Bobbie Kalman, author of the acclaimed Historic Communities and Early Settler Life series, explores the action and adventure that made the West famous. In the latter part of the 19th century, more than half a million pioneers headed west to carve out a future on an unknown frontier. Some were drawn by the offer of cheap land and the promise of religious freedom while others had high hopes of finding gold. Thrilling, authentic photos and full-color illustrations recreate what life was really like for these cowboys, adventurers, and immigrants in this rough-and-ready era in our history.Settlers built their homes using whatever materials they found in nature -- logs, grass, sod, or adobe. Homes of the West describes in detail such early western-style homes as the soddy, the dugout, the log cabin, and adobe homes as well as Native American dwellings, tipis, longhouses, and pueblos. Children will read about: -- building a log home step by step-- different furnishings for log houses and frame houses-- the buildings on a ranch-- the dangers from snakes, tarantulas, scorpions, and fire