Danger Along the Ohio
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| Author | Patricia Willis |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction, Children's literature |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
Publication date | March 17, 1997 (Hardcover) April 1, 1999 (Paperback) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 192 |
| ISBN | 978-0395770443 |
Danger Along the Ohio is a novel of historical fiction written by Patricia Willis and first published in 1997. A hardcover edition was published in 1999.There was also a limited availability Library Binding edition that came out on October 1999.
Synopsis
Traveling down the Ohio River in May 1793, thirteen-year-old Amos and his younger siblings Clara and Jonathan are separated from their father during an attack by Shawnee Indians. The three children are swept down the river and must make their way back through the wilderness in the direction of the Marietta settlement, hoping to find their father there. Their plight becomes still more dramatic — and dangerous — when Amos rescues a wounded Shawnee boy from drowning in the river. Although the boy mistrusts them and his condition slows them down, Amos refuses to leave him behind to die. The children continue their dangerous journey towards the Marietta Settlement on their own.
Reception
Industry reviews
- Kirkus Reviews noted that "A bracing work of historical fiction makes an unfriendly place of the Ohio riverfront as three children fight for their lives. In May 1793 the motherless Dunn family--Papa, Amos, Clara, and Jonathan--have almost completed their long trek from eastern Pennsylvania to the place where they hope to make a new life, the Ohio frontier. Amos, 13, is particularly anxious to start over; his memory of a ...
More terrible event and his subsequent guilt can be assuaged only in a new place. When the riverboat that is to carry the family to Marietta is ambushed by Indians, a terrible battle ensues, and in the confusion, the boat goes adrift, carrying the Dunn children down river. A second Indian attack causes them to abandon the boat and they land on the north shore of the Ohio River. Their only course is to walk to Marietta, following the river. Along the way, Amos spots a boy clinging to a floating log, and rescues him. He is an Indian boy, barely alive from a gunshot wound, and the children start to nurse him back to health. Still ahead for them: They are taken prisoner by a band of Shawnee, and need to reach Marietta, hoping to see their father again. Willis (Out of the Storm, 1995, etc.) has created a rousing adventure; it will have readers turning the pages and rooting for the spunky Dunn kids all the way. [1]
- From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7. Willis combines the suspense of a page-turner, the danger level of a thriller, the fascination of a survival story, and the ease of a hi/lo vocabulary. In 1793, three siblings (Amos, 13; Clara, 12; Jonathan, 7) are separated from their father during their immigration, via flatboat, down the Ohio River from their Pennsylvania home to a new beginning in the Ohio wilderness. After an Indian attack, the three are left with no adult support, scant supplies, no transportation, and a cow in tow to journey along the dangerous Shawnee side of the Ohio to the safety of the Marietta settlement. Readers will recognize the breathless pace they've loved in action movies, defined by the eruption of a new crisis on the heels of each crisis resolution, as the siblings struggle against the odds: scavenging food; stealing fire from the Indians; whittling tools for catching supper; rescuing a young Shawnee from drowning; and treating wounds with chickweed and birch leaves. The author's sturdy plot advances distinctly and chronologically, resulting in pure suspense. She keeps her vocabulary action-oriented and her dialogue straightforward. The young Shawnee's presence raises intriguing philosophical questions regarding the nature of communication and the components of true friendship. After all of this, who could complain about a contrived happy ending?? [2]
- From Booklist
Gr. 4^-7. When Shawnee Indians raid the settlement where their flatboat is moored, 13-year-old Amos and his younger sister and brother free the craft and escape, not knowing whether their father has survived. Forced to land on the Shawnee side of the river after a flaming arrow sets the boat afire, they head for Marietta, Ohio, where they hope to meet their father. On the way, they save an injured Shawnee boy and are captured by warriors from his tribe. Eventually, they learn that they have less to fear from Red Moccasin and his kin than they believed, and Amos finds the courage to "plant a seed of friendship." In this fast-paced adventure, Willis successfully re-creates the anti-Indian prejudice of 1795 when white easterners fought to settle Ohio.[2]
Awards
Danger Along the Ohio has won the following awards...
- Spur Award for Best Juvenile Fiction in 1998.[3]
- Young Hoosier Book Award [Nominee] [4]
- Society of School Librarians International Book Awards 1997, Novel (Grades K-6) [5]
References
- ^ "Danger Along the Ohio". Google Books. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
- ^ a b "Danger along the Ohio". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
- ^ "Spur Award History". Western Writers of America. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ "Librarything.com".
- ^ "Danger Along the Ohio-Create Award Winning Booklists". Literatureplace. Retrieved 2010-4-9.
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External links
- http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/188-7285912-8554614?asin=B002S2VFRU&afid=yahoosspplp_bmvd&CPNG=bookmarked&lnm=B002S2VFRU%7CDanger-Along-Ohio-Camelot-Paperback_:_Books&ref=tgt_adv_XSNG1060
- http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/ISBNInquiry.asp?r=1&IF=N&EAN=9780380731510&cm_mmc=Google%20Book%20Search-_-k118169-_-j14953980-_-Googe%20Book%20Search%20(non-B%26N%20Imprint)
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