A story of the Westward migration, narrated by a young girl that has left her grandmother to go west with her family. She learns to be brave in new ways.

At the beginning of the story the main character Hallie's parents decide to go west to Oregon with a wagon train. Hallie is very brave and not afraid of anything except storms. Throughout the journey the family deals with many hard experiences but Hallie is only frightened by the sound of thunder when storms pass. One day she hears a thundering noise and is scared at first until she sees that it is only a heard of buffalo moving across the valley. She is captured by the beauty of the sight and is no longer afraid of the sound of thunder. I really liked this book. The pictures are done in watercolor and really enhance the story. It shows how the pioneers had to travel and what they might have experienced along the way. ( )

This book hit home for me as I was reading it. It’s a story about a young girl named Hallie and her family. Hallie’s mom and dad have decided to join a wagon train and go west. Hallie is a fearless girl who is not afraid of anything, except maybe storms. Hallie is faced with having to leave behind everything she has ever known, which includes the most important person to her, her grandmother. Her grandmother taught her a lot of things, but one thing she does for Hallie is she is her source of strength when the storms blow in. Hallie quickly learns on her journey to Oregon that she now needs to be stronger than ever before. One evening Hallie hears a noise that has shaken the air like no other. She thinks a storm is coming her way and gets afraid. But then she remembers her grandmother’s words, “What a gift to hear the earth rumble as they run!” Hallie soon knows what it is. Across the land the buffalo crazed with life. Hallie thought to herself what a fine storm this is and laughed in a way that her grandmother would have laughed. This gave Hallie comfort knowing that even though she is miles apart from her grandmother she still will always be there for her no matter what. ( )

A unique, accessible perspective, one little girl's experience on the Oregon trail. ( )

A historical fiction book describing a family's journey west from the eyes of a little girl. Hallie didn't want to leave her grandma to travel the Oregon Trail but she wasn't afraid. She wasn't afraid of anything except for storms, she and her grandma shared the same fear. On her journey she faces many challenges, storms, drowning, saving a young calf. But the highlight of her journey was seeing a herd of buffalo that she almost mistook for a storm. After that she wasn't afraid of thunderstorms. And when they made it home she finally wrote her grandmother. ( )