| Booktalks
#1
Have you ever wondered what
life was like long ago? There are many books out there that make
life in the 1890s look quaint and charming. But there was a harshness
to the times as well. This book will let you see what life was like
in a lumber camp in the winter. Ben is working the camp along with
his father. They are the cooking team and are responsible for feeding
a group of hungry, earthy men. The work is hard. The weather
is hard and the crew is hard. Through it all, Ben tries to get closer
to his dad and find out about his mother.
Booktalk #2
Do you know what a "wanigan"
is? Ever hear of a "swingdiddle"? In the winter of 1898, 13-year-old
Ben learns these colorful terms and many more when he signs on as a cook's
helper at a Minnesotan logging camp. The cook is a strict taskmaster,
and also happens to be his pa. Ben would prefer joining the loggers
out in the woods, rather than peeling potatoes and flipping flapjacks,
but he is still too young. what bothers Ben most about his dad is
that he refuses to talk about his ma, who died when he was little.
He craves to have a sense of what she was like, but pa remains adamantly
silent on the matter. Many eccentric (and non-bathing) characters
populate the crew of the camp, and Ben learns much about the logging trade,
and living rough. Surprisingly, he even learns something about his
long departed mother! Blackwater Ben is an informative historical
novel that paints a vivid picture of a bygone era. Laced with humor
as well as some tense moments, this book should appeal to fans of such
authors as Gary Paulsen and Will Hobbs. (New
Hampshire Great Stone Face Committee, 2004-05) |
