Woodruff spins a labored but engrossing tale around a lighthouse, its builder and a cataclysmic storm—all three drawn from history. Penniless and starving in Portsmouth in the wake of the sinking of their father’s ship, Digory and his little brother Cubby are rescued by Henry Winstanley, a well-to-do merchant and inventor who has built the first lighthouse out on Cornwall’s treacherous Eddystone Reef. A close rapport quickly develops, so that when Winstanley heads out to make repairs on the lighthouse in the teeth of a gale aptly dubbed the “Storm of the Century,” Digory overcomes his fear of the sea and follows with a shipment of candles. The author lays portents and warnings into the plot with a heavy hand, builds to a wild and devastating climax and then wrenches events around to a more or less happy ending. Winstanley was a fascinating individual who doesn’t get his due here, but Digory, despite his continual fretting, is a protagonist who actually seems to be his given age, and there’s enough natural and human drama to carry readers along. (afterword, map) (Historical fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-439-67703-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2008
For readers who can swallow the notion that a 12-year-old newly orphaned girl from a wealthy, sheltered upbringing would run away to become a hobo, this is a gratifying adventure from DeFelice (The Ghost of Fossil Glen, 1998, etc.). A year after the Great Crash, Frankie’s widower father has lost everything and commits suicide. The girl is to go to live with her aunt in Chicago, but Frankie cashes in the train ticket, disguises herself as a boy, and hops a freight to freedom. Luckily, she meets a boy who knows the ropes; Stewpot, as he’s called, with a cough to foreshadow his eventual demise, has been riding the rails for a long time. Frankie soon realizes how hard life is, for they are always cold, hungry, or both; train-hopping is dangerous and illegal. They persevere until Stewpot becomes too ill to travel; with the little money she has, Frankie attempts to get medical help, but no doctor will go out of his way for a hobo. When Stewpot dies, Frankie understands that her real life is with her aunt in Chicago. DeFelice gets the details of the period right, with especially well-realized scenes of what it means to be a hobo, even though much of this is just one more girl-disguised-as-a-boy story. Those seeking out tales on unfamiliar aspects of the Depression—or a different kind of survival story—will find it engaging. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: April 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-374-35552-5
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
Pygmies (as they are called here, rather than Mbuti) love to sing, but the hero, Mabuti, has not been blessed with a beautiful singing voice. In this uncomplicated tale, readers follow Mabuti’s efforts as he continues to practice, despite complaints from his playmates and the wild animals of the forest. Day after day, Mabuti spends time learning to sing; one day, day, much to his surprise, the doves commend him on his beautiful voice. Pleased, Mabuti plays a trick on his former tormentors, imitating a leopard to get their attention; the “leopard” demands to hear Mabuti’s singing voice in return for sparing the children’s lives. His song saves the day and endears him to his community (and he confesses the trick to an elder). The full-color illustrations deftly depict life in tropical Africa, the work of the villagers, and the wildlife that is part of this lush realm. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-902283-60-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1999
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