George Shannon was 16 years old when he joined the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1803. The youngest member of the crew, and an ancestor of the author, he was a spirited, chatty companion, and the friendly voice recreated in this fictional journal will make readers happy to join him on the journey west, across the Rockies, to the Pacific, where he encounters mosquitoes, bears, snakes, Indian war parties, treacherous rivers, harsh winters, and the Rocky Mountains. Shannon was not mentioned often in Lewis and Clark’s journals, so McMullan has embellished the facts to create a lively first-person narrative. Maps and sketches of snakes, knives, footprints, and the like enliven the text. Like many of the recent volumes on the expedition, this covers only the journey to the Pacific, not the exciting and important trip back home. Nevertheless, it’s a solid addition to the growing body of literature on the subject. (author’s note) (Fiction. 10+)
