- Hardcover: 213 pages
- Publisher: Greenwillow (May 1990)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0688092667
- ISBN-13: 978-0688092665
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 16 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 544 g
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The harrowing cross-continental journey of three orphans and their American Indian guide is the subject of this story set in the late 1800s. Each of the travelers has a different reason for leaving Canada: Nell is searching for a new adoptive mother; her best friend Louisa is running away from cruel foster parents; and Peter is helping Grandfather Joe escape white lawmen. Between times of crisis the companions experience the wilderness and reflect upon the past. Although details of frontier life are authentically reproduced, some characterizations remain less than convicing. Joe's broken dialect is more distracting than effective; and, while Nell emerges as a sympathetic heroine, her "almost-sister" Louisa appears too simpleminded. Ultimately, however, this historical novel proves successful, as Levin ( The Keeping Room ; The Trouble with Gramary ) reveals the plight of 19th-century orphans and exposes the settlers' unfair treatment of Native Americans. Especially enlightening is Joe's recounting of bits of ancient lore, helping to broaden the children's understanding of nature and mankind. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8 --During the late 19th century, unwanted children were shipped to Canada from the teeming streets of English cities. From their stories is woven this one about the survival of two friends: small, intelligent, sober Nell and large, clumsy, slightly retarded Louisa. Louisa is mistreated by her foster family; Nell is kidnapped upon her arrival and escapes, but is so delayed that her foster mother has left for Maine. Nell rescues Louisa; with a new friend and his grandfather Joe, an old, one-handed Glooskeb Indian, they journey to Maine during the harsh winter. Joe's retellings of Glooskeb (Glooscap) legends along the way entertain and instruct the girls even as they charm readers. The foursome's arrival in Maine in an abandoned railway car pulled by a moose with a chair arm for a halter and a horse ridden bareback by a disheveled Nell is unforgettable. Still, what might have been a rich tapestry of strands made up of Joe's mysterious past, Louisa's attachment to the endearing tame moose, and the girls' changing attachments doesn't quite materialize. Nell is self-righteous, disapproving, and not very likable; happenings tend to be unclear and often confusing. It's also hard to figure how old the girls are, and there's too much telling rather than showing. Still, it's a good adventure with some fascinating history. The ending is left open, presumably for a sequel. --Marjorie Lewis, Scarsdale Junior High School, NY
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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