Culebra Cut (Adventures in Time) [Library Binding]

Judith Head (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1995 | Age Level: 10 and up | Series: Adventures in Time

When his father takes a job as a doctor with the Panama Canal project in 1911, William, who is fascinated with the canal, gets to learn about it firsthand, while he also learns about life from a Jamaican girl who has become his best friend.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7?William is fascinated by the digging of the Panama Canal, so he is overjoyed when his family moves from Maine to Culebra, Panama, in 1911. Here, his questions about the canal are answered, and he also learns valuable lessons about racial prejudice and local customs. Through his friendship with a Jamaican girl, he also learns that not everything can be explained by science and logic. Head's novel addresses a chapter in history that is seldom told?the suffering that the digging of the canal caused for thousands of black workers, most of whom were from the West Indies. The story is meticulously researched, placing the characters in a real place in time. The author effectively uses the digging of the Culebra Cut as a backdrop for the friendship that develops between two children?one black and one white?from different parts of the world. A welcome addition to the growing body of literature that treats the dark side of American history in ways that are understandable to young people.?Carol Jones Collins, Montclair Kimberley Academy, NJ
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-6. Fascinated by the building of the Panama Canal, William is jubilant when his doctor father takes a position in 1911 at the small hospital near the infamous Culebra Cut, the "most challenging stretch of the whole canal." However, William chafes at the restrictions placed upon him: he is forbidden to go near the cut alone. Of course, that's a rule quickly broken. When William befriends Victoria, a Jamaican who does some work for his mother, he soon finds out about the racist attitudes of many of the whites, especially a fellow baseball player. Head captures the ambience of the place and time, including the dangers in the jungle, the heat and humidity, the difficulties encountered with mud slides at the cut, the strict segregation of whites and blacks, and the Jamaican belief in duppys (spirits of the dead), jujus (charms) to ward them off, and the curative effects of magic potions. There's plenty of exciting danger and adventure here to keep the pages turning. Sally Estes

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 153 pages
• Publisher: Carolrhoda Books (July 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087614878X
• ISBN-13: 978-0876148785
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,334,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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