It would take a lot of preparation, but wouldn't it be interesting to see it, in action? I don't have an edit or suggestions beyond that, but I wonder what kids would come up with in a class where their teacher helps them map out different choices than the ones in Race to Chimney Rock? The teacher would have to begin by providing students with an in-depth unit about the history of the area that came to be called the Oregon Territory. If you decide to keep quiet, turn to page _. You know it was designed to displace even more Native peoples from their homelands, and that to get land, you had to be a 'white settler' or 'American half-breed Indian.' You know the law is wrong and racist. You had read Section 4 of the Donation Land Act of 1850, and know that land was only available to certain people. It might be something like this:Īs you and Pa load your covered wagon to head out to Oregon Territory, he tells you about the square mile of free farmland you are going to claim. The first decision point happens several pages later, but if I was editing that book, I'd edit that sentence a bit, add some more information, and offer a decision point right away. You are loading up your covered wagon to head out to Oregon Territory, where a square mile of free farmland awaits your family.

Here's the first sentence in the book (p. If we were being accurate about history, the information kids get would be different than what they get in this book. What matters more and more in the US is $$. With this series, it is adding to its profit margin-but miseducating children. That Amazon lists it as one of the best books of 2018 tells us that the publisher was right. The publisher of The Race to Chimney Rock made a marketing decision that people who liked the Choose Your Own Adventure series and/or those who liked playing the Oregon Trail video game, would buy this series. Instead of an adventure, readers of this series choose their own trail. The series is like the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books where readers make a decision about what they want to do at a specific point in the story. Published on Septemby Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it is book 1 in a 4-book series. A few days ago, people started sharing the books that Amazon has listed as 'Best Children's Books of 2018.' In the ages 6-8 category, Amazon has The Oregon Trail: The Race to Chimney Rock.Īs you might imagine, it is in that category of books that AICL usually describes as NOT RECOMMENDED.

The oregon trail 4th edition review