Casey Jones's Fireman: The Story of Sim Webb (Phyllis Fogelman Books) - Hardcover

Farmer, Nancy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803719299 ISBN 13: 9780803719293

Publisher: Dial, 1999

Synopsis

Even though the railroad fireman senses danger ahead, he follows his engineer's command to increase the train's power so that the mysterious whistle blows.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 4-Farmer takes the historical facts of Casey Jones's final train ride and gives the story a Faustian twist. Told in the first person by Jones's African-American fireman, Sim Webb, the tale explains why the Cannonball was traveling at such a high rate of speed on the night of the crash. A stranger who looks suspiciously like the Devil offers Jones a whistle made of seven golden pipes, said to be fashioned from Gabriel's trumpet, which is prophesied to blow on Judgment Day. Jones, with his famous weakness for distinctive train whistles, "borrows" it against Webb's advice. Ordering more steam and speed than is wise, just to make the whistle sound, Jones ignores Webb's warning and rushes toward disaster. He stops shoveling coal and exhorts Jones to look out for lights ahead. The engineer commands his fireman to jump while he stays onboard, hand on the brake. The whistle itself survived the crash to be handed down from trainman to trainman until the day that Gabriel reclaims it. This is dramatic stuff and Bernardin's vivid, painterly illustrations do it justice, with larger-than-life heroes, and the mythic Cannonball hurtling through the night landscape. An author's note presents many facts about the men and 19th-century trains in general. Unfortunately, there are no source notes and readers are left to speculate on which parts of the story are original and which are based in traditional lore. Nonetheless, this is a handsome introduction to the age of steam trains and to two legendary trainmen.
Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

It's all aboard for adventure as Newbery Honor author Farmer (The Eye, the Ear and the Arm) produces an exciting blend of history and imagination. Here, readers see the legendary train engineer Casey Jones through the eyes of his fireman, Sim Webb. As fireman, Webb maintains the coal-burning furnace that provides Jones's engine with its steam power. One night Jones meets a shady character who offers him a golden steam whistle for his engine. Said to be made from the angel Gabriel's trumpet, the whistle will require a dangerous amount of steam to blow. When a proud Jones tries out the new whistle (against Webb's advice), heAand his engineAmeet with disaster. Farmer's fully realized portrait of a little-known figure from African-American history will fascinate readers. Narrated by Webb, the account resonates with you-are-there immediacy and emotion. Bernardin (Dancing with the Wind) depicts Webb and Jones as jovial, hardworking young men, but the real stars of these dark-hued dramatic oil paintings are the trains, seen on nearly every page. Showing Jones's Cannonball racing through the inky night, Bernardin seems also to capture the sound of the whistle and the feel of the rushing wind. Children will want to proceed full steam ahead to the dramatic finale. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dial
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0803719299
• ISBN 13: 9780803719293
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Bernardin James