Monday, November 3, 2008

Review: Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner

genre: children's fiction
rating: 4/5

Little Willy and his Grandfather live together on a potato farm in Wyoming. When Grandfather becomes ill and Willy learns that their farm is in danger, he is determined to do something about it. From harvesting potatoes on his own to spoon feeding Grandpa every morning, Little Willy is an extraordinary example of perseverance and kindness.

Helping him keep his spirits up is Willy's most faithful companion: his dog, Searchlight. These two friends enter a sled dog race in order to raise money to help save the farm - and the ending is as poignant as any I've read in a children's book.

My two kids LOVED this book. Each night, as soon as I'd stop reading my eight year old would grab the book from me and read ahead. The chapters are short, have interesting pictures and are well paced with some read cliff hanger chapter endings. Grandfather's illness and the farm situation led to some interesting discussions and I'll tell you, I had some tears when I had to read the ending aloud. Recommended for kids ages 6-7 and up.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

that sounds like a good book really!

Melissa said...

Sounds like a good companion to Call of the Wild. ;) I'll have to look it up.

erin sheely said...

I loved this book!! The cover is way cooler than the one on the book I read.

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