The following collection of thematically related readings is available in Trouble River and Related Readings in McDougal Littell's Literature Connections series.

Excerpt from Buffalo Gals: Women of the Old West by Brandon Marie Miller, © 1995
Summary: What inspired ordinary people of the 1800s to undertake the arduous journey west? This excerpt explores the promise of adventure and the reality of sacrifice.

Excerpt from On the Way Home by Laura Ingalls Wilder, ©1962
Summary: An 1894 diary entry describes one day of Laura Ingalls Wilder's 650-mile trek by covered wagon from De Smet, South Dakota, to Mansfield, Missouri.

Favorite Frontier Songs edited by Eugenia Garson
(from The Laura Ingalls Wilder Songbook, ©1968)
Summary: The music and lyrics of "Oh, Susanna," "Paddle Your Own Canoe," and "Buffalo Gals" convey the spirit of America's frontier period.

"Old Sly Eye" by Russell Gordon Carter
(from Story Parade, © 1945)
Summary: In this suspenseful story, young Alben defends his frontier family against "Old Sly Eye," a panther with a reputation for killing and eluding danger.

"Points of View" by Ishmael Reed
(from New and Collected Poems
Summary: In considering two sources of conventional wisdom about how to handle a bear, the poem's speaker wonders about the bear's point of view.

"Song for Smooth Waters" Native American Song
Summary: This song is from the Haida, a Native American people of Canada and Alaska.

Granny Squannit and the Bad Young Man retold by Joseph Bruchac
(from Flying with the Eagle, Racing the Great Bear: Stories from Native North America, © 1993)
Summary: A young Indian boy who refuses to respect his elders gets a frightful comeuppance from an old woman in this Wampanoag correction tale.