Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Let's Go!: The Story of Getting from There to Here
Illustrator: Scot Ritchie
Nonfiction Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Maple Tree Press, 2007 ISBN: 1897349025
Today, if you decide that you want to go to a friend’s house on the other side of town, you can get there by walking, riding a bike, driving a car, or riding in a bus or on a train. There was a time in North America when getting from place to place was a lot more complicated. The long distances that mean so little to us now were a huge challenge for the people who lived long ago.
The story begins with the early peoples who struggled to survive in the cold and inhospitable terrain of the ice age. To catch a wooly mammoth or other food animal, they had to chase their prey on foot.
When temperatures rose and the ice retreated, the people pulled their belongings on travois or on toboggans. They wore snowshoes in winter, and the canoes they built were perfect for exploring lakes and rivers.
Then men from Europe came in big ships with sails. They came to trade with the natives, to farm the land, and to build villages and towns. They brought horses with them, and now the people in North America had animals that could carry humans or supplies on their backs. The distances between places seemed shorter because the time it took to go from “there to here,” was less than before.
This excellent title tells the story of North America in a new and innovative way. Young readers will enjoy learning about how history changed as people found new ways to get themselves from one place to another.
