Return with me to yesteryear, to a time when a young boy named Henry does his chores and helps his father at the store and it looks as though his life is pretty much laid out for him. There's even a pretty girl named Sally who might figure into his future plans. Not much chance for adventure until the day Henry heads on over to the town of Bluffton and discovers a vaudeville troupe has come to town.
Henry meets Buster Keaton whose reputation preceeds him. Buster is used to being thrown all over the stage and basically treated like a bag of flour but Buster knows how to take a fall so it isn't dangerous work.
Henry's eyes grow pretty big and he decides to learn a trick or two of his own. Meanwhile Buster is smiling ear to ear as he and Henry play baseball game after baseball game and fish off the pier.
It's a classic small town summer filled with lazy days of doing nothing and the wildly entertaining hours of performing in a vaudeville troupe.
Here is a warm glimpse of life a century ago with its different clothing styles and no video games in sight. Growing up and figuring out who you are haven't changed a bit over the years. As the characters spend summer after summer together, we watch their futures begin to carve themselves out. The excitement comes in the adventure of the turns and revelations in the lives of these two young boys.
Ages 8-11 228 pages 9780763650797
Recommended by: Barb
