Dead Man's Rapids (A Blackwater Ben Adventure) - Tapa dura

The Durbins have a knack for realistically depicting life on a rugged frontier and the many dangers of driving millions of board feet of logs down rivers to sawmills, an annual event in 19th- and early-20th-century America. Fans of Gary Paulsen will enjoy immersing themselves in a grand adventure. Fine historical fiction that will successfully transport readers into an out-of-the-ordinary time and place.-Kirkus Reviews "The action and period details of this historical novel, reminiscent of Jennifer L. Holm's Our Only May Amelia and Boston Jane series, will captivate even reluctant readers."-School Library Journal

When 13-year-old Ben Ward left school to work with his Pa in a logging camp, a winter of peeling potatoes and setting tables wasn't the adventure he had in mind. Still, come spring, he signs up for the log drive with his friend Nevers, wishing the head cook on the wanigan (the floating cook shack) could be someone other than his crabby Pa. Fate, with a wink, complies, and Pa quits-only to be replaced by someone far worse: Pete Sardman, aka Old Sard, a cantankerous character complete with a greasy apron, an eye patch, one deaf ear, and plenty to say.Luckily, there's also the rest of the crew-a colorful, sometimes outrageous company of men. Together Ben and Nevers endure freezing weather, dangerous rapids, logjams, storms and floods, and a number of gripping tall tales, along the way learning about logging on the river and a whole lot more about life. Taking up where Blackwater Ben left off, Dead Man's Rapids returns to the north woods of Minnesota in the late nineteenth century, and with warmth, humor, and attention to historical detail engages readers both young and old.