kmdahlgran's review against another edition
4.0
I read of other Sonlight users not loving this book, saying it was hard to get into, but my daughter and I really enjoyed it. We couldn't wait to see where the adventure would lead next.
storiesandsours's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
tamarayork's review against another edition
5.0
Newbery Challenge 182/415. I can’t believe how much I enjoyed this Newbery Honor book from 1933! The story follows 17 year old Chris as he runs logs from Minnesota to St. Louis on streams and the Mississippi River. It’s full of adventure and the pages fly by. I loved how Chris learned about hard work, honor, friendship, forgiveness, and honesty along the way. But the message never seemed preachy. This adventurous tale is fantastic. Appropriate for age 8+. Even though the main character is 17, there isn’t anything too adult or intense for younger kids. Highly recommend. It would pair well with Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling.
tealmango's review against another edition
3.0
Read the full review here: http://newberyandbeyond.com/newbery-reviews-1933/
mistree's review against another edition
5.0
There is a reason this is an awarding winning book. This is a look back at 1830's America, specifically from the upper edge of the Lousiana Territory to St. Louis. Those early settlers were tough. It was a wonderful book about a time and place so removed from our present times.
triscuit807's review against another edition
4.0
The story is a simple one: young man has difficulties at home and sets out to make his fortune. Set in the 1830s when the President was Andrew Jackson, this is primarily a story of rivermen on the Mississippi and the way logs were floated to market. Young Chris Dahlberg from the upper Louisiana Purchase (Minnesota) acts on his friend Louis Hale's idea: he timbers some land and puts the logs in the local river and floats them to the Mississippi where they're joined to others to float to St. Louis. In the course of the adventure he meets a French/Indian (Chippewa) who is in charge of the log raft. This man, Pierre Dumenille, is the first problematic character. Meigs handles the dual ethnicity fairly well, but has some trouble getting past her era's attitudes concerning the First Nations. While it's only a bit patronizing towards Pierre, the attitude is far more racist toward a group who live along the Mississippi. Overall, I did enjoy reading about Chris's adventures. I read this for my 2018 Reading Challenge and my Newbery Challenge (Honor Book 1933).
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