Runaway train : saved by Belle of the Mines and Mountains

Format:

Book

Title:

Runaway train : saved by Belle of the Mines and Mountains

Author:

Coleman, Wim author

ISBN:

9781939656711

9781939656728

Publication:

South Egremont, MA : Red Chair Press, [2015]

Physical Description:

40 pages : color illustrations ; 24 cm.

Series title(s):

Setting the stage for fluency.

Summary:

In 1856, 15-year-old Bella Lee Dunkinson began hanging around the local railroad in western Tennessee. Engineer John Hardiman took a liking to the spirited girl and gave her a boy's responsibilities helping with the engine. One stormy night, the engine was slipping dangerously on wet rails. While John was putting sand on the tracks, Bella found herself alone in the cab driving the train up a steep and dangerous mountainside. After her heroic and triumphant climb to the mountaintop, she was hailed by the miners who met her there as the "Belle of the Mines and Mountains."

Reading Level:

009-012.

Program Information:

Accelerated Reader AR 3.8 1.0 171483.

Personal Subject:

Dunkinson, Bella Lee-Juvenile drama.

Dunkinson, Bella Lee-Drama.

Subject(s):

Railroad engineers -- Tennessee -- Biography -- Juvenile drama.

Railroad trains -- Tennessee -- History -- Juvenile drama.

Historical drama.

Biographical drama.

Railroad engineers -- Tennessee -- Biography -- Drama.

Railroad trains -- Tennessee -- History -- Drama.

Geographic Term:

Tennessee.

Genre:

Children's plays, American.

Added Author:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Salem Main Library	J 812.6 Mead 2016	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Lonely and bored with rural life in 1856, young Bella Lee Dunkinson began to hang around the local railroad. Engineer John Hardiman took a liking to the spirited girl and gave her a boy's responsibilities helping with the engine. One stormy night, the engine was slipping dangerously on wet rails. While John was putting sand on the tracks, Bella found herself alone in the cab driving the train up a steep and dangerous mountainside--a 16-year-old female faced with a task that would terrify any seasoned male engineer. After her heroic and triumphant climb to the mountaintop, she was hailed by the miners who met her there as the "Belle of the Mines and Mountains."

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 2-4-This series presents various episodes of American history through stage plays. Comprised entirely of dialogue, the books are told from the perspectives of elderly people reflecting on their youthful adventures, including 19th-century steam train worker Bella Lee Dunkinson and explorer Patrick Gass of the Lewis and Clark expedition. One-page introductions provide relevant historical context, along with a "Cast of Characters" listing. The format necessitates elements of fictionalization, which the books indicate. Some readers may become confused when the dialogue switches quickly between the older narrator's voice and the depicted historical episode. Yet overall, these engaging and creative offerings succeed, introducing important people, events, and inventions in a lively, dramatic way. More difficult vocabulary words are set in bold and defined in glossaries. Each volume features a different illustrator, which gives the series a diverse aesthetic. Todd's linocuts present the Hudson River of 1807 in brilliant abstraction, while Jacobsen's smooth pastels bring Lewis and Clark's expedition to life, and Renaud's fluid lines give vibrant motion to a chugging steam train. These works encourage group reading, with different readers assuming different parts. VERDICT Recommended for history curricula, as well as for both school and public libraries.-Jeffrey Meyer, Mount Pleasant Public Library, IA (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Library Journal Review

Gr 2-4-This series presents various episodes of American history through stage plays. Comprised entirely of dialogue, the books are told from the perspectives of elderly people reflecting on their youthful adventures, including 19th-century steam train worker Bella Lee Dunkinson and explorer Patrick Gass of the Lewis and Clark expedition. One-page introductions provide relevant historical context, along with a "Cast of Characters" listing. The format necessitates elements of fictionalization, which the books indicate. Some readers may become confused when the dialogue switches quickly between the older narrator's voice and the depicted historical episode. Yet overall, these engaging and creative offerings succeed, introducing important people, events, and inventions in a lively, dramatic way. More difficult vocabulary words are set in bold and defined in glossaries. Each volume features a different illustrator, which gives the series a diverse aesthetic. Todd's linocuts present the Hudson River of 1807 in brilliant abstraction, while Jacobsen's smooth pastels bring Lewis and Clark's expedition to life, and Renaud's fluid lines give vibrant motion to a chugging steam train. These works encourage group reading, with different readers assuming different parts. VERDICT Recommended for history curricula, as well as for both school and public libraries.-Jeffrey Meyer, Mount Pleasant Public Library, IA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.