By the Great Hornspoon!

by Sid Fleischman

Book Overview

For fans of I Survived and Dear America, this rollicking adventure about the California Gold Rush is a classic from the award-winning author of The Whipping Boy.

Jack's aunt is in trouble--even after she sells her beloved mansion, she still doesn't have enough money to pay off all her debts, or to take care of twelve-year-old Jack and his two sisters. Luckily Jack has a plan to save the family.

He's going to strike gold...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316286125
• ISBN13: 9780316286121
• Release Date: April 1988
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

"I ground in a few acorns for flavor."

BY THE GREAT HORN SPOON! is written for younger readers but is a delightful light read even for adults, who will get through this book in one sitting. The story concerns young Jack Flagg of Boston and his faithful manservant Praiseworthy who, upon discovering that Jack's foster Aunt Arabella is virtually penniless, decide to set out for the California Gold Rush and save the family from poverty. Along the way, Jack and Praiseworthy have numerous adventures (they are forced to stow away aboard ship, they run afoul of the highwayman Cut-Eye Higgins, Praiseworthy, a model of rectitude, becomes renowned in the gold fields as "Bullwhip," the man who can win any fight, and they strike it rich), through all of which they persevere, largely because of their wit, their intelligence, and their reliance on each other. BY THE GREAT HORN SPOON! is a wonderful lesson in the nature of true friendship. A fun story with a fine sense of historical place and memorably colorful characters, BY THE GREAT HORN SPOON! is a story for children of all ages.

Great book for 4th graders.

My class has a class set of this book and applauded when it was done. Great way to personalize the Gold Rush.

Hang Onto Your Gold With Both Hands!

It's 1849. Gold has been discovered in California. Twelve-year-old Jack, at home in Boston, needs money to save the family home. His solution? Stowaway on a ship bound for the goldfields. Find some gold. Return home. Easy? Not on your life! Lucky for Jack, his butler (with the endearing name of Praiseworthy) stows away also. Together these two gold seekers get in and out of numerous adventures and meet colorful characters with names like Pitch-pine Billy and Mountain Ox as they wander around the gold fields trying to "strike it rich". I read this wonderful, tongue-in-cheek historical novel aloud to the students in my class when we studied the California Gold Rush. They always wanted "one more chapter" and joined in with Jack's adventures wholeheartedly. We all were surprised at the twist at the end of the book! Highly recommended

A joy to read out loud.

When I was nine, I read this book. At age 40, I read the same copy to my children, ages ten and eight. As much as I enjoyed reading it the first time, reading it out loud was a much richer experience.The writing flows naturally, and encourages a great variation in expression. The adventure truly comes out in the reader's voice. I am an actor, but I felt that this story would bring out the actor in anybody.The story was so exciting and surprising that long reading sessions never dragged. At several points, my children threw themselves down on the floor and yelled, "Oh my gosh!"This experience brought it all together for me, if I may speak personally: books, performing, involvement with my children, a classic story that I relished as a child myself. Those evenings added up to the happiest time of my life.The plot concerns a boy who runs away during the California gold rush--with his butler!--to try to get his family out of debt. The adventures along the way are episodic, and each episode is an amazing and believable story in itself. Every step in the journey is given full attention: the voyage from Boston to San Francisco, the trip to the gold fields, the experiences among the miners. There are plenty of colorful characters, and plenty of opportunities for the two main characters to grow. There are also several threads that run through the whole story, maintaining suspense. Their resolution is unpredictable and satisfying.There was very little in the book that could make a parent squirm, and very little that sounded out of date. But there were three moments that made me pause: 1) There is a fist fight, though it is handled in a light-hearted way. 2) There is a reference to corporal punishment when an adult threatens to "take a hairbrush" to a child. 3) There is an expression used once that might be innocent for all I know, but sure doesn't sound that way: "That's mighty white of you."Minor reservations, I hope you'll agree. So plunge in and have an experience you and your listeners will never forget.

A fun filled adventure!

By the Great Horn Spoon is such an exciting book! Jack Flagg and his butler Praiseworthy set out to the gold fields to save his Aunt Arabella's fortune. They go on sea journey and are headed to the gold mines. On the way, they meet some hilarious people. In the gold country, everyone has a nickame. In this book, you'll find the most hilarious nicknames.This book is so funny that you will have a stomach ache from laughing and it is so good that you will not be able to put it down. While you are busy enjoying the book, you will be learnig about the gold rush in the year 1912 in San Francisco, California.This book is good for both adults and children. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading a funny, interesting, and exciting book.