Wagon Wheels
HarperCollins · Paperback · May 23, 1984
Based on a true story, Wagon Wheels tells a powerful and overlooked story of the country's post-Civil War era.
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- Who it’s for
- A child-centered historical story pairs westward travel with resourcefulness and family care.
- Themes
- Black homesteading in Kansas, Sibling caregiving, A journey to reunite with family
- Genres
- 19th-Century U.S., US: African American Stories, Survival Stories
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Based on a true story, Wagon Wheels tells a powerful and overlooked story of the country's post-Civil War era. Formerly enslaved Ed Muldie and his family travel to Kansas in 1878 to claim land under the Homestead Act. Mother dies on the journey from Kentucky. The family joins a free Black community in Nicodemus, Kansas. They survive a difficult winter thanks to help from the Osage Native community. But in spring Daddy must leave the boys to find better land for farming.
Continue reading
The two older boys, eleven and eight, take care of their three-year-old brother in these difficult times. Then a letter arrives via Pony Express. Daddy has settled and gives the boys a map to follow. The three boys must begin their own journey. They must care for one another as they travel 150 miles on foot to join him in their new home. "The Muldies' story gives beginning readers a glimpse of homesteaders' life and, specifically, an awareness of the Black groups in Kansas—and the boys' impressive feats of coping make for...genuine human interest." (Kirkus) Wagon Wheels is a Level Three I Can Read book. Level 3 includes many fun subjects kids love to read about on their own. Themes include friendship, adventure, historical fiction, and science. Level Three books are written for early independent readers. They include some challenging words and more complex themes and stories.
History in Motion
A child-centered historical story pairs westward travel with resourcefulness and family care.
Come here for
- A rarely foregrounded Black homesteading story
- Young brothers facing a demanding journey together
Expect
- A Level Three book for early independent readers
- Some challenging words and more complex themes
Where it sits
| 19th-Century U.S. | 78% |
|---|---|
| US: African American Stories | 60% |
| Survival Stories | 27% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Survival Stories
- US: African American Stories
- Sibling Stories
- 19th-Century U.S.
Show all 8 publisher categories
- Civil War Era
- Funny Stories
- Media Tie-Ins
- School Stories
- Authors
- Barbara Brenner
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- May 23, 1984
- Format
- Paperback
- Theme
- Black homesteading in Kansas · Sibling caregiving · A journey to reunite with family
- Reading lane
- Survival Stories