Rhoda Blumberg includes many features that makes this book accessible for children. There is a table of contents, which includes titled section and chapter headings, which describe the topic of each. There is an introduction by James J. Holmberg that provides background information on the institution of slavery and how interest in York has grown over recent years. The endnotes, divided by chapter, describe sources and background details, and the illustration credits identify graphic material by page number and source. A detailed bibliography shows the research behind the book, and some of the sources are suitable for children�s further reading An alphabetical index makes the book suitable for reference purposes.
The book�s design also adds to the book�s accessibility. The cover illustration is a photograph of the statue of York, which was commissioned for the bicentennial celebration of the expedition, and is set against the background of the Bitterroot Mountains. The blue of the water is repeated in the book�s deep blue endpapers. Maps, newspaper clippings, photographs, expedition journal excerpts, and artwork illustrate and extend the meaning of the story. In all cases, citations add clarity and contribute to the narrative. The text is adequately spaced, with wide margins, and most double-page spreads are broken up with at least one illustration.
Blumberg is careful to remain true to facts and documented events in the book. �She consistently distinguishes between facts and her opinion, using suppositions to convey the history of the times or the expedition as a whole.� (Horn Book Guide, October 1, 2004) Where speculation is called for, it is clear that this is what �may� have happened, with supporting facts to explain that theory. �The Nez Perce changed their minds as soon as they saw York, who seemed fierce to them. �If we kill these others [the white men],� they supposedly said, �the black man will surely kill us.� If this was so, York�s presence may have saved the expedition from attack.� (p. 51, 52) Other allegations about the activities of York are assumed as he shared in the experiences of the entire group: �During another hunt York and all the others spent a night sleeping, on top of snow under a makeshift tent of freshly skinned buffalo hides.� (p. 31, 32)
The bicentennial celebration of Lewis and Clark�s journey is drawing renewed attention to one of the most remarkable expeditions in human history. It is appropriate that this occasion shine the spotlight on a heretofore unsung hero, and the �peculiar institution� that relegated his role to that of little more than a pack animal. Because slavery precluded York�s ability to tell his own story, others are doing what they can to tell it for him. �This well-researched selection helps to round out the study of an amazing event in our country's history and is a good companion to Blumberg's award-winning The Incredible Journey of Lewis & Clark.� (School Library Journal, February 1, 2004)
Source
Books in Print [database online]. Available from http://www.booksinprint.com. Accessed 15 March 2005.
Award
Orbis-Pictus Award
Related Websites
Discovering Lewis and Clark
York�s Contribution to the Expedition
More About York
Rhoda Blumberg
School of Library and Information Studies
TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY