SOME KIND OF COURAGE
New York : Scholastic, 2016
IL 3-6, RL 4.4
ISBN 0545665779
“I aint never shot a man, sir, and I hope I never do. But I’m gonna get my horse back.” It’s 1890, and young Joseph Johnson has suffered some terrible losses. First, his mother and little sister succumb to typhoid fever; then his kindly pa dies in a wagon accident. All he has left in the world is his beloved painted pony, Sarah, given to him when he was 4 years old. Joseph has been left in the dubious care of Mr. Grissom, a grizzled old drunk, who sells Joseph’s Sarah to an unscrupulous horse trader. There begins an amazing odyssey, as Joseph sets out to recover his horse, always just a day’s journey away from reaching his goal. Along the way he joins up with a Chinese boy named Ah-Kee…neither can speak the other’s language, but they endure many hardships and experience many adventures together on their quest, including scaring off a mama grizzly and delivering a baby. A wonderfully imagined picture of the Old West and one boy’s indomitable spirit… superb writing, filled with humor as well as heart…and a satisfying ending. (Booktalk by the New Hampshire Great Stone Face committee)
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