This first entry in the American Adventures series is set during the Revolutionary War. When Mr. Bowden joins the Continental army to fight the British, Thomas Bowden, his mother and siblings, Emma and Ben, are forced to flee over the Pocono Mountains to Philadelphia and their Aunt Rachel’s home. Arriving at her sister’s door in a pauper-like state, Mrs. Bowden encounters new owners who are far less than friendly. The Jessups offer Mrs. Bowden a job as their servant only if she is willing to send Emma and Ben to the poorhouse. Rachel’s former servant, Lottie, comes to the aid of the Bowdens, helping them move into the Peach Tree Inn to provide meals for sea captains and businessmen. After overhearing a Tory spy make elicit plans to divert supplies from the Patriot army to the British, Thomas is kidnapped and taken to live with the Iroquois. Despite kindness shown to him, Thomas never fully assimilates into his new way of life and is left behind by the Iroquois when a Patriot army arrives to destroy their village. Pryor’s point, that there are always two sides to every issue, as well as substantial common ground, won’t be lost on readers, as both the Iroquois and the Patriots were fighting battles for independence. The historical details are vivid, the action unfolds at a strong pace, and as the exciting story concludes, the author’s parting comments will make readers reflect anew on American history. (b&w illustrations, not seen) (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-16518-4
Page Count: 167
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PLB 0-531-33140-7 Ketcham’s first book is based on an allegedly true story of a childhood incident in the life of Johann Sebastian Bach. It starts with a couple of pages regaling the Bach home and all the Johanns in the family, who made their fame through music. After his father’s death, Johann Sebastian goes to live with his brother, Johann Christoph, where he boasts that he is the best organist in the world. Johann Christoph contradicts him: “Old Adam Reincken is the best.” So Johann Sebastian sets out to hear the master himself. In fact, he is humbled to tears, but there is hope that he will be the world’s best organist one day. Johann Sebastian emerges as little more than a brat, Reincken as more of a suggestion than a character. Bush’s illustrations are most transporting when offering details of the landscape, but his protagonist is too impish to give the story much authority. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30140-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
Adler (also with Widener, Lou Gehrig, 1997, etc.) sets his fictional story during the week of July 14, 1932, in the Bronx, when the news items that figure in this tale happened. A boy gets a dime for his birthday, instead of the bicycle he longs for, because it is the Great Depression, and everyone who lives in his neighborhood is poor. While helping his friend Jacob sell newspapers, he discovers that his own father, who leaves the house with a briefcase each day, is selling apples on Webster Avenue along with the other unemployed folk. Jacob takes the narrator to Yankee Stadium with the papers, and people don’t want to hear about the Coney Island fire or the boy who stole so he could get something to eat in jail. They want to hear about Babe Ruth and his 25th homer. As days pass, the narrator keeps selling papers, until the astonishing day when Ruth himself buys a paper from the boy with a five-dollar bill and tells him to keep the change. The acrylic paintings bask in the glow of a storied time, where even row houses and the elevated train have a warm, solid presence. The stadium and Webster Avenue are monuments of memory rather than reality in a style that echoes Thomas Hart Benton’s strong color and exaggerated figures. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201378-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
