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A TALE OF GOLD

Name: A TALE OF GOLD
Author: Thelma Hatch Wyss
ISBN: 978-1-4169-4212-2

by Thelma Hatch Wyss ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 23, 2007

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At 14, orphaned James leaves San Francisco to become a “stampeder” in the Yukon. He has some money and his dead father’s small savings to buy a steamboat ticket to Alaska and a mining outfit once he’s there. Aboard the rusty, crowded steamer, he meets people who will be his friends in the wilds and the usual assortment of con men, cheats and thieves; they, too, will reappear. The story covers the tough life in the diggings, winter, the hard work, the dangers and describes his partner, who, readers learn, is a girl disguised as a boy. Everything should be exciting as Wyss tells about the adventure, but in James’s first-person narration, it is quite pedestrian. Excitement is described, never rising from the page, and the story has so many elements that the action blurs. Moreover, how did James buy about 2,000 pounds of supplies with the small amount of money he had, and how did he portage it over the Chilkoot Pass by himself? The Yukon rush of the 1890s is historic, but even when James and his companions find gold, it seems unexciting. (A map would have been a plus.) (Historical fiction. 6-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2007

ISBN: 978-1-4169-4212-2

Page Count: 160

Publisher: McElderry

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2007

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
BEAR DANCER
by Thelma Hatch Wyss

- BOOK REVIEW
TEN MILES FROM WINNEMUCCA
by Thelma Hatch Wyss

- BOOK REVIEW
A STRANGER HERE
by Thelma Hatch Wyss

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HOW I BECAME A PIRATE

by Melinda Long & illustrated by David Shannon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2003

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Thanks to parrot-toting Braidbeard and his gloriously disreputable crew, a lad discovers the ups and downs of a pirate’s life in this rousing mini-epic. His mom and dad busy on another part of the beach, young Jeremy happily joins a band of hook-handed, eye-patched, snaggle-toothed pirates aboard their ship, learning pirate table manners (none), enjoying a game of nautical soccer until a shark eats the ball, then happily retiring without having to brush teeth, or even don pajamas. But then Jeremy learns that pirates don’t get tucked in, or get bedtime stories, and as for good night kisses—Avast! Worse yet, no one offers comfort when a storm hits. So, giving over the pirate’s life, Jeremy shows the crew where to bury its treasure (his backyard), and bids them goodbye. Shannon outfits Braidbeard’s leering, pop-eyed lot in ragged but colorful pirate dress, and gives his young ruffian-in-training a belt and bandanna to match. This isn’t likely to turn pirate wannabees into landlubbers, but it will inspire a chorus of yo-ho-hos. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003

ISBN: 0-15-201848-4

Page Count: 44

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2003

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE CASE OF THE SLIDING SPACESHIP
by Melinda Long ; illustrated by Monica Wyrick

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW I BECAME A PIRATE
by Melinda Long & illustrated by David Shannon & developed by Oceanhouse Media

- BOOK REVIEW
PIRATES DON’T CHANGE DIAPERS
by Melinda Long & illustrated by David Shannon

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ZATHURA

by Chris Van Allsburg & illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 2002

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A trite, knock-off sequel to Jumanji (1981). The “Jumanji” box distracts Walter Budwing away from beating up on his little brother Danny, but it’s Danny who discovers the Zathura board inside—and in no time, Earth is far behind, a meteor has smashed through the roof, and a reptilian Zyborg pirate is crawling through the hole. Each throw of the dice brings an ominous new development, portrayed in grainy, penciled freeze frames featuring sculptured-looking figures in constricted, almost claustrophobic settings. The angles of view are, as always, wonderfully dramatic, but not only is much of the finer detail that contributed to Jumanji’s astonishing realism missing, the spectacular damage being done to the Budwings’ house as the game progresses is, by and large, only glimpsed around the picture edges. Naturally, having had his bacon repeatedly saved by his younger sibling’s quick thinking, once Walter falls through a black hole to a time preceding the game’s start, his attitude toward Danny undergoes a sudden, radical transformation. Van Allsburg’s imagination usually soars right along with his accomplished art—but here, both are just running in place. (Picture book. 6-8)