Night Journeys (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) Book

Peter York: By the grace of God, in the spring of 1768, he survived a terrible fever which swept through his town. That same fever, however, took the lives of everyone else in his whole family. Peter York was suddenly made an orphan at the age of 12, with nothing to call his own except an old mare horse named Jumper.

The night of the funeral, the townspeople gathered at the minister's house to decide what to do with Peter. "Who will take him?"

Everyone wondered. Peter wondered, too.

The minister came into the room. "Mr. Shinn has consented to take you in, provided you are willing to work hard."

Mr. Shinn approached the table where Peter sat. He was a large man with plain clothes, a plain hat, and a solemn face.

"Stand up and take his hand to mark the bargain," said the minister. Peter did, and Mr. Shinn looked him in the eye and nodded slightly.

"What do you have to say?" the minister asked Peter.

"Thank you, sir," Peter said. The crowd dispersed, and Peter followed Mr. Shinn out the door and back to his house.

Peter's life had changed completely, and Mr. Shinn had not said one word.

Peter has no idea what Mr. Shinn thinks of him. Why did he take Peter in? He can't understand the man and what he thinks or wants from Peter. In fact, Peter is convinced that the only reason the Quaker family took him in was to get his best possession: his horse.

Peter vows to prove himself to this man who doesn't seem to love him. One night, a loud knock on the door: "Mr. Shinn! Mr. Shinn! Help us capture two escaped indentured servants--felons--who owe years of labor and have run away!" Peter sees his opportunity to prove himself to this man: if Peter can find the felons himself and earn the reward money--then Mr. Shinn is sure to value him.

(Review: This book suffers from terrible cover art syndrome. It's a great story about having to judge for yourself when authority tells you that something is one way and your own observations tell you that that authority is incorrect. This would make a good read-aloud in class as there is plenty of action and good spots to stop and think about what's going on and how the kids feel about it. Good prediction-making opportunities, too, and no one will have read it because the cover stinks!)