SODBUSTER

In the American Pastfinder series, a portrait of life on a midwestern farm during the Great Migration in the first part of the 19th century. Each spread contains a couple of paragraphs on a specific topic: ``The Great Migration,'' ``Sodbusting,'' ``Building a Home,'' ``Clothing,'' ``Home Remedies,'' ``Sodbuster Celebrations,'' ``A Day on the Farm: Morning,'' and so on. The background for each discussion is a large, detailed watercolor scene of the farm (pale greens and browns predominate); in some cases, the pictures are labeled, becoming diagrams. In addition, each text is supplemented by a quote from a document from the era: letter, newspaper, almanac, or lines from a poem. The whole is highly informative and vital, engaging simply by virtue of the variety of information that it presents. A nice piece of work. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)