Moccasin Trail

Gah, I hate it when books get me all choked up when I'm trying to read them aloud to my kiddos. Then they make a big deal about it. I think I covered it up pretty well with this one.
This is a great view of what life was like for those early settlers in what is now Oregon:the hardship of the journey out there, the work it took to set up a homestead, the run-ins with Native Americans, who the settlers didn't understand, and vice-versa.
Jim, with his constant internal struggle with figuring out who he was, added much needed understanding of both sides of the settlers taking over the West.
Such a great book. Another one I'll be happy to read again when the younger two get old enough to hear it.