WWRW: Five Fast Books for Boys

Candy Bomber by Michael O. Tunnell is the non-fiction account of how one American pilot began delivering candy to post-WWII German children in both East and West Germany, and how his little kindness developed into a huge undertaking with many, many pilots helping and warehouses full of candy donations.

Stay Where You Are And Then Leave is written by John Boyne, who also wrote The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, which I have not read, nor have I seen the movie.

Stay Where You Are And Then Leave is a WWI account of Alfie, a young boy in London.  His father volunteered to serve his country as soon as the war began, but his letters have stopped.  Alfie's mother insists that his father cannot write because he is on a secret mission.  Alfie fears his father is dead.

The truth is somewhere in between and Alfie makes his own secret mission to discover it.

John Boyne has a gift for story-telling, that's for sure.

The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson is steampunk fantasy for middle schoolers.  The main characters are actually two girls, but there is enough machinery, magic, and mutant creatures to satisfy any boy.

My only complaint about this book is that its really the prequel to an entire series.  It's difficult to get immersed in a new world, learning the rules, "is there magic?"  "who has it?"  "what kind of world is this?", but then to not reach any sort of conclusion after investing all those brain cells is a little disappointing.  Guess I'm going to have to read the next one.

Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri is the only book in this post that I have not actually finished yet, but that's not stopping me from reviewing it.

Did you know there is such a thing as urban cowboys?  In inner city Philadelphia, no less?  In this book, based on the actual Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, there are a group of black cowboys who buy and race retired thoroughbreds, as well as providing riding lessons to the wayward youths in the area.

In Ghetto Cowboy, Coltrane has been skipping school and is dangerously close to being held back a year.  His mother, having reached the end of her rope, packs all of his stuff and drives him from Detroit to Philly, where he meets his father for the first time.  His mother then leaves him in this strange city with this strange man in a cowboy hat.

His father is a "ghetto cowboy," working with horses, living near the stables, and occasionally racing in a nearby park to earn funds to keep the horses.  This new lifestyle has a huge impact on Coltrane, and though I'm not quite finished yet, I can see that his time in Philly with the horses and the other cowboys is going to turn his life around.

Edmund is reading Mr. Tucket (The Francis Tucket Books)  by Gary Paulsen.  Peter read these, and I read this first one way back when, now it's Edmund's turn.  Here is a little something he wrote about Mr. Tucket by Gary Paulsen:

WHY I WOULD STAY WITH THIS WILD MAN!

This wild, bizarre mountain man, Mr. Grimes, rescued me from a Pawnee tribe.  He gave me a choice to stay with him or go with the farmers to the Oregon Trail.  I would choose  to stay with him these are the reasons.

The most important reason to stay is that I would be in good hands if any trouble came to me.  He came to my rescue, as you know, when I was in captivity by the Pawnee tribe. 

Another  reason I would  be in good hands is because he is good with a gun and he's WILD!  So he will teach me his ways to survive and his ways of life.

He would not baby me and he would let me make my own decisions.  For example, he would let me decide whether to go with the farmers or not.

These are some of the main reasons I would stay with Mr. Grimes.

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