"Every time I go to jump on a steam train as it chugs its way through Rowlesburg --"The summary is hidden because it may contain spoilers. If you would like to read the full summary, simply use your cursor to highlight the next few lines and it will magically appear.
Summary: Jimmy Cannon tells about his life in the 1940s as the son of a West Virginia railroad man, loving the trains and expecting one day to work on the railroad like his father and brothers.
Publisher: Philomel Books; 162 pages
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6 comments:
This is a cool book. Lots of feelings; lots of pretty word pictures; and even some history.
I LIKE it.
I loved this book - the chapter titles, the suspense, the dad. Slayton has great voice, it actually reminded me of a student...
I was a little disappointed with this book. After reading the excerpt on the back of the book, I expected it to be about his adventures while train jumping, when in reality, the first two pages were the only ones that mentioned it.
I did enjoy the way the chapters represented one day year after year, as we got to watch Jimmy and his family grow through the years.
Not the top of my list, but still a good read.
I loved it - I like how each chapter can work as a short story. A good read.
This book wasn't what I thought it was going to be...kind of like you, Jill, I expected something different, going by the excerpt on the back (I read an advanced reader's copy, so maybe the official edition is different). I liked it, though.
The family dynamics were interesting, the historical time period is one that hasn't been overdone, it was a fresh take in an uncommon setting.
There are some parallels between the "railroad" era, when families could count on getting a job in the railroad, and the current situation with the automotive industry. Would kids get this? Don't know, but I liked it.
This book wasn't what I expected, and I found the story somewhat disjointed. I struggled a bit to keep it all together in my mind.
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