I enjoyed Kathleen Karr's The Great Turkey Walk so very much! If you're a fan of Richard Peck's historical fiction, you should definitely read this one. It's historical comedy at its best!
Simon Green is the lovable hero of The Great Turkey Walk. After being politely kicked out of school after completing his fourth year in the third grade, he is looking for a purpose, a calling. And it hits him all at once when he's talking to a local turkey farmer. There isn't a market for turkeys in Missouri--that's clear enough--but there IS a market for turkeys out west, in places like Denver, Colorado. Turkeys may be easy to come by here, but, there, it just isn't the case. If Simon can find a way to BUY turkeys cheaply in Missouri and take them where they're needed, he could be RICH. His investor? His former teacher, Miss Rogers, who does indeed want the best for her former student. (He is fifteen or sixteen, I believe. And she knows that he'll never make it through all the grades. He's not even ready for fourth grade work yet.)
Simon doesn't make the journey west alone. And this comedy actually does quite a good job of characterizing them all: his "family" of misfits that come together out of need and stay together out of love.
I loved the narration. I loved the characterization. I loved the humor and the adventure. It was a quick and satisfying read. And there really were turkey walks in the nineteenth century!
© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
1 comment:
This is another of my favorites. So funny, and so respectful of our differing talents and callings in life. Simon was not book smart, but he managed to get those turkeys to Denver!
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