A great depiction of the humanity (and lack thereof) of the early explorers. Also some great moments depicting the Aboriginal perspective on the expedition and how it fit into pre-existing alliances and conflicts. However, using it in a classroom would require a LOT of pre-teaching in order to help students make sense of the geography, Aboriginal nations, and politics of the time. I also found some of the visual sequences confusing. This graphic novel depicts the expedition of Lewis and Clark. Bertozzi decided to use pictures, in comic book style, to tell the story of these two brave men and their Corps of Discovery team. I thought that this was a really inventive way to recreate a historical event and think that older kids (middle school and up) could learn a lot from this book. Some of the humor was a bit inappropriate for younger ages but for older kids, it could be an easy way to get them more interested in learning about history. I read through this book in twenty minutes and was honestly engaged the whole time and learned a lot more than I thought I would about this exploration of the new United States. Although Bertozzi states his book is more for entertainment than historical fact, a lot of what is covered in this book stands up against other textbooks that I have looked over on the subject and it was far more interesting to read. I think that this would be a great way to incorporate fun into a subject and perhaps after giving a more "factual" lesson on the subject, adding this book in to the curriculum would be beneficial to students' knowledge.
What do You think about Lewis & Clark (2011)?
Captures the struggles of the expedition in a condensed, entertaining manner.
—charmedlilme
A nice introduction to Lewis and Clark, but a bit like Cliff's Notes.
—amy
