Review: We Were There with the Pony Express

Posted by Jennifer Steward | 0 comments

We Were There with the Pony Express by William O. Steele

I love historical fiction. Teaching history in the form of a story is so much more engaging than through reciting dry facts found in a textbook. The cultural details, events, characters, and yes – even dates, are absorbed so much more readily when presented in story. I am delighted to have been offered the chance to review We Were There with the Pony Express. Originally printed in 1956, American Home School Publishing has recently republished this title by the prolific (39 books), award-winning author William O. Steele.

I rapidly found myself immersed in the remote areas of the American West during the early 1860′s during the operation of the Pony Express. The 18-month operating period of the Pony Express is shown to us through the story of adolescent siblings, Mark and Rose Claggett. They travel to a “swing station” that their father is operating, and assist him in the running of it.

Engagingly written, this story begs to be read quickly as it rapidly moves from scene to scene while leaving readers wondering what will happen next. Combining the elements of Wild West frontier life, adventure and mystery, I’m confident that this book is a wonderful choice for the young men in your home. Our girls will enjoy it at an older age as well, as the feel is reminiscent of Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry, a family favourite here. The publishers recommended reading age is 8 – 14, though older readers will benefit from this title if they are interested in exploring the Pony Express and Western settlement period just prior to the Civil War.

Steele creates an authentic western feeling in this title without resorting to profane language or excessive bloodshed and violence. Clean living and speaking young men are honoured as heroes, and provided as role models. There is a scene involving an armed conflict (violent acts are portrayed as desirable), as well as some detailed mental imagery of violent events on Rose’s part that may disturb younger children. Native Americans are sometimes spoken of with derogative titles, which would have been common to this historical period. Native land rights are also dealt with in a historically accurate way that parents may wish to use to illustrate our current understanding of Native peoples and their rights.

All in all, an excellent resource to use as part of a unit study on a wide variety of topics – Western expansion, transportation, communication, Native American relations and conflicts during America’s settlement. Excellent supplemental reading as a living book in your history curriculum as well. I for one left this book with more knowledge about the establishment, purposes and operations of the Pony Express than I knew there was to know!

Jennifer Bogart is a born-again, conservative Christian, wife of 6 years, and mother of three (5 years, 2 years, and another due in 1 month). Living rurally in Alberta, Canada she uses her blog – http://www.quiverfullfamily.com/blog/ as a creative outlet for her book reviews, musings on homeschooling, homesteading and Christian family living.