The Barn Burner - Softcover

Willis, Patricia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0439305284 ISBN 13: 9780439305280

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks, 2002

Synopsis

Fast-paced and stirring, this historical fiction captures the grit of the Depression, as seen through the eyes of a resilient young boy.

The words echo in Ross Cooper's head. "Get out of my sight," his mother said; so fourteen-year-old Ross took to the road. But it's 1933 - the Great Depression. Families are pushed to their limits and hope is necessary to survive. And Ross can't muster much hope. After taking shelter in a barn for the night, he awakens to blazing bushels of hay-and is then seen running from the fire. The barn is one of many that have been burned, and now Ross is the prime suspect. Luckily, he finds a haven with a loving family while he searches for the real barn burner. Can he clear his good name in time?

About this title

About the Author:

Patricia Willis is author of several well-received historical novels for middle-grade readers, including DANGER ALONG THE OHIO, winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award. She lives in North Canton, Ohio.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-9-After an argument with his out-of-work father turns violent, Ross Cooper joins thousands of others on the road in 1933. As the story opens, the 14-year-old wakes up to find that the barn he has spent the night in is in flames. He catches only a glimpse of the man he presumes has set the fire before he rushes outside and almost into the arms of the barn's owner. Ross escapes, but leaves the owner thinking that he set the fire. Thus, Willis's first plot thread is firmly established. The second thread involves Ross helping a woman and her three children settle into a ramshackle house. All he hopes for is a meal or two, but as word spreads about a young arsonist in the area, his stay lengthens. Thus Willis is able to depict the difficulty of daily life in the Depression, as well as the boy's internal conflicts over his feelings about his adopted family and his real family. Add to this his suspicions about various men in the vicinity who might be the culprit, and Willis has enough twists and turns to keep young readers involved. Ross's maturation as he begins to understand the desperation of so many men, including his own father, to provide for their families is deftly handled and believable. The love exhibited in his adopted family counterbalances the hard times. By tying an unsentimental look at the era together with a mystery, the author has created a story that is both appealing and of literary merit.
Coop Renner, Moreno Elementary School, El Paso, TX
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0439305284
• ISBN 13: 9780439305280
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208