Synopses & Reviews
Early in the winter of 1634, a young Dutch trader sets out from a tiny outpost on the southern tip of Manhattan Island to explore the Iroquois country, where the powerful Mohawk tribe controlled the most important trade routes in the region. Twenty-three-year-old Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert and his friends traveled deep into what is now New York State, trading tools and weapons for food, shelter, and furs, and seeking to establish new tribal friendships that would strengthen the faltering Dutch trade. Throughout the journey, Van den Bogaert kept a journal of their adventures, recording their fears, successes, and the terrible hardship of making such a journey in the depths of winter. Here is that journal, nearly four centuries later, in Van den Bogaert's own words.
In Journey into Mohawk Country, George O'Connor's passionate research and extraordinarily expressive illustrations bring this remarkable historical document to life. He skillfully draws upon the subtle hints and innuendoes of Van den Bogaert's journal entries to lend a new level of richness, humor, and humanity to this long-forgotten episode in American history.
Review
"[T]he book's quality ensures its place in studies of pre-Revolutionary America." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Bogaert's journal provides a wealth of interesting historical details, but in itself is rather dry reading. It is left to O'Connor to fill in the details, which he does by creating visual gags, giving his protagonists personalities they probably didn't possess and making up stories that didn't happen." KLIATT
Review
"O'Connor himself seems well versed on the subject, and his pictures conjure an authentic sense of a sparse and demanding landscape as they offer a glimpse into a lost culture. The diary is absent of racism, but there is a single frame of nudity and a bloodless depiction of a scalping." Booklist
Review
"The book is a good choice for libraries looking for something different for their graphic novel shelves, but it should be paired with the original work or other books on the history of New Amsterdam colony in order to get the full picture of the times." VOYA
Synopsis
Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert was only twenty three when he ventured into Mohawk territory in search of the answers to some pressing questions: where were all the beaver skins that the Indians should have been shipping down the river? Was the money that should have been going into the pockets of the Dutch going to the French instead? Despite freezing temperatures and a scarcity of trustworthy guides, maps, and sometimes even food, Harmen van den Bogaert and his friends set off for a journey through old New York in an attempt to revive the struggling fur trade. Nearly four centuries later, George O'Connor brings Harmen van den Bogaert's journal of his travels to life with simple and striking artwork.
Synopsis
Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert was only twenty three when he ventured into Mohawk territory in search of the answers to some pressing questions: where were all the beaver skins that the Indians should have been shipping down the river? Was the money that should have been going into the pockets of the Dutch going to the French instead? Despite freezing temperatures and a scarcity of trustworthy guides, maps, and sometimes even food, Harmen van den Bogaert and his friends set off for a journey through old New York in an attempt to revive the struggling fur trade. Nearly four centuries later, George O'Connor brings Harmen van den Bogaert's journal of his travels to life with simple and striking artwork.
About the Author
George O'Connor is the author of several picture books, including the New York Times bestseller Kapow!, Kersplash, and Sally and the Some-thing. This is his first graphic novel, a long-held dream that weaves together his passion for history and ongoing research into Native American life. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.