Stagecoach Sal : inspired by a true tale
Record details
- ISBN: 1423111494 (hardcover)
- ISBN: 9781423111498 (hardcover)
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Physical Description:
1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill. ; 24 x 27 cm.
print - Edition: 1st ed.
- Publisher: New York : Disney Hyperion Books, 2009.
Content descriptions
Summary, etc.: | When Sal drives a stagecoach alone for the first time to pick up and deliver mail, her mother is afraid she will meet local outlaw Poetic Pete, but Sal not only excels at roping, riding, and shooting, she is also an excellent singer. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | West (U.S.) History 19th century Fiction Tall tales Sex role Fiction Robbers and outlaws Fiction Singing Fiction Stagecoaches Fiction |
Available copies
- 8 of 8 copies available at Bibliomation. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Rockville Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 8 total copies.
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rockville Public Library | E HOP History (Text) | 34035114165919 | Juvenile Easy | Available | - |
Publishers Weekly Review
Stagecoach Sal
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
A healthy dose of pioneer sass helps young Stagecoach Sal nab a notorious thief without firing a shot-she takes Poetic Pete ("the most polite bandit in all of California") onto the seat beside her, sings him to sleep and delivers him to jail. Hopkinson's (Home on the Range) winner of a tale is inspired by a historical figure (whose biography is supplied in an afterword), but the story of Sal's all-night singing marathon is Hopkinson's own. Ellis's (The Composer Is Dead) artwork forms an unexpected but effective counterpoint to Hopkinson's rambunctious prose. Delicate watercolors make the spreads light and limpid, and precise brown ink lines keep the doll-like figures of Sal, her parents and the pioneer landscape under firm control, the kind of restraint seen in embroidered samplers. It's a counterweight to Sal's bombast: "Why, I'm a gal who can plug a nickel from as far as I can see it, and shoot out a rattler's rattles if I care to." Loving parents give Sal lots of freedom, and she runs-make that rides-with it; she's a charismatic role model of American pluck. Ages 4-7. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Stagecoach Sal
Kirkus Reviews
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Sally, so small her feet don't reach the floorboards of her Pa's stagecoach, loves to ride and sing (and she can shoot, too). When an encounter with a hornet's nest leaves only Sal to drive the mail, she sets off with no fear of Poetic Pete, the polite, versifying robber. When she encounters him, she invites him to ride shotgun with her and keeps him from speaking at all by singing "Sweet Betsy from Pike" and "Polly Wolly Doodle," then neatly cuffs him after he falls asleep. Both the text and the typefaces are as bouncy and lively as the songs and the story, skittering up, down and around the pages. Ellis's art places primitive-looking figures and landscape on white backgrounds so they float in space, as do pigtails, hats, luggage, feetnothing is ever firmly planted. The images thus echo the rollicking text, which begs to be read aloud. Based on the real Delia Haskett Rawson, the first and possibly only woman to carry the U.S. mail by stagecoach in California, the story has a wonderful energy and verve. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
School Library Journal Review
Stagecoach Sal
School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Gr 1-3-Spunky Sal loves to ride shotgun on her father's stagecoach. Perched there, she loves to sing to her dad, the horses, and the passengers. When an unfortunate encounter with a hornet's nest sidelines him, Sal finally gets her chance to "hold the ribbons." But her first solo trip entails a mail delivery with no passengers, and Ma and Pa are worried that she might encounter that no-good bandit "Poetic Pete," whose robberies are famous for their polite and rhyming verse. Sure enough, when Sal encounters the fancy-suited outlaw she must use her talents to outsmart the smooth-tongued desperado before he has a chance to steal her cargo. This high-spirited tale of a young heroine begs for an energetic read-aloud punctuated with song (and a well-placed pioneer accent). Sal is an engaging, adventuresome character sure to delight readers with her gutsiness and determination. The text is written in an exaggerated caricature style interspersed with period songs. Ellis's ink drawings washed in sepia-toned watercolor convey a daguerreotype feel, and the depiction of pigtailed Sal is delightful. A refreshing addition to a unit on Western migration, Wells Fargo, or heroic females in history.-C. J. Connor, Campbell County Public Library, Cold Spring, KY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.