Dear Levi: Letters from the Overland Trail

"Dear Levi,
I surely hated leaving you behind in Pennsylvania, but you know I couldn't pass up the chance to go out to Oregon to see about Pa's claim.... Once you're old enough, Levi, you can come too. Till then, mind Miss Amelia, and don't go chasing after her chickens too much...."

So writes twelve-year-ol Austin Ives to his brother, Levi. The year is 1851, and Austin is setting off on a wagon train across the Overland Trail. Week by week and letter by letter, Austin tells the story of his harrowing trip west, across miles of dusty roads and surging river waters—straight into Indian territory! It's a difficult journey, and not all of his new friends will survive. But it's a trip Austin is determined to make—for at the end lies the promise of a bright new life.