Granny Clearwater and her grandson, Little Critter, fall off their family's wagon while heading West. Granny, who learned many skills from her ancestors, continues the journey-- stopping to thwart a stagecoach robbery and pan for gold along the way.

Fun illustrations and sidebars, document the trip and Holt's descriptive similes (flat as Ma's burnt corncakes, uglier than a mud fence) add folksy charm.

Additional information in the back provides historical background about Western Migration and pioneer life.

Goofy fun! A great read aloud title for elementary grades, especially those studying the Oregon Trail/Western Expansion/Manifest Destiny!

3 1/2 stars. Great design -- lots of fun and playful fonts (making Mountains and Valleys out of the letters -- concrete words?) , neat use of cloth in collages for a very textural effect. Notable for creative use of language too, outlandish tall tale humor, plus many similes "For miles and miles the land was as flat as Ma Clearwater's burnt corncakes . . ." When Granny and Little Critter are bounced out of the wagon ("shot out of the wagon like cannonballs") on their way West, they must make their way on their own. Along the way they encounter the Stagecoach Robber Rose Rogers, who is also a BAD POET (!) Lots of visual details to look at here -- recommend for k-1.

[Also, my copy says Copyright 2010, not 2007 as Goodreads does?]

This is a fun Wild West story with a particularly resourceful Granny. It would be fun to read aloud or tell as a story. Includes an "Author's Notes" section at the end, detailing the bits of true history from the story (peanut brittle, stagecoach robberies, etc.).

"The artist used fabric scraps, stitchery, paper, acrylics, and computer collage to create the illustrations for this book."

Too wordy - it didn't hold my attention at all - I can't imagine it would hold a child's interest.

unique illustrations!

The story was uninteresting and there were way too many words on most pages to hold a younger reader's attention. The only part I enjoyed were the illustrations.

A modern tall tale. Lots of great historical references, the language and style is very fun.