The Day of the High Climber - Hardcover

Hines, Gary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688114946 ISBN 13: 9780688114947

Publisher: Greenwillow, 1994

Synopsis

Spending the summer at Papa's logging camp, two brothers watch with awe as Puss Tompkins, the high climber, chops the branches off a tree

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3-Papa's family is spending the summer with him at his logging camp in this companion book to A Ride in the Crummy (Greenwillow, 1991). No sooner are they settled into their tiny cabin than the two boys begin keeping watch for Puss Tompkins, the high climber who chops off the tops of trees. After waiting for what feels like forever, they finally get to see Puss perform his dangerous task. This is a boyhood reminiscence, simply and quietly told. The narrative is laced with logging terminology that is enhanced by carefully executed and detailed watercolor paintings. The layout is attractive, with text on one page, topped by an illustrated strip, and a full-page illustration on the facing page. There is not much dramatic tension in this story; even the boys' anticipation is low key. What the book lacks in drama, however, it makes up for in coziness that is nostalgic but not cloying.
Donna L. Scanlon, Lancaster County Library, PA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Ages 5-8. In a companion to the ALA Children's Notable Book, A Ride in the Crummy (1991), the elderly narrator looks back at the summer he spent as a boy in his father's logging camp awaiting the arrival of high climber Puss Tompkins. A high climber is someone who climbs a tree and chops off the top, and Puss is the best Papa has ever seen. The writing is simple and direct and includes sound effects; however, there is surpisingly little excitement considering the topic. The full-page watercolors are static in execution but help to establish an earlier era, a time of Model-T's, wood-burning stoves, and washboards. This one is for larger collections or those with a particular interest in logging camps and logging. Julie Corsaro

About this edition

• Publisher: Greenwillow
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0688114946
• ISBN 13: 9780688114947
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1
• Illustrator: Hines Anna Grossnickle