Wrong-Way Ragsdale - Hardcover

Hammer, Charles

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374386579 ISBN 13: 9780374386573

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1987

Synopsis

In a moment of anger, thirteen-year-old Emmett and his little sister Essie take off in their father's Taylorcraft airplane, make a forced landing in the mountains, and try to survive in the wilderness.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6-8 Thirteen-year-old Emmett Ragsdale, the oldest of six children, tells the story of how he gets himself into serious trouble. Emmett's father works part-time as mechanic and caretaker of a private airstrip near Kansas City. The airstrip is owned by rich, drunken Mr. Enright. In an uncharacteristic act of generosity, Mr. Enright gives Mr. Ragsdale an old abandoned single-engine Taylorcraft. After Mr. Ragsdale has the plane in flying condition, Mr. Enright demands the return of the engine. With the plane still in the hangar and the motor running, Emmett panics, releases the tether, and together with his sister Essie, flies off to the Ozark wilderness to prevent the motor from being taken. (Emmett learned to fly by being a passenger in a small plane twice before.) The rest of the story concerns their crash landing, survival over several weeks, Essie's illness, and their eventual rescue. Characterizations are fair, with only Mr. Ragsdale and the two children being developed to any extent. The flying and the rescue are farfetched; the conclusion is a little too pat and convenient. Look further for light adventure: this one doesn't get off the ground. Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, Kans.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0374386579
• ISBN 13: 9780374386573
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 183