Pintsized Pioneers: Review and Giveaway

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PINTSIZED PIONEERS:
Taming the Frontier, 
One Chore at a Time

By Preston Lewis & Harriet Kocher Lewis


Young Adult / Nonfiction / History
Publisher: Bariso Press
Pages: 184
Publication Date: September 24, 2024


SYNOPSIS

Children tread lightly through the pages of Old West history. Pintsized Pioneers: Taming the Frontier, One Chore at a Time gives frontier children their due for all the work they did to help their families survive. Even at early ages, the youngsters helped families make ends meet and handled chores that today seem unbelievable. Written for today’s young adults, Pintsized Pioneers offers lessons on frontier history and on the value of work for contemporary youth.


In 1850 adolescents 16 and under accounted for 46 percent of the national population, making them an important labor force in settling the country. Pintsized Pioneers examines their tasks and toils starting with the chores on the trail west. Children assisted in providing fuel and water on the trail and at home when they settled down. In their new locations the young ones helped grow food, make clothing for the entire family and assist with the housekeeping in primitive dwellings.

These pintsized pioneers took on farm and ranch chores as young as six, some going on cattle drives at eight years of age. Even Old West town tykes, who enjoyed more career possibilities, helped their folks survive as well. In the end, many pintsized pioneers pitched in to help their families make ends meet. Difficult as their lives might have been, the lessons those children learned handling chores helped them and their country in the years ahead. Those pintsized lessons have contemporary applications to the youth of today.

Targeted at young adults, Pintsized Pioneers is written at a ninth-grade reading level and includes a supplementary glossary. Even so, Pintsized Pioneers is an eye-opener for adult readers as well.


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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Preston Lewis and Harriet Kocher Lewis co-authored three books in the “Magic Machine Series” published by Bariso Press: Devotionals from a Soulless Machine, Jokes from a Humorless Machine, and Recipes from a Tasteless Machine. They reside in San Angelo, Texas.

Preston Lewis has published more than 50 fiction and nonfiction works. The author and historian’s books include traditional Westerns, historical novels, comic Westerns, young adult books, and historical accounts. In 2021 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters for his literary accomplishments.

His writing honors include two Spur Awards from Western Writers of America and three Elmer Kelton Awards from the West Texas Historical Association. He has received ten Will Rogers Medallion Awards, and in 2024, he earned an inaugural Literary Global Independent Author Award in the Western Nonfiction category for Cat Tales of the Old West.

He is a past president of Western Writers of America and the West Texas Historical Association, which named him a fellow in 2016.

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Harriet Kocher Lewis is the award-winning editor and publisher of Bariso Press. Titles she has edited have been honored with Will Rogers Medallion Awards, Spur Finalist designations, and Independent Author Awards.

Lewis concluded her 26-year physical therapy career as the inaugural clinical coordinator for the physical therapy program at Angelo State University, where she taught technical writing and wrote or edited numerous scientific papers as well as a chapter in a clinical education textbook.




What a fascinating read about what childhood looked like for pioneers in the 1800’s. This book is a compilation of stories, diary entries, newspaper articles, and much more! It was easy to dive into and get lost into all the research of these stories detailing what life had been like for a child back then. Everyone was integral to life back then, especially the children who had numerous chores and jobs that they needed to attend to. The compilation of these accounts were eye opening. Of course, part of me knew children worked hard, but to really dive into it, to absorb what they went through, it really painted a larger picture of what that looked like.

I had family that were pioneers, so this really touched home for me. Because it gave me an opportunity to really digest what these pioneers went to, it made me think of my ancestors and what it would have been like for them. Some of these stories were so impressive, and I myself could not imagine having my own two year old bring in the cows from the pasture. The responsibility these children had was astonishing and it had made me truly appreciate what we do have today. Life was hard back then and every family member played a vital role to their survival. 

From comparing farm boys to city boys, and what girls did to help, which was much more than just house work, this compilation of stories and accounts will truly draw you in and stick with you. It’s not a long read, but it will for sure astonish you as you dive into the life of a child back then. 

Definitely worth the read, so be sure to check it out!

Rating 5/5

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