From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6?In 1878 California, Danny and Judd run away from the orphanage and head for the mining town of Bodie, looking for their uncle and hoping he will give them a home. When Uncle Hank turns up and proves to be involved with a Chinese-American woman, 12-year-old Danny buys into the prevalent anti-Chinese sentiment and delays the melding of a new family. While the plot has possibilities, neither the descriptions of the boys' actions nor the occasional dialogue provide much insight into their personalities and the characters don't come to life. The period is well researched, but the historical information sometimes seem tacked on. Children read that "like many of the other men, [Uncle Hank] was gradually growing deaf from the noise and from the beeswax melting into his eardrums," but at a critical point Uncle Hank is quick to hear pounding on his window and never in any scene exhibits hearing loss. Perhaps most unsettling of all, given the unmistakable anti-prejudice message, is the turning point that brings Danny to accept the love offered him. When his brother is critically ill, he goes to his uncle and aunt because "he'd heard how Chinese have healing ways and he'd seen her bottles of herbs." The use of a stereotype at the apex of the plot weakens the theme. All in all, this title is much less compelling than Gregory's The Winter of Red Snow (Scholastic, 1996).?Faith Brautigam, Gail Borden Public Library District, Elgin, IL
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Gr. 5^-7. Faced with separation by adoption, 12-year-old Danny and his younger brother, Judd, decide to run away from a San Francisco orphanage and search for their uncle, a miner who lives in a gold rush boom town. They arrive in Bodie, California, and board with Captain Billy O'Hara, a hotel owner with a soft spot for orphans. Uncle Hank surfaces almost immediately, but Danny opts to remain with Billy because Hank's girlfriend (later, wife) is of Chinese ancestry. Gregory's strength lies in her picturesque description of the rough-and-tumble life in a California mining town circa 1879. Although Danny and his brother are fictional, many other characters (Captain Billy, Madame Mustache, and Patrick Reddy) and events are historically accurate. Gregory's exploration of racial prejudices of the time and Danny's eventual acceptance of his new aunt are also well handled. A good choice for classes studying California history, this may also be of interest because of the setting--near California's reawakening volcano at Mono Lake.
Kay Weisman
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
