They're Off!: The Story of the Pony Express

by Cheryl Harness, Cheryl Harness (Illustrator)

Overview

In 1860, with North and South about to be divided by war, East and West were united through an extraordinary venture — the Pony Express. Over the course of ten days in April, eighty riders and five hundred horses delivered mail between California and Missouri — a mission that took three weeks by stagecoach.
Although it existed for only a year and a half, the Pony Express remains a legendary chapter in American history and a symbol of the bold, adventurous character of the Old West. The spirit of the brave riders and their ponies is captured perfectly in Cheryl Harness's lively, brightly illustrated, and information-filled account.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689851216
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	07/01/2002
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	377,005
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Cheryl Harness lives in Independence, Missouri. As an author and illustrator, she is known for her engaging approach to history, seen in such books as Our Colonial Year; Mary Walker Wears the Pants; Young Abe Lincoln; George Washington; Spymaster; Three Young Pilgrims, Ghosts of the White House; and Remember the Ladies.

Cheryl Harness lives in Independence, Missouri. As an author and illustrator, she is known for her engaging approach to history, seen in such books as Our Colonial Year; Mary Walker Wears the Pants; Young Abe Lincoln; George Washington; Spymaster; Three Young Pilgrims, Ghosts of the White House; and Remember the Ladies.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 1-4-A history of this unique form of mail delivery with an emphasis on the historical events leading up to, surrounding, and eventually causing the demise of the Pony Express, as well as an introduction to many of the people involved. Harness's text is involving and filled with lively detail. Her busy and elaborate illustrations also create a panorama of the age. Tidbits of information such as the definition of mochila are given in many hand-lettered asides in the pictures. A list of all 182 riders is appended, and a one-page pictorial presentation of happenings around the world at the time should help children get a broader historical perspective. While much of the material here is similar to that in Steven Kroll's Pony Express! (Scholastic, 1996), Kroll offers more of a close-up presentation, with less historical context. The high appeal of the subject matter suggests that there may be room on most library shelves for both titles. Readers of both books may be puzzled since Harness says the rider leaving Missouri was Johnny Fry, while Kroll says it was Bill Richardson. Kroll's note explains that there is disagreement on this matter; Harness doesn't mention it. Bibliographies in both titles are totally different as well.-Louise L. Sherman, Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ

School Library Journal

In a volume subtitled "The Story of the Pony Express," Harness (The Amazing Impossible Erie Canal, 1995, etc.) traces the exuberance and the debt that—for a brief period in 186061—blazed the mail west in ten short days, half the time it had taken by stagecoach. The historical context is planted around the venture: the rumblings of civil war, Lincoln's pending election, the upheaval of native lands as more settlers pressed westward. Harness also dwells on the youth and instincts of the riders, who battled weather and fatigue, and provides factual asides that can be pored over once the main story is known, e.g., a list of 182 names of riders (the last died in 1955, in New York City). When paired with Andrew Glass's The Sweetwater Run (p. 1399), about Bill Cody's stint with the Pony Express, this book will be ideal for units on the West, for it makes historical events fairly roar with immediacy.

Kirkus Reviews