The Great Turkey Walk (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I've always been fond of birds, poultry in particular..." (more)
Key Phrases: Miss Rogers, Bidwell Peece, Simon Green (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"I've always been fond of birds, poultry in particular." From that first sentence, readers will gobble up Karr's (Oh, Those Harper Girls!) hilarious novel of a boy who resolves to walk 1000 turkeys from the Show-Me state to Denver, Colorado. Simon, who's 15 and newly graduated from the third grade, may not be too bright, but he figures he can make his fortune by buying Mr. Buffey's bronze turkeys for a quarter apiece and selling them in Denver for $5 each. With his schoolteacher as an investor, Simon picks up a former drunk and a runaway slave to be his partners, and starts herding those turkeys 900 miles down the road. In their travels, they encounter a raging river and a swarm of locusts, each of which the turkeys conquer. But peskiest of all, they're tailed by Simon's no-good father, a circus strongman, who decides he wants in on the deal. The gifted Karr has a cheerful, sassy down-home writing style and a perfect pitch for dialogue (she also has an authoritative knowledge of poultry, having grown up on a New Jersey chicken farm). A bonus: the tale is based in truth?there really were turkey drives in the American West. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8?Fusing plot elements and modes of characterization (or appropriate near-stereotypes) from the tall tale, the comic novel, the melodrama, and the more literary Bildungsroman, The Great Turkey Walk is a charmer, from the immediate hook of its first chapter to its perfectly satisfying conclusion. The year is 1860, and "pea-brained" Simon Green, a brawny 15 year old, is "graduated" from school after his fourth year of third grade. Wondering what to do next, he seizes upon the complaint of a local turkey farmer: that birds worth $5 in turkey-starved boomtown Denver are worth only 25 cents in Missouri. With the financial assistance of his beloved former teacher (and new business sponsor), who risks her life savings to help him, Simon buys 1000 birds. A few more minor loans?a wagon, feed corn, four mules?and the partnership of a washed-up mule driver are all he needs to begin the 800-mile trek to Denver. Along the way, Simon matures from a good-hearted and sensible (if not booksmart) boy to a good-hearted, sensible, and potentially wealthy young man, and mule driver Bidwell Peece recovers his dignity. Joined en route by a runaway slave and the sole survivor of a homesteading family, Simon gains his first true friend and the girlfriend who may someday become his wife. Full of good humor and page-turning quest-style events, the story smacks of legend and archetype without seeming self-important, and it genuinely amuses readers rather that smugly proclaiming its wit. This novel begs to be read aloud.?Coop Renner, Coldwell Elementary Intermediate School, El Paso, TX
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374427984
• ISBN-13: 978-0374427986
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #63,824 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun and enjoyable book with a bit of history thrown in, July 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Great Turkey Walk (Hardcover)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to cross the prairies to the Rocky Mountains in a covered wagon? Going west during pioneer days was always a daunting task. Walking a thousand turkeys to Denver is mind blowing! When a 15 year old boy graduates from third grade you certainly don't think he has what it takes to begin a business venture of this sort, but what Simon lacks in book smarts he makes up with heart and honor. Theives, locusts and other adventures wait along the trail. It was so much fun to travel along with this kid who genuinely loves his turkeys. Don't miss out on the adventure.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humor and Historical Fiction in an Entertaining Package, April 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Great Turkey Walk (Hardcover)

Seventh grade teacher here- I'm always searching for books that will tickle my students into wanting to read and this book is one that is going on the top of my list. The characters are heroic, the plot is action-packed, and the dialogue is playful. While enjoying a good read, my students will be picking up lots of information about the Westward Movement, pioneer life on the prairie, the U. S. in 1860. I hope the publisher prints a paperback soon so I can order copies for my classroom library.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book's no Turkey!, October 10, 2005

By	J. Pace "Darrell Pace" (Tuscumbia, AL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Kathleen Karr hit a homer when she penned this story for kids. The Great Turkey Walk is fiction, but based on actual occurences from the old west. When a very slow student finally gets his walking papers, he enters into an enterprise nobody else would have ever considered. The enterprise? Herding Turkeys to the Gold rush of Denver! His slow and difficult trip brings many adventures his way. He meets his long lost father, who desparately tries to steal his turkeys. He is surrounded by Indians. He meets a half crazed girl who becomes the love of his life. In the end, the dumb boy turns out to be smarter than he even thought he could be. It is a delight and my kids loved the book. Yours will too!