This stirring story of survival set against the backdrop of the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World, introduces Samuel Collier, the page of famed Captain John Smith.

In 1607, a year after the Virginia Company was granted a charter to establish a settlement in North America, 104 men set sail on a voyage to a new land. Among the brave adventurers who make the journey is a young boy named Samuel Collier, the page of famed Captain John Smith. Disease, famine, and continuing attacks by neighboring Algonquin Native Americans take a tremendous toll on the settlers. Samuel is one of the few to survive the harsh realities of the New World during the first few years of Jamestown.

Based on author Gail Karwoski’s careful research of the era, this fictional account portrays the struggles and successes of our country’s earliest settlers. Young readers will enjoy this story of courage and survival while learning about this important period in the history of the United States.

A 150-pound Newfoundland dog teams with Lewis & Clark for an edge-of-your-seat middle grade adventure.

“Once young readers begin this fictional account of the dog’s role in the expedition, they will be caught up in the drama and action and even reluctant readers will find it just too good to put down.” ―School Library Journal

It is 1804, the year that Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and the Corps of Discovery set out for their now-legendary exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. With no maps and little idea what wonders and dangers lie ahead, Seaman, a 150-pound Newfoundland dog, proves to be one of the most valuable members of the Corps.

In the face of starvation, Seaman catches and retrieves game, and his intimidating size and teeth protect the small band of explorers – from Native American raiders and even a ferocious grizzly bear! As the bond and mutual trust between Seaman and the Corp grows, they’re confident that nothing—not even raging waters and towering mountains—will stop them from reaching the West Coast.

Gail Langer Karwoski’s thrilling fictional account of Lewis and Clark’s expedition with the Corps of Discovery, Seaman, and eventually Sacagawea, is full of accurate details drawn from Lewis’s own diary entries and will draw readers into one of the most exciting chapters in American history.

Also by Gail Langer Karwoski:
Quake!: Disaster in San Francisco, 1906
Surviving Jamestown: The Adventures of Young Sam Collier
The Tree That Owns Itself

Awards:

Pick of the Lists ―American Booksellers Association
Children’s Books Mean Business ―American Booksellers Association and Children’s Book Council Joint Committee
Volunteer State Book Awards (Master List, Grades 4-6) ―Tennessee Association of School Librarians
Georgia Children’s Book Award (Nominee)
Prairie Pasque Children’s Book Award (Nominee) ―South Dakota Library Association, SDRC, SD State Library, SD Elementary School Principal