Synopses & Reviews
I had lain in my bed thinking of our visitor out in the bunk in the barn. It scarce seemed possible that he was the same man I had first seen, stern and chilling in his dark solitude, riding up our road. Something in father, something not of words or of actions but of the essential substance of the human spirit, had reached out and spoken to him and he had replied to it and had unlocked a part of himself to us. He was far off and unapproachable at times even when he was right there with you. The Starrett familys life forever changes when a man named Shane rides out of the great glowing West and up to their farm in 1889. Young Bob Starrett is entranced by this stoic stranger who brings a new energy to his family. Shane stays on as a farmhand, but his past remains a mystery. Many folks in their small Wyoming valley are suspicious of Shane, and make it known that he is not welcome. But dangerous as Shane may seem, he is a staunch friend to the Starretts—and when a powerful neighboring rancher tries to drive them out of their homestead, Shane becomes entangled in the deadly feud. This classic Western, originally published in 1949, is a profoundly moving story of the influence of a singular character on one boys life.
Review
"If you read only one western in your life, this is the one."—Roland Smith, author of
Peak
"Shane is a work of literature first and a Western second."—St. George Daily Spectrum
"A real superiority here."—Kirkus Reviews
"Its pace is steady. Its tension is of the uncoiling spring variety. Its as clean as a hound's tooth."—Saturday Review of Literature
"The author has created a tale which captivates the readers attention from beginning to end. . . . The book almost demands completion in one sitting."—Library Journal
Review
"Narrative and literary superiority." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"This is Esther Forbes at her brilliant best. She has drawn the character of Johnny with such sympathy and insight that he may take his place with Jim Hawkins, Huck Finn and other young immortals."and#160;and#160;--BookWeek
Review
"Has definite appeal for readers interested in the era or those looking for a different kind of action book."--School Library Journaland#160;"A rippin' good read."--The Bulletin
Review
Taylor smoothly fuses solid storytelling with the stuff of legend. (starred)
Review
"Truly one of Paulsen's best."--Booklist (starred review)and#160;"Readers will experience hearts as large as farmers' appetites, humor as broad as the country landscape and adventures as wild as boyhood imaginations."--Publishers Weekly
Review
"Inspired by Twains Life on the Mississippi, Helgersons folksy and chatty tale is also reminiscent of Huckleberry Finn in Zebs struggles with his conscience and its themes of slavery and freedom."--Kirkus"Helgerson surrounds Zeb with a lively cast of scruffy no-goodniks, a determined slave, and a mystical Indian father-daughter duo, and lets the boy work out for himself whom to trust and how to act. A glossary at the end will help kids navigate Zebs folksy-funny narration, separating simple blimblam” from a full-on case of the fantods.” A solid choice for fans of high-spun yarns and not-too-tall tales."--Booklist ". . . the enormous cast of characters, all of whom open the door wide for a sequel to this rousing tale. A full house of appended authors notes, including information about apprenticeships, vision quests, and traveling medicine shows, provides rich historical background, while a glossary covers vivid colloquialisms and potentially unfamiliar words and terms."--Horn Book "Zeb has a strong voice and personality . . . the supporting charactersincluding the chief's daughter and a slave named Ho-Johnare well-defined. A thorough afterword and glossary nicely supplement the novel, but the quick resolution will leave readers wanting."--Publishers Weekly
"Helgerson has given us a notable and engaging piece of historical fiction that poses some of the biggest questions with which a young person must come to terms."-Richie's Picks
Review
“A skillful examination of how individual identity is determined by cultural and social structures, and of what happens when these are drastically altered.”—
Kirkus Reviews
"The captivating characters are well drawn. . . . a fascinating look at the Comanche and their captives and will be enjoyed by teens who like historical fiction and/or are interested in Native Americans and the West." —SLJ
Review
"For readers willing to think about this issue . . . there is no better vehicle than this short, engagingly written story of one rifle and its fatal impact on one modern boy."--
School Library JournalSynopsis
Shane, a stranger the Starretts take in to their home in Wyoming in 1889, becomes involved in a feud between a cattle rancher and the local homesteaders.
Synopsis
This classic Western is a profoundly moving story of the influence of a singular character on one boy's life.
The Starrett family's life forever changes when a man named Shane rides out of the great glowing West and up to their farm.
Young Bob Starrett is entranced by this stoic stranger who brings a new energy to his family. Shane stays on as a farmhand, but his past remains a mystery. Many folks in their small Wyoming valley are suspicious of Shane and make it known that he is not welcome.
But dangerous as Shane may seem, he is a staunch friend to the Starretts--and when a powerful neighboring rancher tries to drive them out of their homestead, Shane becomes entangled in the deadly feud.
If you read only one Western in your life, this is the one. (Roland Smith, author of the Peak Marcello adventure novels)
I had lain in my bed thinking of our visitor out in the bunk in the barn. It scarce seemed possible that he was the same man I had first seen, stern and chilling in his dark solitude, riding up our road. Something in father, something not of words or of actions but of the essential substance of the human spirit, had reached out and spoken to him and he had replied to it and had unlocked a part of himself to us. He was far off and unapproachable at times even when he was right there with you.
Synopsis
The great events of Revolutionary Boston as seen through the shrewd eyes of an observant fourteen-year-old boy.
Synopsis
The Year: 1773. The place: Boston. Johnny Tremain is fourteen and apprenticed to a silversmith. He is gifted and lords his skills over the other apprentices, until one day his hand is horribly burned by molten silver. Johnnyand#8217;s dreams of silversmithing are over. A depressed Johnny finds work as a dispatch rider for the Committee of Public Safety, a job that brings him in touch with Boston patriotsand#8212;and the excitement that will lead to the Tea Party and the Battle of Lexington. This paperback edition of the 1944 Newbery Medal-winning novel includes an introduction by Newbery Honor author Gary D. Schmidt.
Synopsis
A fictional account of Billy the Kid's last days
Synopsis
William H. "Billy the Kid" Bonney Jr. loves to take risks. But Billy's luck runs out when, during a train heist, a passenger recognizes the nineteen-year-old outlaw. Fed up withand#160;his bad ways, Sheriff Willis Monroe, Billy's own cousin, decides to track him down. The Kid's two-timing partners are hunting him, too--and a posse wants Billy (
and the sheriff) dead.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;This gripping fictional tale imagines William Bonney's fate had his life of crime taken a very different turn. Fans of adventure willand#160;be riveted by Theodore Taylor's fresh take on a legendary character.and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;Includes an author's note about the real Billy the Kid.
Synopsis
A young boy and his cousin Harris are constantly involved in crazy escapades in this funny favorite by Gary Paulsen
Synopsis
A young boy spends his tenth summer on his aunt and uncleand#8217;s farm, where he is constantly involved in crazy escapades with his cousin Harris. and#8220;On the Larson farm, readers will experience hearts as large as farmersand#8217; appetites, humor as broad as the country landscape and adventures as wild as boyhood imaginations. All this adds up to a hearty helping of old-fashioned, rip-roaring entertainment.and#8221;--Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Scott ODell won the Newbery Medal in 1961 for his unforgettable novel Island of the Blue Dolphins, based on the true story of a Nicoleño Indian girl living in solitude between 1835 and 1853 on San Nicolas Island, only seventy miles off the coast of Southern California. His quietly gripping tale of Karanas survival, strength, and courage—and vivid descriptions of island life—has captivated readers for decades. This 50th anniversary edition features an introduction by two-time Newbery Medal winner Lois Lowry.
Synopsis
Far off the coast of California looms a harsh rock known as the island of San Nicholas. Dolphins flash in the blue waters around it, sea otter play in the vast kep beds, and sea elephants loll on the stony beaches.
Here, in the early 1800s, according to history, an Indian girl spent eighteen years alone, and this beautifully written novel is her story. It is a romantic adventure filled with drama and heartache, for not only was mere subsistence on so desolate a spot a near miracle, but Karana had to contend with the ferocious pack of wild dogs that had killed her younger brother, constantly guard against the Aleutian sea otter hunters, and maintain a precarious food supply.
More than this, it is an adventure of the spirit that will haunt the reader long after the book has been put down. Karana's quiet courage, her Indian self-reliance and acceptance of fate, transform what to many would have been a devastating ordeal into an uplifting experience. From loneliness and terror come strength and serenity in this Newbery Medal-winning classic.
In celebration of the book's 50th anniversary, this edition has a stunning new look, and an introduction by Lois Lowry, Newbery Medal-winning author of The Giver and Number the Stars.
Synopsis
A stranger rode out of the heart of the great glowing West, into the small Wyoming valley in the summer of 1889.
It was Shane, who appeared on the horizon and became a friend and guardian to the Starrett family at a time when homesteaders and cattle rangers battled for territory and survival. Jack Schaefers classic novel illuminates the spirit of the West through the eyes of a young boy and a hero who changes the lives of everyone around him. Renowned artist Wendell Minor provides stunning images and a moving introduction to this new edition of Shane, the ultimate tale of the Western landscape.
Synopsis
Fanny McCoy has lived in fear and anger ever since that day in 1878 when a dispute with the Hatfields over the ownership of a few pigs set her family on a path of hatred and revenge. From that day forward, along the ragged ridges of the West Virginia-Kentucky line, the Hatfields and the McCoys have operated not withing the law but within mountain codes of their own making. In 1882, when Fanny's sister Roseanna runs off with young Johnse Hatfield, the hatred between the two clans explodes.
As the killings, abductions, raids, and heartbreak escalate bitterly and senselessly, Fanny, the sole voice of reason, realizes that she is powerless to stop the fighting and must learn to rise above the petty natures of her family and neighbors to find her own way out of the hatred.
Synopsis
Three warnings for readers who hate surprises: 1. Beware of slivers, 2. and gamblers, 3. and aces.
Zebulon Crabtree found all that out the hard way back in 1849 when his mother and father shipped him off to St. Louis to apprentice with a tanner. Too bad he had serious allergies to fur and advice from his parents. Hearing the beat of a different drummer, Zeb takes up with a riverboat gambler who has some special plans for him, crosses paths with a slave who turns out to be a better friend than cook, and learns that some Indian medicine men can see even though blind. And then theres the Brotherhoodthe one that Zeb cant seem to get out of . . . Lucky for us, the price of living in turbulent times is often a good story, and Zeb spins an unforgettable one.
Synopsis
From a master of historical fiction Carolyn Meyer comes the moving tale, based on a true story, of a white woman who lived her life among the Comanche Indians, married the chief, and in 1861 was captured along with her daughter and returned against her will to a white settlement.
Synopsis
At the age of nine, Cynthia Ann Parker was captured in an Indian raid and taken to
live as a slave with the Comanche. Twenty-four years later, she is the wife of a chief
and the mother of a young warrior destined to become the great chief Quanah Parker.
But in 1861, Parker and her infant daughter are recaptured and returned against their
will to a white settlement. This moving story is a riveting examination of the conflicts
between Native Americans and white settlers.
Synopsis
A treasured rifle passed down through generations is the cause of a tragic accident
Synopsis
A treasured rifle passed down through generations is the cause of a tragic accident in this timely tale. With subtle mastery and precision, this tough, thought-provoking novel challenges the idea that firearms don't become instruments of destruction and murder until they are placed in human hands.
Each book includes a reader's guide.About the Author
Jack Schaefer (1907-1991) was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and studied at Oberlin College and Columbia University. Shane, his first piece of fiction, began as a short story. Mr. Schaefer went on to write many other stories and novels set in the West, earning a devoted following of readers that continues to grow.Roland Smith is a former zookeeper and leading expert on red wolves as well as an author. He lives on a small farm near Portland, Oregon.