with a history degree I found a few things iffy: - The portrayal of Native Americans is not super nuanced. It's not NEGATIVE, but it's just...not that interesting, either. For narrative, there's also an odd choice of making some of the people the Corps run into "good Indians" and some "bad Indians." The Shoshone trade bad horses to the Corps and they're described as smart traders (perhaps because Sacagawea is Shoshone?) other tribes do the same thing later in the journey and get villainized and even compared to bogey-man stories that Sacagawea heard as a child. It's an odd choice, that may be influenced by how the Corps themselves wrote about the tribes they encountered. - This is definitely a fictionalized biography, a distinction I do not think I made as a child. Sacagawea is given many thoughts and feelings and motivations (although not specific dialogue) that can certainly be guessed at but cannot be confirmed, especially as it is likely all of our sources are second-hand accounts and not from the woman herself. I do think it still has value, especially in how easily engaging it is and how it brings you close to the historical figures as real people (I remember always preferring Clark), but it should definitely not stand alone in the study of the Corps and Sacagawea. Luckily, child me did read a number of other books on these subjects!

Review # 2 was written on 2012-03-20 00:00:00 Laura Fellows Sacagawea Written by: Judith St. George Review by: Katie Lerond "A strong arm swept her up as easily as if she were a fish being plucked from the stream. Captured!" If not for this, Sacagawea never would have been invited on the famous Lewis and Clark expedition, and without her help, it most likely would have failed. This incredible book captures every detail that went through her journey, without making it long, tedious or boring. In the very beginning, the Minaterees (Indian tribe) captured Sacagawea and the rest of her tribe, and Judith St. George caught every intense moment. St. George's Sacagawea gave me a sense of life in North American wilderness. One of the best life lessons is illustrated thoroughly in this book, "What comes around, goes around." Sacagawea was a great help to all on the expedition. She treated the sick, and taught them things of the wilderness, and many would have been killed or lost without her. In turn, when she was deadly ill, she would have most definitely have died if Clark hadn't treated her and made her healthy. Sacagawea's snobby husband, a French-Canadian fur trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau was full of himself, and thought he was better than everyone. Charbonneau was also a coward, and just outwardly not helpful when it came to their journey. Because of this, he was never taken on journeys that required bravery, asked to do anything that needed any small amount of work, so he generally didn't get to do anything exciting. I think Judith St. George did an amazing job of recounting the life of Sacagawea and putting together the stories into a larger and more magnificent picture. She showed that during that time men were allowed to have several wives, which would not be tolerated today. Sacagawea was one of two of Charbonneau's wives, and tolerated him since they married, she at 16, he at 46 years old! Most don't get married until their 20's now, but back then it was normal to have such age differences in marriage. Sacagawea though it was normal for things like these, but if I were put in her shoes, I would be outraged at the way he acted and would call a divorce (if they eveen had those). She went through a lot, but eventually made her goal, to have "wings". I think everyone should read this if you enjoy historical fiction, and especially if you like stories about Sacagawea. This book had incredible moments, made your heart skip in parts of terror, and brought together the true story of Sacagawea. I truly enjoyed this book, and I hope you will like it just as much as I did!