Fourteen-year-old Howard Gardner is a hoggee, a boy who drives the mules that pull boats along the Erie Canal in the 1830s. During one bitter winter, Howard nearly starves to death. Recovering from a beating at the home of the old man who cares for the mules, Howard meets silent and sad Sarah, who intrigues him. Learning that she’s deaf and mute, he resolves to help her. Howard’s a quick study and teaches himself sign language. He eventually trains Sarah, and for the first time in her life she communicates and the world opens up. So it does for Howard who finally faces up to his perfect older brother and achieves a lifelong goal: He leaves canal life forever and returns to school. This is fine, simply told historical fiction. Howard’s a nice young man and well-drawn, and the time and place are well-evoked. (Historical fiction. 10-12)
