Bo at Ballard Creek

by Kirkpatrick Hill, LeUyen Pham (Illustrator)

Overview

It's the 1920s, and Bo was headed for an Alaska orphanage when she won the hearts of two tough gold miners who set out to raise her, enthusiastically helped by all the kind people of the nearby Eskimo village.
Bo learns Eskimo along with English, helps in the cookshack, learns to polka, and rides along with Big Annie and her dog team. There's always some kind of excitement: Bo sees her first airplane, has a run-in with a bear, and meets a mysterious lost little boy.
Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill is an unforgettable story of a little girl growing up in the exhilarating time after the big Alaska gold rushes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250044259
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	08/19/2014
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	841,081
Product dimensions:	5.19(w) x 7.62(h) x 0.75(d)
Lexile:	840L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Kirkpatrick Hill lives in Fairbanks, Alaska. She was an elementary school teacher for more than thirty years, most of that time in the Alaskan "bush." She has written several books for young readers, including Toughboy and Sister, Winter Camp, and the award-winning The Year of Miss Agnes.
LeUyen Pham has illustrated numerous popular books for children, including Freckleface Strawberry by Julianne Moore and Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio. She is also the author and illustrator of books such as Big Sister, Little Sister and All the Things I Love About You. She lives and works in San Francisco with her artist husband, Alex Puvilland, and her sons Leo and Adrien.

Editorial Reviews

Endearing.” —School Library Journal

“* Cheerful and uncomplicated.” —The Horn Book, starred review

“A warm tale set in an Alaskan gold-mining town in 1929-30 . . . Bo is an endearing Pollyanna in a parka.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Fans of the classic Little House books, will soak in the atmosphereic look at a particular time and place. A great choice for classroom unites on the gold rush.” —Booklist

“Hill has created more than just an appealing cast of characters; she introduces readers to a whole community and makes a long-ago and faraway place seem real and very much alive. This is an inspirational story about Alaska, the old and new ways, a very special teacher, and the influence that she has over everyone she meets. A wonderful read-aloud to start off the school year.” —School Library Journal on The Year of Miss Agnes

“An uplifting portrait of a dedicated teacher.” —Booklist on The Year of Miss Agnes

“A quiet, yet satisfying account.” —Kirkus Reviews on The Year of Miss Agnes

From the Publisher

A warm tale set in an Alaskan gold-mining town in 1929-30. Bo, a 5-year-old girl, was adopted as a newborn by two gruff but tenderhearted blacksmiths who've toiled in the mining camps of the Yukon for years. These unlikely fathers smoke a bit and swear a bit, but they love Bo with all their hearts. Theirs is an extraordinarily generous, solicitous, close-knit community, comprised of indigenous neighbors and workers from around the world. Events unfold at a leisurely pace in this narrative that's enriched by authentic details that make the time and place come alive. Readers discover that life in a mining town means surviving brutal winters, handling day-to-day chores in all seasons while still having fun, doing backbreaking labor, and finally, actually extracting the gold from the dirt. (Readers will learn more than they probably ever needed to know about how this is accomplished.) Life in a remote backwater also entails high excitement, such as the townspeople's first-ever sighting of an airplane and bulldozer. Warmth and love pervade this novel, an Alaskan version of the Little House books, and characters are well-drawn. Some realistically sad and frightening events occur, but the novel ends on a happy, though wistful, note. Final art was not seen, though samples are charming and reinforce the Little House feel. Some may find this overly sweet, but Bo is an endearing Pollyanna in a parka. (Historical fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews