West on the Wagon Train: The Adventures of Young Buffalo Bill Book 4
Ages 8 and up; HarperCollins; May 2003

"This series is a perfect blend of history and adventure that takes us behind the exploits of the legendary western showman, Buffalo Bill, to the boy, Bill Cody." - Joan Lowery Nixon, author of the Orphan Train Series

The Story: "The train stretched out like a white snake in front of him, twenty-five wagons rolling forward, dipping and leaning over the uneven prairie ..."

The year is 1857, and Bill Cody's pa has recently passed away. Now eleven years old,
Bill takes a job as an extra hand on a wagon train headed west to help raise money for his family. It is a dream come true for Bill, and he is determined to be the best hired hand Lew Simpson has ever known!

Bill is soon befriended by Wild Bill Hickock, a man known throughout Kansas as the most deadly shot who ever lived. But he also realizes that working on the trail can be mighty hazardous. Faced with fierce hailstorms, a few mean-hearted teamsters, and a frightening buffalo stampede, Bill wonders if he has what it takes to be a true westerner.

The exciting fourth book in the on-going adventure series about young Buffalo Bill, west on the wagon train sweeps readers back into the exciting and dangerous world of America's frontier past.

Inspiration: Beth grew up hearing about Buffalo Bill from her father who, like our hero, was also named William Frederick Cody. When she began to look into the childhood of Buffalo Bill, she was amazed to find out what an incredibly exciting - and frightening - life the young boy led. Beth travelled the route the Cody's covered wagon took - going through Iowa and Missouri to their cabin site in Kansas, and what she learned about Bill's life truly amazed her.

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