The Fourth of July celebration is one of the most joyful and entertaining days in the year.
Families come together with expectations of friendship and picnics of delicious food. After sharing the lip-smacking meal, children play outside and adults visit. Frequently, bands play patriotic music in city parks.
After this pleasant event, as the sun sets, everyone eagerly awaits the annual fireworks display. With the first bursting rocket, people glue their eyes to the sky for the next colorful explosion.
Jean Van Leeuwen takes readers back into the 1850’s and describes a Fourth of July celebration along the Oregon Trail. The title of this well-written book is "A Fourth of July on the Plains."
The journey from Indiana has been going on for weeks. By July 4th, the wagon train has finally reached the last section of the Great Plains before entering the Rockies.
Footsore and weary, the travelers decide to rest for a day and celebrate the Fourth of July. So far from home, they look out on immense grass and looming mountains and plan their celebration.
The men decide to go hunting and leave the wagon train behind.Young Jesse wants to go with the men, but his father tells him he is too young.
Left behind, he disconsolately looks about the camp. The women are busy baking and preparing the celebratory meal. This seems dull for Jesse, and he starts getting into trouble. His mother becomes angry at his shenanigans and soon has him sitting at a campfire, stirring a pot.
Jesse and his friends now really feel disconnected and without purpose. They are too young for the men, and have no interest in working with the women and girls. They begin to think of an idea.
Remembering the parades they have witnessed in Indiana, and the music the bands played, the boys wonder if these things could be something they could do at the camp.
But how do you create a band in the middle of the plains? Looking about, the boys come up with a plan.
What do the boys create for the wagon train? How does music form a major part of this idea? Do you like Fourth of July parades? Have you ever participated in a parade?
Do you like the picnics on the Fourth of July best, or are the fireworks your favorite? How do these young boys bring joy to the travelers in the middle of the Great Plains?
To find out the answers to these questions, please go to the library and check out this interesting title, "A Fourth of July on the Plains," by Jean Van Leeuwen.
The author shows this well known holiday being enjoyed by a group of settlers on the Oregon Trail.
She has used the actual diary of the young boy, Jesse, to give the actual details of the celebration. As a result, the story has a deep sense of authenticity.
As you prepare for your upcoming celebration of the Fourth of July, share this intriguing story with your family. The times were certainly different, but the joy of the holiday celebration and the love of the United States is still the same. I hope you like the book. Enjoy!
