good

I read Richard Adams' Traveller long ago and enjoyed seeing history from the point of view of an animal that experienced it, but this book just didn't hold my attention the same way - I only made it about halfway. ( )

UPDATE: finished the book and loved it! What a genious idea, to write about a historical event through the eyes of a dog. Smith is a gifted, imaginative writer. He makes it all so believable- you forget that the dog is the narrator!
The story goes back and forth, between the present and past, but it wasn't difficult to follow along.





I've been reading this book aloud to my 10 yr old daughter. I must admit, I was expecting this to be dry, monotonous and boring. It is quite the opposite! I only wish I could have read more books like this as a child- I might have retained a lot more history. ( )

Lewis and Clark's expedition, from the viewpoint of Lewis's dog, Seaman. Good introduction to the Corps of Discovery for middle school readers. ( )

Read this for our kids book group. I had the opportunity to meet and hear the author speak when this book first came out in 1999.

What a wonderful way to tell history through the eyes of the dog who joined the journey. The author takes you through the Lewis & Clark Expedition with journal entries form Captain Clark and through the eyes of Captain Lewis's dog Seaman. Seaman is a newfoundland he purchased for $15 in Philadelphia while gathering supplies for the trip.

President Thomas Jefferson had just bought a large plot of land know as the Louisiana Purchase from the French and he needed to find out what he bought and if it might lead to a Northwest Passage for trade. He asked his friends Lewis and Clark to put a group of men together to undertake this task. A task that would take several years to complete and would lead to many hardships but also a vast amount of information on the flora and fauna.

I enjoyed Mr. Smith's telling of this historical event. ( )