American Slave, American Hero: York of the Lewis and Clark Expedition by Laurence Pringle

    Most have heard the story of Lewis and Clark and their expedition across into Western America, however few know that there was a third individual on this expedition by the name of York.  Who is York?  York was William Clark's personal slave and accompanied the two men on their journey to the West.  After realizing that there were hardly any books written about this courageous man and important individual, Laurence Pringle wrote the book American Slave, American Hero.  The book tells the tale of York and the role he played in the westward expedition, while giving a diverse perspective of the journey. Pringle begins the book with a short note, proclaiming that some of the events in the story may not be entirely true because records of African Americans were not well kept during the 1800s. 
   York grew up as a slave to William Clark, playing with the boy until he grew old enough to care for and look after his master.  Will grew older and served in the military before returning home and receiving a letter from Meriwether Lewis,  asking him to explore the West.  After careful consideration of other volunteers, William chose York to accompany them on his voyage.  The book goes on to describe the expedition to the uncharted West and York's role on the trip.  He played with the children of the Ariakara tribe and was coined "big medicine" (meaning something awe-inspiring) by onlooking Native Americans. 
     Though the book had more text on each page than I would have preferred, the flaws in the text were overshadowed by the beautiful illustrations.  Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu created magical water color paintings to depict the events of the story and bring these happenings to life on the page. Though the use of water color may have reduced the details in the illustrations, the soft colors provide a calming and tranquil mood.  There is something soothing about the way water color painting sits on the page.  Thus, although the book had a bit more text than I would have liked, the remarkable illustrations made up for the flaw.
     The tale provides an excellent account of an individual with whom many are most likely unfamiliar and the text provides teachers the opportunity to incorporate York into studies of Lewis and Clark. Perhaps one day his story will be as well known as the two men leading the expedition, but we will have to wait and see.