Mary and the Trail of Tears recounts hard truths in a compelling story of resilience and strength in a loving Cherokee family. While many of us know the Trail of Tears involved a long and pain-staking forced removal of American Indians from their homes, often overlooked are the extended periods of native imprisonment in camps while the U.S. government faltered in plotting the route and logistics of the removal. The author, Andrea L. Rogers, is a citizen of the Cherokee nation, and she speaks her truth in an engaging and age-appropriate way. Kids aged 8 to 11 will find the story suspenseful and relatable as they share Mary's fear as well as her moments of fun and tenderness with her sisters.Publisher description:
It is June first and twelve-year-old Mary does not really understand what is happening: she does not understand the hatred and greed of the white men who are forcing her Cherokee family out of their home in New Echota, Georgia, capital of the Cherokee Nation, and trying to steal what few things they are allowed to take with them, she does not understand why a soldier killed her grandfather--and she certainly does not understand how she, her sister, and her mother, are going to survive the 1000 mile trip to the lands west of the Mississippi.