Westward Expansion Mentor Text Resource

I have been taking a children's writing class this semester and have learned the importance of using mentor texts to support students understanding and encourage students to relate personally to what they are learning. I recently finished the book Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larsen. This is a historical fiction account of a young woman that is to settle uninhabited land in Montana during the 1800s. The author based the book on an ancestor of hers. I would use this book in my future classrooms to introduce and support our unit on the westward movement era. I felt as though this book portrays a realistic picture of the sacrifices, hardships, and community that existed during this time. Whether I choose to use it as a read aloud or in a book club setting, I think that reading this story would allow students to relate to the experience of having to "prove up" your land in order to keep it and how much this meant to them.