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THE TRAIN JUMPER

Name: THE TRAIN JUMPER
Author: Don Brown
ISBN: 978-1-59643-218-7

by Don Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2007

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When the Great Depression hits, Ed “Collie” Collier’s father has died, his brother leaves home and the family has fallen apart. Collie decides to bring Little Bill home, joining the ranks of hobos jumping trains in search of something better. Encountering racists, thieves, dust storms and railroad bulls and meeting such colorful characters as Scarecrow, Papa Bear and “Rainy” Knight, Collie finds a steadfast friend in a boy named Ike. Collie locates Little Bill at a CCC camp in Colorado, and the story turns out well, but not in the way Collie had imagined. Brisk prose, short paragraphs and plenty of dialogue will make readers feel they are riding the rails with Ike and Collie. In fact, the tale reads like an oral history. A good companion to Karen Hesse’s Out of the Dust (1997) or Russell Freedman’s Children of the Great Depression (2006). (afterword) (Fiction. 10-14)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2007

ISBN: 978-1-59643-218-7

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Deborah Brodie/Roaring Brook

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2007

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
IT'S ABOUT TIME!
by Don Brown ; illustrated by Don Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
RUN AND HIDE
by Don Brown ; illustrated by Don Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
83 DAYS IN MARIUPOL
by Don Brown ; illustrated by Don Brown

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CANNONBALL RIVER TALES

by David Rounds ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1992

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Tom Terry, peaceable tall-tale hero, spends his days farming and growing in wisdom along North Dakota's Cannonball River rather than whipsawing his way through the world. These five stories are less about Tom's prodigious feats of strength (and his willingness to exaggerate them in the retelling) than about the magical creatures he meets—the chatterbox grain spirit, Wheatberry; Theodore, a sarcastic tree spirit; the beautiful River Spirit; and others—all with lessons to teach about caring for wildlife, preserving natural beauty, and living in harmony with neighbors and the environment. Rounds seldom lectures; but the subdued humor, the lack of tension, and a hero who's anything but a typical, larger-than-life tall-tale figure all reduce the effectiveness of his message. Nonetheless, a strong first effort, appealing to the head if not the heart. (Fiction. 10-13)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-87156-577-3

Page Count: 98

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1992

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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NATURE'S TRICKSTERS

ANIMALS AND PLANTS THAT AREN'T WHAT THEY SEEM

by Mary Batten & illustrated by Lois Lovejoy ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1992

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A sampling of mechanisms that plants and animals use to enhance pollination and reproduction, to avoid predators, and to capture prey. Some ``tricks'' are familiar: the viceroy butterfly mimics the coloration of the foul-tasting monarch; the anglerfish dangles bait to capture its prey. Some are bizarre: the male red-sided garter snake emulates the mating pheromone given off by the female snake, enabling it to confuse other male garter snakes and enhance its chances of mating with the female; the African widow bird, which lays its eggs in finch nests, has evolved so that the chicks mimic 125 different species of finches, each with a distinctive mouth marking. Fascinating stuff that, unfortunately, lacks the detail and documentation to make it outstanding science: the author gives no sources, while the soft b&w pencil illustrations are a poor choice for the subject matter. Specialized terms are italicized (``cryptic walking,'' ``Batesian mimicry,'' ``photophores''). Index not seen. (Nonfiction. 10-14)