SCOUT OF THE OREGON TRAIL
The story of an American family traveling the Oregon Trail in 1852 as told by Scout, the family’s dog
by Todd Crickmer
In Crickmer’s middle-grade novel, a stray dog roaming the streets of 19th-century St. Louis finds a forever home.
Scout, along with several other pups, is captured and tied to a tree by a “smelly man.” The man is hoping to find buyers among the hundreds of emigrants waiting in St. Louis for spring to arrive before heading west. Having known only a life of scrounging for food and shelter, Scout is excited to be selected by the three Churchill family children—young teenager Josh, younger sister Sarah, and little Molly. “…I promised myself I would be the best dog any family could ever have,” the dog reflects. The dangerous journey from St. Louis to Oregon City covers almost 2,400 miles, the first 360 via a riverboat that brings the Churchills to Independence, Missouri. They move into a tent village for several weeks, preparing to join a wagon train. While there, a rowdy boy pushes Sarah into the mud. Scout reports what happened next: “I leaped into the air and landed squarely on the boy’s chest, knocking him flat onto his back in the middle of the street.” It is but the first of many times that Scout comes to the rescue, including plunging into a frigid river to pull Molly to the surface when she falls out of the wagon and standing up to a mama bear. Through Scout’s enthusiastic, and occasionally anxious, voice, the author leads young readers through over 2,000 adventurous miles along the Oregon Trail, conveyed through uniquely canine sensibilities and understanding. The narrative serves as a vivid history primer, providing a plethora of details about the hardships and perils of daily life on a wagon train, including the intriguing tidbit that much of the human travel was done on foot because the wagons were unbearably uncomfortable to sit in as they traversed the rugged trail. Scout’s love for and devotion to the Churchill family leaps from almost every page—he’s a dog every young reader will crave for their own. A cute surprise ending will leave readers smiling.
An educational adventure perfect for young chapter-book fans or a family read-along.