What did pioneer children do for fun? What did they fear as they crossed the plains? What was it like for someone who traveled without parents? Many books have been written about the westward journey of the early latter day saints — often called one of the greatest epics in American history. In most of these descriptions however, children and teenagers are rarely seen and almost never heard. I Walked to Zion looks at this migration from the perspective of young people who experienced the great exodus.

Susan Arrington Madsen, author of The Lord Needed a Prophet, has collected actual accounts of thirty young people (under the age of twenty) who were members of Mormon wagon trains and handcart companies. You'll hear their voices through their recollection found in journals and autobiographies. B. H. Roberts describes how he and his sister traveled from England as virtual orphans until they joined their mother in Utah. Fanny Fry tells of her fear when she was nearly crushed to death by a heavily loaded handcart.