We finally finished this book. We didn't learn much about the Pony Express which was why we chose to read this book. We also didn't learn a whole lot about race in the west in the 1850s. We didn't learn too much about mixed race problems in that time either. It tried to address all of these issues and just kind of missed on all of them from lack of focus. There was some good description of the place and of riding horses but it took us longer to read than is should have because we weren't totally drawn in. Perhaps it would have been better as a read to yourself rather than read aloud. ( )

Excellent book! Wonderful characters and story. I learned a few things about the Pony Express while I read it too. ( )

This book has a gripping plot and some American history tied in. It is a great nature/wilderness story with horses. 4Q4P The cover art is awesome and I'd recommend this to middle school and high school students. I chose to read this because I was interested in the American Frontier setting of it. AriannaF

"Black Storm Comin'" by Diane Lee Wilson is an excellent historical fiction book. In this exciting adventure story, readers will not only learn about the history of the Pony Express, but also discover what life may have been like for a mixed race family traveling to California in 1860. Fellow wagon train travelers have scorned, ridiculed, and ignored the Westcott family because the father is white and the mother is black. When the father accidentally shoots main character 12 year-old Colton Westcott, he has a mental breakdown and runs away, almost certainly to die in the desert. Colton is left alone to take care of his three younger siblings and his mother who is suffering from "childbirth fever". Although tricked and abandoned on the trail by the other travelers, Colton and his sisters heroically managed to reach the next town and even found a doctor for the dying mother. However, the family is completely broke. When Colton saw a large poster at the telegraph office with the words "Wiry fellows not over eighteen... Must be expert riders... Willing to risk death daily...Orphans preferred", Colton applied to be a Pony Express rider. Told in the first person, "Black Storm Comin'" is classified as a "young adult" book. However, even though Wilson's details are graphic at times, fourth grade readers should be able to handle the material...a gripping story! ( )

Booktalk:
Questions to start discussion:
*If you had to get a message to someone in California, how long would it take you? How many different ways could you relay the message? What about a hundred years ago? *What problems does a racially mixed family face in society today? What about during the time of slavery, or even one hundred years after slavery ended?
In Black Storm Comin', twelve-year-old Colton is traveling by wagon train to California along with his two sisters, and with his ma, who is black, and his pa, who is white. It's 1860, and the Civil War is on the horizon. When his pa accidentally shoots Colton, he runs off, leaving Colton to be the man of the family. With his light skin, Colton passes for white and gets a job with the Pony Express. Sending a text message may be more time-efficient, but the riding the Pony Express is sure a lot more exciting!

You can't help but cheer for twelve-year-old Colton, son of an African-American mother and a white father, who finds himself the man of the family in the mid 1800's while he travels with his family to California as part of a wagon train. Add to the story the prejudices of the times, a father that wasn't half the man as young Colton, and thrilling rides for the Pony Express, and you have yourself a great work of historical fiction. ( )