Nauvoo: Mormon City on the Mississippi River

by Raymond Bial

Overview

In 1839, persecuted Mormons fled Missouri, across the Mississippi River, seeking freedom from violence. They hoped to find a safe haven on the banks of the river in an Illinois city that they called Nauvoo, “the city beautiful.”

The Mormons did not flourish for long in Nauvoo. In neighboring cities some grew resentful of the prosperity that Joseph Smith and his people were enjoying. Religious misconceptions further fueled hostility toward the Mormons. Would the oft-persecuted Mormons have to flee their city beautiful?

Through poignant writing and photographs of Nauvoo today, Raymond Bial tells the story of the city that many Mormons consider to be the wellspring of their religion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547561950
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/16/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	64
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	1 - 12 Years

About the Author

Raymond Bial is an acclaimed photoessayist for children. Four of his books were chosen as Notable Books in the Field of Social Studies by the NCSS. He lives in Urbana, Illinois, with his wife and children.

Raymond Bial is an acclaimed photoessayist for children. Four of his books were chosen as Notable Books in the Field of Social Studies by the NCSS. He lives in Urbana, Illinois, with his wife and children.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5-9-With the same sensitivity and respect that he demonstrated in Amish Home (Houghton, 1993), Bial introduces readers to a city that was established by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1839. It became the central city in which the Mormons settled. By 1846, the community was the 10th largest in the United Sates. The author paints a picture of life in Nauvoo, from the artisan's shops to the craftsmen who worked and sold their products there to the Mormons' devotion to their religion, and of the climate that led to its abandonment. This effectively written account provides a sympathetic but balanced introduction to Mormon beliefs and the reasons that compelled thousands of people to leave their homes during the winter of 1846. Excellent color photographs grace almost every page, helping readers to acquire an even deeper sense of place. One illustration is mislabeled. (Identified as the graves of church leader Joseph Smith, his brother Hyrum, and his wife Emma, the picture actually shows the graves of Joseph's parents and some of his grandchildren.) However, this is a small distraction in a well-done work.-Deanna Romriell, Salt Lake City Library, UT Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Among the many serene illustrations are a few period portraits and many clear, well-composed photographs depicting the serene exteriors and interiors of restored and reconstructed building in present-day Nauvoo...Spotlighting the town and early Mormon history, this well written account also sheds on nineteenth-century American religious intorlerance.
Booklist, ALA

From the Publisher