Journey to Gonzales (review)

1 1 8 Southwestern Historical QuarterlyJuly compose imaginative writings married to quality imagery for small towns all along the southwestern border. Viva lafrontera] Arizona State UniversityDaniel Arreóla Journey to Gonzales. By Melodie A. Cuate. (Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2008. Pp. 172. Illustrations. ISBN 9780896726246, $17.95 cloth.) Ms. Cuate has done it again. Journey to Gonzales, the third installment of the Mr. Barrington's Mysterious Trunk Series, takes the reader, and our intrepid trio, Hannah and Nick Taylor and Jackie Montalvo, to the first battle of the Texas Revolution. There, they try to save the lives of friends met in the first two books. This intervention will prove troublesome, to say the least, and will make for a thoroughly intriguing story. This series, and this book in particular, takes great pains to teach as well as tell a great story. Hannah, Nick, and Jackie are constantly put into unfamiliar circumstances from which they, and the reader, will learn a great deal. The girls, who for much of the story, are with the Mexican soldiers camped near Gonzales, are asked to perform tasks that should be familiar to any girl of that era. They, however, are completely stymied by such tasks as preparing a newly killed bird for cooking and then cooking it over an open fire. Fortunately for them, they are in the company of a compassionate soldier, Private Leonardo Ramires, who has children their age back in Béxar. Ramires takes care of the girls and teaches them many of the simple things he believes they need to know. Private Ramires is a member of the Compañía de Alamo de Parras of Béxar led by Lieutenant Castañeda. It is Castañeda's job to retrieve the cannon from the citizens of Gonzales. He has orders to take the cannon but to do so in a peaceful manner. Hannah and Jackie will also spend part of this adventure in the Gonzales settlement and meet many of the major players on the Texian side. On the lighter side of this part of the journey, Hannah and Jackie are confronted at one point with the problem of using an outhouse with no roll of tissue in sight. There was a basket of cornhusks in a corner, though, much toJackie's dismay. While the girls are in the Mexican camp, Nick is in the Gonzales settlement for most of the story. While there, he helps to hide (and shoot off) the small cannon that is the cause of all the fuss. He meets again many of the young men that he saw previously (in the future?) at the Alamo. Nick helps some of the townspeople like Naomi DeWitt prepare for the coming trouble. He assists the men in preparing for the batde by making lead musket balls and is then present at die batde of Gonzales. Nick is also confronted with the harsh realities of slavery in early Texas and bravely takes an active step to make life better for one of his new friends. All three of our time-travelers are confronted with unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations and this will allow them to grow as individuals, become closer as friends and family, and learn about life during the Texas Revolution. Aside from the clear, engaging writing of this series, I have also enjoyed the additional learning tools Ms. Cuate includes in her books. There is a timeline of events, a listing of historical characters, as well as a Spanish to English transía- 20ogBook Reviewslig tion of phrases used in the book. These thoughtful inclusions are exceedingly helpful. I have often wished, as a student of history, that I could take "field trips" to the past—smell the air, taste the food, more completely understand the problems and joys of everyday life in days gone by. My students often express the same wish. As nearly as can be, this series gives the young reader the opportunity to take one of these trips into the past. Victoria, TexasDeborah Hardin Causes Won, Lost, and Forgotten: How Hollywood and Popular Art Shape What We Know About the Civil War. By Gary W. Gallagher. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press...