Burton and Stanley

When African storks Burton and Stanley are blown by freak winds into an obscure branch of the Chicago and Northwestern railroad one September morning, they find themselves befriending and befriended by crafty Mr Kraft the depot manager who takes them under his wing.

Grade 5 Up-- In 1935, Burton and Stanley, two storks from Africa, flutter helplessly inside a storm that carries them across the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers to, roughly, northern Nebraska. Through Morse code, they communicate with an amazed stationmaster on the Chicago and Northwestern railroad. Mr. Kraft taps his telegraph key and the birds click their bills! The man is momentarily beside himself until he gathers his wits and tries to help the unfortunate pair acclimate. As the plot proceeds, others are intent on saving the storks but find themselves working at cross purposes. Mr. Kraft finally arranges for the birds' return home. This short story is so skillfully and artistically written that it seems actually plausible. The initial encounter between the storks and the stationmaster is a delight, but then the story slows. Youngsters will undoubtedly get bogged down in the sophisticated prose and may need some explanations along the way. The vocabulary definitely requires an experienced reader. Even though the plight of the storks may appeal to concerned children, there isn't enough action to sustain their interest throughout. The cartoon sketches break up the text, but do not equal the subtle humor and dignity of this story. --Lynnea McBurney, Woodstone Elementary School, San Antonio, TX
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This inventive and quixotic yarn stars two unlikely but captivating heroes: a pair of marabou storks (appropriately named for explorers), who in 1935 are blown 7000 miles from Kenya to a quiet railroad depot in Nebraska. Their presence brings joy to the town's children, but winter approaches; how are they to return home? Fortunately these resourceful avians can clatter their beaks in Morse Code to communicate with Mr. Kraft, the town's sympathetic telegraph operator. With his aid they escape the clutches of two State Fish and Game officials and, after flying south to New Orleans, secure passage on a ship bound for Africa. O'Rourke seasons his children's book debut with absorbing details of trains and telegraphy--suiting a nostalgic tale that harks back to the simpler world of such classics as Stuart Little. Equally well-suited are Allen's drawings--his lugubrious, slightly untidy birds with curiously human features are as apt as his title character in The Great White Man-Eating Shark. In all, a thoroughly warmhearted and rather touching entertainment. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A children's book debut by a prolific author of sports stories and westerns. Somewhere on the Chicago & Northwestern line in 1935, Mr. Kraft, Cherrygrove agent, notices two ``wildly disheveled and preposterously ugly'' birds perching on his depot chimney. Kraft, who knows his bird books, promptly identifies them as marabou storks, mysteriously far from home. He even knows they're mute but can clatter their bills, as they proceed to do in what he recognizes as Morse code. Conversing in the manner of colonial gentlemen--but telegraphically, of course--they explain: ``Funnel swallowed us...had brief glimpse Kilimanjaro lower left rear before blown west on fierce horizontal wind.'' Ultimately, it's important for Burton and Stanley to go home--winter, hunting season, and a nearby zoo all threaten. The birds can't fly as far as Africa, but passage is arranged on a ship from the Gulf Coast. What's fun here are the whimsically erudite repartee and tongue- in-cheek descriptions of down-home midwesterners and the flocks of birds that rally round to help. Not as amusing or well plotted as King-Smith's Harry's Mad (1987), but a charming readaloud for a similar audience. Allen's wide-eyed pen-and-ink caricatures add to the humor. (Fiction. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.