Patty Reed's Doll

I really enjoyed reading Patty Reed's Doll because it incorporates literature with Social Studies. From reading this book, I learned how students can learn about history in a way that is different than the standard textbook approach. I liked how the literature can appeal to the emotions and students can have a better feel and understanding about a period in history that can come alive to them.
I personally did not know a lot about the Donner Party but learned a lot about their travels through this story. This book is a conceivable one to use in the classroom especially in guided reading and discussion groups. I believe it is a story that the students will want to talk about. Reading about Patty Reed and her family has influenced me to teach through literature with my students because it appeals more personally.
I have included my summary of the story below:
The story begins in 1846 in the city of Springfield, Illinois. Patty has several dolls to play with but keeps one at her side at all times. As Patty and her doll keep Patty's grandmother company, she tells them of stories when she was younger and pioneered the path of Daniel Boone and her encounters with Indians. A few days later Patty finds out that her family will be pioneering to California with other families. Their travel group is the Donner party.When their journey begins and they pass the Missouri River the Donner party spends a few days on the prairie. It is a very pleasant time and seemed to Patty and her doll like a long picnic. The young children play with flowers and the women talk about what they will do when they arrive in California. Deeper into their journey they come across Indians who help them ferry across the Kansas River. Patty is worried that the Indians will be like the ones her grandmother spoke of, but they were tame. At the other side they meet Colonel Russell's company and befriend another family of mostly young boys who bring lively music to their campfire nights. The banks of the Big Blue River were not dry. The families had plans on crossing the river the day after Patty's grandmother dies. Mrs. Reed was hoping that they would have reached higher and dryer land where she believed her mother could have gotten better, but it was too late. They stayed an extra day, carved a coffin and gravestone and buried Patty's grandmother. Fourth of July was celebrated at Ft. Laramie where Colonel Russell's train of wagons had waited for the Donner party. All celebrated this occasion with festivities and had even met more Indians who were also celebrating. The traveling parties meet other Indians along their journey ranging in status. Some traded their goods; others followed them and would take whatever was given by the pioneers.After crossing the summit of the Rocky Mountains the men discuss how they will finally finish their journey to California. One man who was met earlier in the trip suggested to go the safe route, but Mr. Reed was fond of a Mr. Hasting's shortcut. They were now only three hundred miles away and would meet Mr. Hastings at Ft. Bridger where he would guide the families the rest of the way.
The traveling party has to travel through a really dry desert area and become very hungry and have run out of food and water. Their animals are becoming weak and the young children are becoming cranky from hunger and heat. Mr. Reed gets in a fight with another pioneer who tries to whip him and instead hits Mrs. Reed. So that Mr. Reed will not be harmed any more he is asked to go ahead of the party and leave the family.The Reed family minus Mr. Reed continue their journey and find that they have to camp a few nights because they are snowed in and there is no point in continuing their journey. At this point, other party members have journeyed further ahead but have had to come back because there was no hope in going forward. They built cabins on the Sierra Mountains and were covered with snow each morning. They were running low on food and have already had to eat the meat of the sick animals. Two people from their party have already died. The children and Mrs. Reed think of Mr. Reed often and have hopes that he will be returning to rescue them.The members of the party decide that walking is the best way to get across to California and a few people at a time are suggested to go. Finally, a rescue team finds the party and they are walked on the trail to a better life. On the way, Patty cannot make it and is sent back to the rest of the party that was left behind.As she had hoped, Patty and her younger brother are retrieved by her father. They camp a couple more nights and Mr. Reed carries Patty part of the way. He becomes really weak and that night while they are camping he almost freezes over. The next day, Patty decides that she does not want to burden her father and walks until she collapses. Fortunately, her father had saved a very small piece of bread in his pocket and gave it to his daughter.Patty gains enough energy to finally make it to her mother and the rest of her family and friends in California. Dolly survives the journey and was stored away and brought out when Patty became a grandmother and shared her stories with her grandchildren about her pioneering days.