A Good Book

While at the library I stumbled upon a children's book that caught my eye. It's called "Indian Captive: the Story of Mary Jemison". I had never heard of Mary Jemison until now and am finding the book to be quite good. When I'm done reading it myself, I plan to read it aloud to my children.

"On a spring day in 1758, a rumor of raiding Indians reached the Jemison farmhouse in eastern Pennsylvania. A few hours later, a band of warriors surrounded the house, burst into the kitchen, and carried the family away captive. Mary, the younger daughter, was taken over the Allegheny Mountains to southern Ohio and later to a Seneca Indian village on the Genesee River, in what is now western New York. Though Mary had several thrilling "near escapes" and later could have returned to the settlements of white men, she remained with the Indians. As the "White Woman of the Genesee" she is famous today in American colonial history."

You will find "Indian Captive" to be an authentic reconstruction of Mary Jemison's capture, flight, and early years with the Indians. The author, Lois Lenski, has included many illustrations that portray the Seneca Indian life. This book gives good detail about how the Seneca Indians lived on a day by day basis. It describes how clothes were made, how the Seneca's farmed and describes the utensil's used for the tasks done by the men and women of the tribe.

This book has been given the Newberry Honor Award. I recommend it for family reading. You won't be disappointed.