Voices of the Western Frontier

Western expansion from a personal perspective.

Sherry Garland created the Voices Series to provide personal narratives of moments in America’s past. Her newest addition to the series does just that. Focusing on the explorers and settlers who extended the frontier to the western coastline, Garland narrates in the voices of figures from history including Sacagawea, Jedediah Smith, and Annie Oakley. She fleshes out the timeline with characters representing whole populations, including a girl traveling west in a prairie schooner, a Santa Fe merchant, a gold prospector, a Pony Express rider, and a Chinese railroad worker. Artist Julie Dupré Buckner carefully researched the historical details for her evocative illustrations. Each image furthers the storyline and reinforces the emotional connection to the chronicle.