Sacagawea: Brave Explorer

Sacagawea: Brave Explorer is a children’s book written by Jodi Shepherd. Jodie Shepherd is an award-winning author. She is the author of the series Olivia, Sesame Street and The Backyardigans. She a;spo rites under the name Leslie Kimmelman.

                This book is about the American Indian named Sacagawea. Sacagawea was a young women who led a group of explorers across the country after the Louisiana Purchase. She had to overcome diversity because she was the only female on the expedition. She had a major part in the expedition. She helped interpret, guide, cooked, and even was a peacemaker. She has been named one of America’s earliest heroes. Without her, Lewis and Clarke would not have been able to make it through the wild country. 

                Sacagawea: Brave Explorer is a biography. It is a part of a series called Rookie Biographies. It was written for children in first or second grade. The story tells information about the history of Sacagawea and how she helped on an important exploration. This book is considered to be a biography because it is about the life of someone real. According to Galda, the subjects of biography are usually people who are famous, such as national leaders, artists, sports figures, writers, or explorers. I would consider the quality of this book to be high because “the details are vivid, accurate, and linked to the individual’s accomplishments (Galda). Also, because the writing style of comprehensible and the theme highlights her special qualities.

                Sacagawea is a highly respected person in American history. According to Saint Leo University’s core value respect, we value all individuals’ unique talents, respect their dignity, and strive to foster their commitment to excellence in our work. I believe that this children’s book definitely shows respect for Sacagawea. There are only positive and nondiscriminatory information about her.

                I liked Sacagawea: Brave Explorer because of the way the information was presented. The text was easy to read, there were many illustrations, maps, Fast Facts, and even a glossary. This book is written in a way that allows younger students to read this on their own. The illustrations varied. There were photographs, water color paintings, and color pencil drawings. I believe that the different forms of illustrations made the book very inviting for younger readers.

Discussion Questions:

• Why do you think no one knows when Sacagawea was born?
• Why did the Shoshone Tribe move around so often?
•  What does the book mean by wild country?
•  Why did Lewis and Clarke need someone to guide them through the wild country?
• What challenges do you think they faced on the exploration?

Activities:

•  For social studies, have the students map out the route that the explorers took with Sacagawea. Build on this activity by having them pin-point certain important places on the map.
•  For writing, have the students use a worksheet to guide them to write about Sacagawea’s life and exploration.

Other books by this author:

• Johnny Appleseed
• Olivia and the Haunted House
• Olivia and the Babies
• Olivia Acts Out
•  Robot Rampage
• Safari Friends: Guess Who Safari Friends
•  Elmo’s World: Moon

SShepherd, J. (2016). Sacagawea: Brave Explorer. New York, NY: Children's Press.