Booktalks Quick and Simple

	Gemeinhart, Dan. SOME KIND OF COURAGE New York : Scholastic, 2016 IL 3-6, RL 4.4 ISBN 0545665779 (3 booktalks)
Click on the book to read Amazon reviews	Booktalk #1 “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. From thence 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 Great Stone Face Award Committee, 2017) Booktalk #2 Twelve-year-old Joseph Johnson has experienced more than his fair share of loss in his short life. When his beloved horse Sarah is stolen and sold, there is nothing that Joseph won’t do to get her back. Joseph embarks on an unforgettable, heart-pounding adventure through the 1870’s wilderness of Washington State in hopes of being reunited with the only family he has left. (Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award, 2018) Booktalk #3 Back in 1890, the Pacific Northwest was dangerous frontier. Joseph Johnson, just 12 years old, is left alone in the wilderness after he loses everyone in his family. The only comfort he has left is his horse, Sarah, with whom he has a very special bond. When Sarah is swindled right out from under Joseph, and by the man with whom his desperate, dying father was forced to leave him! Sarah is all Joseph has left in the world, and he must summon all his courage, wisdom and gumption to find out where she’s been taken. On his journey, he meets an abandoned Chinese boy – neither speak the same language but they figure out how to communicate just enough to become traveling companions. Together, they face wild animals, raging rivers, desperate outlaws and other unforeseen perils. The adventure is nonstop! But there is depth, humor and heart intertwined with this fast-paced plot. Readers who love action, tear-jerkers and stories about friendship will fall in love with Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart, author of The Honest Truth. --Heather Nelson Teacher Librarian, McKnight Middle School Evergreen Book Award Nominees 2018-19
	SUBJECTS: Historical fiction. Horses -- Fiction. Orphans -- Fiction. Washington (State) -- History --- 19th century -- Fiction. West (U.S.) -- Fiction. Western fiction.

Gemeinhart, Dan.
SOME KIND OF COURAGE
New York : Scholastic, 2016
IL 3-6, RL 4.4
ISBN 0545665779

(3 booktalks)

Click on the book to read Amazon reviews

Booktalk #1

“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. From thence 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 Great Stone Face Award Committee, 2017)

Booktalk #2

Twelve-year-old Joseph Johnson has experienced more than his fair share of loss in his short life. When his beloved horse Sarah is stolen and sold, there is nothing that Joseph won’t do to get her back. Joseph embarks on an unforgettable, heart-pounding adventure through the 1870’s wilderness of Washington State in hopes of being reunited with the only family he has left. (Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award, 2018)

Booktalk #3

Back in 1890, the Pacific Northwest was dangerous frontier. Joseph Johnson, just 12 years old, is left alone in the wilderness after he loses everyone in his family. The only comfort he has left is his horse, Sarah, with whom he has a very special bond. When Sarah is swindled right out from under Joseph, and by the man with whom his desperate, dying father was forced to leave him! Sarah is all Joseph has left in the world, and he must summon all his courage, wisdom and gumption to find out where she’s been taken. On his journey, he meets an abandoned Chinese boy – neither speak the same language but they figure out how to communicate just enough to become traveling companions. Together, they face wild animals, raging rivers, desperate outlaws and other unforeseen perils. The adventure is nonstop! But there is depth, humor and heart intertwined with this fast-paced plot. Readers who love action, tear-jerkers and stories about friendship will fall in love with Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart, author of The Honest Truth. --Heather Nelson Teacher Librarian, McKnight Middle School Evergreen Book Award Nominees 2018-19

SUBJECTS: Historical fiction.
                        Horses -- Fiction.
                        Orphans -- Fiction.
                        Washington (State) -- History --- 19th century -- Fiction.
                        West (U.S.) -- Fiction.
                        Western fiction.