Lewis and Clark for Kids: Their Journey of Discovery with 21 Activities

By Janis Herbert

This is a great book by Janis Herbert. 

It not only has detailed illustrations and information about the journey of Lewis and Clark,

it has many exercises for kids to help them understand the voyage of Lewis and Clark better. 

Summary

This book tells about the voyage of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.  President Thomas Jefferson spent about a million dollars to buy the Louisiana Purchase from France.  Thomas Jefferson did not know what lay in the land.  So he sent his secretary, Lewis, to explore it.  Lewis hired a crew of about 50 men and shared his captain responsibilities and privileges with Clark.  Clark brought his slave and his dog Seaman.  Their job was to explore the wild land.  They decided to take the Missouri River as far as they could go.  They had 3 boats.  One was big and the other 2 where small.  In some parts it was to shallow.  So they had to push the boats.  They brought food, supplies, peace medals and gifts for the Indian tribes.  Most tribes were nice and helped them out.  They met one tribe and found out they were a tribe of war.  They didn't accept the gifts.  They wanted guns.  So they held the Corpsmen from their boat.  They were about to fight when a tribe Chief named Blackfoot took a stand.  They made peace and Lewis and Clark left.  On the way down the river they brought aboard Sacagawea even though she was pregnant with her 1rst baby.  When they reached the end of their journey Lewis and Clark built a fort.  Instead of burning wax, t hey used a fish that could be burned for light.  Then Sacagawea became very ill.  Before she died she asked Lewis ad Clark if she could see the ocean.  They said yes.  On they way back to Missouri they stopped by to see the Nez Pierce Tribe.  Then they went home.  When they got home they were welcomed happily.  They are now very famous for doing this.

Activities
In this book there are many activities to help children understand the voyage of Lewis and Clark.  These activities include arts, crafts and learning sign language.  Some of my favorite activities were making a teepee and making candles.  I like the candles because it gets messy.  Did you know Lewis and Clark used fish to make candles?  These activities are fun and look cool.  All the activities are related to the experiences of Lewis and Clark.  These activities will help kids to experience the journey of Lewis and Clark for themselves.