JENNY OF THE TETONS by Kristiana Gregory

5 STARS

JENNY OF THE TETONS

Great Episodes

BY

KRISTIANA GREGORY

 

 The Indian women are remarkable for their affection and fidelity to their husbands.

--GEORGE FREDERICK RUXTON

Life in the Far West, 1849

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The ravages of the Small Pox (which Swept off 400 men and Women and children in perpopotion) has reduced this nation....The cause or way those people took the Small Pox is uncertain, the most Probable,from Some other nation by means of a warparty.

-WILLIAM CLARK, 14 August 1804,

The Journals of Lewis and Clark

INTRO

(from Amazon)

Carrie Hill hates Indians. Indians killed her parents and ruined her life.
With nowhere else to go, fifteen-year-old Carrie signs on to help care for the family of Beaver Dick Leigh, an English trapper. To her dismay, Carrie discovers that Beaver Dick's wife, Jenny, is a Shoshoni Indian! But as Carrie's wounds heal under Jenny's gentle care, she begins to respect and love this kind woman.
Beginning each chapter with an excerpt from Beaver Dick Leigh's actual journals, Kristiana Gregory brings alive the people and the dramatic setting of a bygone era.

• Age Range: 10 - 14 years, Grade Level: 4 - 8, Lexile Measure: 680L (What's this?)
• Series: Great Episodes, Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English, ISBN-10: 0152167706, ISBN-13: 978-0152167707

REVIEW

Carie Hill's parents were killed in an Indian attack when she was only fifteen years old.  This happened in the Idaho territory in 1875.  Carrie goes to live with Beaver Dick who was an American explorer and his family. Jenny, Beaver Dick's wife, a Shoshone Indian and Carrie don't get along very well at first.  As time goes by, Carries learns to respect Jenny.  Carrie goes on lots of journeys while living with Beaver Dick and Jenny.

Jenny and Carrie meet up with a grizzly and Jenny, with her expert aim, shoots the bear.  This was the beginning of a friendship between Jenny and Carrie. Carrie falls in

love with Miles, an explorer working with Beaver Dick. They are married in 1877 in the spring.  The next winter, Jenny takes in a sick Indian and her child and gets sick herself.  It spreads to the rest of the family including Jenny and Beaver Dick's children. This is a fight for survival and they may not make it. If you love adventures, Indians and a woman, an Indian who is a hero to everyone then you are bound to like this book.

This book came from my own bookshelf I would give this book 5 STARS.

AUTHOR

Kristiana Gregory grew up in Manhattan Beach, California, two blocks from the ocean. She's always loved to make up stories [ask her family!], telling her younger siblings whoppers that would leave them wide-eyed and shivering. Her first rejection letter at age eleven was for a poem she wrote in class when she was supposed to be doing a math assignment. She's had a myriad of odd jobs: telephone operator, lifeguard, camp counselor, reporter, book reviewer & columnist for the LA Times, and finally author.


JENNY OF THE TETONS [Harcourt] won the Golden Kite Award in 1989 and was the first of two-dozen historical novels for middle grade readers. Several of Kristiana's titles are now available on Kindle including "Curiously Odd Stories: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2" with the celebrated 'Paper Monument', a futuristic book-banning with horrific consequences.