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Crows & Cards
Three warnings for readers who hate surprises: 1. Beware of slivers, 2. and gamblers, 3. and aces.
Zebulon Crabtree found all that out the hard way back in 1849 when his mother and father shipped him off to St. Louis to apprentice with a tanner. Too bad he had serious allergies to fur and advice from his parents.
Hearing the beat of a different drummer, Zeb takes up with a riverboat gambler who has some special plans for him, crosses paths with a slave who turns out to be a better friend than cook, and learns that some Indian medicine men can see even though blind.
And then there’s the Brotherhood—the one that Zeb can’t seem to get out of. . . . Lucky for us, the price of living in turbulent times is often a good story, and Zeb spins an unforgettable one.
Zebulon Crabtree found all that out the hard way back in 1849 when his mother and father shipped him off to St. Louis to apprentice with a tanner. Too bad he had serious allergies to fur and advice from his parents.
Hearing the beat of a different drummer, Zeb takes up with a riverboat gambler who has some special plans for him, crosses paths with a slave who turns out to be a better friend than cook, and learns that some Indian medicine men can see even though blind.
And then there’s the Brotherhood—the one that Zeb can’t seem to get out of. . . . Lucky for us, the price of living in turbulent times is often a good story, and Zeb spins an unforgettable one.
348 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2009
3 people are currently reading
152 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Helgerson
8 books33 followersJoseph Helgerson was born and raised along the Mississippi River. Catfish and river trolls were his early pals. During the flood of ‘51 he had to be evacuated from his home by a leaky rowboat. The first school he attended was a one-room country schoolhouse that overlooked the river near Queens Bluff, Minnesota. Today he keeps an eye on the river as it passes through the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, where he lives with his family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
December 21, 2015
Bleach. Just bleach. The only good things about it (the villain, the concept) were shrouded in bluck when viewed through Zeb's eyes. I truly believe that he is the most annoying, unrealistic protagonist in the history of poorly executed middle-grade historical fiction novels.
January 11, 2016
Don't tell me I didn't warn you.
February 3, 2016
This book is really... something. Crows and Cards, the book of Zeb, a 12 year old boy who was sent away from his home to become a apprentice for a tanner. While on his way to St. Louis he meets Chilly, a gambler. In this book you follow these two in 33 chapters of 1830's grammar. Chances are I would not recommend this book all because it's not the greatest of story's in my opinion. While is it kinda good to start off, it's really stale after a while reading about Zeb.
March 8, 2009
Harmless cautionary tale about a greenhorn named Zeb who learns the ropes with a riverboat gambler/thief named "Chilly" in 1849 St. Louis. The author is an obvious devotee of Twain's but "Senator, I knew Mark Twain and you're no Mark Twain."
OK, maybe unfair. Helgerson's probably not trying to be Twain so much as emulating him. And this is a fine little book for the younger half of the YA crowd, IF they don't mind the slow plot and IF they find cheating at cards compelling stuff. For variety, we have a motley crew of characters including the cheater, a snakeoil salesman, a slave, an Indian, and his daughter. Ah, the melting pot element! Unfortunately, this wide array of characters all uses the same dialect. Fortunately, Helgerson is very good with figurative language and such truck. The book is illustrated, too.
OK, maybe unfair. Helgerson's probably not trying to be Twain so much as emulating him. And this is a fine little book for the younger half of the YA crowd, IF they don't mind the slow plot and IF they find cheating at cards compelling stuff. For variety, we have a motley crew of characters including the cheater, a snakeoil salesman, a slave, an Indian, and his daughter. Ah, the melting pot element! Unfortunately, this wide array of characters all uses the same dialect. Fortunately, Helgerson is very good with figurative language and such truck. The book is illustrated, too.
November 29, 2016
I enjoyed every moment of this "so totally NOT my genre" audiobook! Joseph Helgerson's characters were SO well developed that I felt as though I'd stepped into the pages and become part of the storyline!
MacLeod Andrews' awesome narration skills brought Helgerson's colorful characters to living breathing life . . the mark of a master craftsman.
The audiobook contained thought-provoking addendum - by the author (?) - that centered around a discussion of slavery, native American issues and attitudes prevalent in the mid-1800's (well worth the listening time).
MacLeod Andrews' awesome narration skills brought Helgerson's colorful characters to living breathing life . . the mark of a master craftsman.
The audiobook contained thought-provoking addendum - by the author (?) - that centered around a discussion of slavery, native American issues and attitudes prevalent in the mid-1800's (well worth the listening time).
September 5, 2015
Quite the Mark Twain feel to this story of young Zeb who gets lured away from an apprenticeship with his uncle tanning hides by a slick talking Mississippi River gambler. Great usage of the language from back in the steam-powered riverboat era. In this engaging story Zeb learns right from very wrong from a slave who burns all the food on purpose, a blind Native American chief, his savvy princess daughter and a flock of crows.
January 8, 2018
I kind of liked it. Good flow to it, simple characters, and a good hearted story.
This is not a masterpiece by far, but if you just go into it expecting a short and simple story about a young boys adventure on his own, then you'll be satisfied. If you are a fan of Mark Twain, chances are that you'll smile quite a few times reading this book. Likely also a good book for readers around the age of 10-12.
This is not a masterpiece by far, but if you just go into it expecting a short and simple story about a young boys adventure on his own, then you'll be satisfied. If you are a fan of Mark Twain, chances are that you'll smile quite a few times reading this book. Likely also a good book for readers around the age of 10-12.
April 28, 2012
I quit.
February 6, 2014
I got lost in the book and not in a good way. I started to forget who was who and everything was con fuzzing after that.
January 8, 2016
This book was very boring. The main character was very ignorant and obnoxious. I
Feel like I would have enjoyed the story more if Zeb wasn't the worst
Feel like I would have enjoyed the story more if Zeb wasn't the worst
January 21, 2016
It was I little bit boring for the first 3 chapters but then it starts to get interesting with cheating, gambling and money getting involved.
December 31, 2016
Fun, quick listen. The narrator was superb. I think this would have easily been a four star book for my if I'd read it when I was 10 or 12.
March 22, 2021
Literary masterpiece? No. Fun adventure story? Yes.
February 28, 2022
As an audiobook, this is a fun, middle school level caper that, as some other reviewers have noted, feels a little bit like Mark Twain but whereas the protagonist of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer had protagonists that were, themselves, a little bit in on at least some of the cons, Zebulon Crabtree, our protagonist here - is a mark and never seems to break away from being one.
The general plot is that the well meaning Crabtree family has plans to send their son to Saint Louis to apprentice to his great uncle, but along the way he "opts" to invest and apprentice with a riverboat gambler who is, as one can assume, ultimately the villain. There's con artistry that follows, a little bit of seeming Indigenous American mysticism, and a quest to find one's place in the world while one is also, well, quite frankly, a bit lazy and a lot of a coward.
Many of the other reviewers comment on the use of 1840s language, so perhaps it is best that I chose this one as an audio book. That being said, perhaps because I grew up in a region of Appalachia, I don't recall any of the language throwing me overly out of the story. Or maybe, as a fan of Mark Twain, this is the type of story I hoped it would be anyway.
Does Crows and Cards give us a timeless Twain tale? Maybe not. Zeb is not quite fleshed out as Tom Sawyer nor in as dire straights as Huck Finn for much of the book. Zeb does not possess the wit, the perseverance, or the drive of those characters. But, my assumption is he is not supposed to do so either. Zeb is the mark of the con artist which gives him the role of a narrator as we delve into a world of gamblers, con artists, and, eventually, a plan to get back that which was wrongly taken - just don't expect Zeb to be too heroic. He's young, after all, and he is our narrator, not an action hero.
Will adults love this story? Perhaps not, but on a long drive it was entertaining and the audio book version is well acted and characterized by MacLeod Andrews. My children generally enjoyed it as well, noting that Zeb made many poor decisions and probably should have been better prepared by someone before his parents unleashed him into a city. For me, it was fun to look over Zeb's shoulder, so to speak, as he narrated a romp through antebellum card games and gambling dens.
It does feature historical elements like slavery, language that is dated, references to card games that fell out of favor with modern gamers a la pharaoh, and so forth. Both the book and the audiobook version features a "dictionary" at the end to help people who may not catch all the meanings learn them, and it even includes a little bit of history on things such as the terms used by the indigenous American characters, where the tribes lived, and other historical tidbits that are of some interest.
It was a fun "read" as an audiobook - if a little light. But definitely a solid audiobook with the narration and storytelling flowing effectively.
The general plot is that the well meaning Crabtree family has plans to send their son to Saint Louis to apprentice to his great uncle, but along the way he "opts" to invest and apprentice with a riverboat gambler who is, as one can assume, ultimately the villain. There's con artistry that follows, a little bit of seeming Indigenous American mysticism, and a quest to find one's place in the world while one is also, well, quite frankly, a bit lazy and a lot of a coward.
Many of the other reviewers comment on the use of 1840s language, so perhaps it is best that I chose this one as an audio book. That being said, perhaps because I grew up in a region of Appalachia, I don't recall any of the language throwing me overly out of the story. Or maybe, as a fan of Mark Twain, this is the type of story I hoped it would be anyway.
Does Crows and Cards give us a timeless Twain tale? Maybe not. Zeb is not quite fleshed out as Tom Sawyer nor in as dire straights as Huck Finn for much of the book. Zeb does not possess the wit, the perseverance, or the drive of those characters. But, my assumption is he is not supposed to do so either. Zeb is the mark of the con artist which gives him the role of a narrator as we delve into a world of gamblers, con artists, and, eventually, a plan to get back that which was wrongly taken - just don't expect Zeb to be too heroic. He's young, after all, and he is our narrator, not an action hero.
Will adults love this story? Perhaps not, but on a long drive it was entertaining and the audio book version is well acted and characterized by MacLeod Andrews. My children generally enjoyed it as well, noting that Zeb made many poor decisions and probably should have been better prepared by someone before his parents unleashed him into a city. For me, it was fun to look over Zeb's shoulder, so to speak, as he narrated a romp through antebellum card games and gambling dens.
It does feature historical elements like slavery, language that is dated, references to card games that fell out of favor with modern gamers a la pharaoh, and so forth. Both the book and the audiobook version features a "dictionary" at the end to help people who may not catch all the meanings learn them, and it even includes a little bit of history on things such as the terms used by the indigenous American characters, where the tribes lived, and other historical tidbits that are of some interest.
It was a fun "read" as an audiobook - if a little light. But definitely a solid audiobook with the narration and storytelling flowing effectively.
April 11, 2023
This book clearly had a Huck Finn feel to it--a young boy on his way to an apprenticeship falls in with some riverboat gamblers. The characters were entertaining and very well articulated by the narrator. Overall, it's a perfectly enjoyable romp. The narrator for the audiobook was excellent and made this a fun listen. Definitely targeted more to the middle grade set than I was expecting--I'd definitely recommend it to fourth or fifth grade high-level readers. Some of language might feel a little funny to those readers, but they would definitely be able to follow it in audio format.
Most adult readers should skip this one in favor of something with a little more meat to it, unless they have an appropriate age child to read along.
Most adult readers should skip this one in favor of something with a little more meat to it, unless they have an appropriate age child to read along.
November 27, 2017
A book I listened to on audio, this book had an altogether unique tone and brand of approach that I really enjoyed. Much of it has a tongue-and-cheek style of humor that absolutely carries the story. It is delivered quite well in audio format, with the humor being translated effectively. I imagine this would be an enjoyable read on paper as well. The aesthetic of this book is pretty specific, with a lot of obvious emphasis on crows and cards, but it isn't unapproachable. Pretty fun!
(352 pages)
(352 pages)
January 31, 2019
this book is pretty good, it's more lighthearted than I expected and it has an engaging story. the characters are good and there are a decent amount of them. it hooks you quick and doesn't let go. it takes place in 1849 in Saint Louis and I think that's a cool setting. it feels like what it would be like to live there. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a cool adventure novel that isn't too serious.
July 26, 2024
Felt like I picked up a Mark Twain book. Not quite as good, but enjoyable nonetheless. Fairly predictable, though I suppose this was likely aimed at young readers. I would certainly steer a middle-school student toward it if they had any interest in antebellum west (midwest). It might open several avenues of further studies for a few. I suspect too that many, even youngsters, would guffaw at the naivete and gullibility of the protagonist of the tale.
July 23, 2013
06 February 2009 CROWS & CARDS by Joseph Helgerson, Houghton Mifflin, April 2009, 344p., ISBN: 978-0-618-88395-0
"It's the same story the crow told me, it's the only one he know." -- Hunter/Garcia
"'You've got a great-uncle, name of Seth, who's down in St. Louis. He used to be a trapper on the Missouri but has turned to tanning in his dotage. Fact is, I hear tell he's the best tanner there is west of the Mississippi. When it comes to treating furs, he knows himself some secrets. Picked 'em up from the Indians, I shouldn't be surprised. We're going to put you on a steamer with a letter of introduction and see if he'll take you on.'
"Hearing that left me feeling buried alive, with Pa's every word landing like another shovelful of dirt atop me. When it comes right down to it, twelve-year-olds don't have much bargaining power, not with the likes of my pa. So it looked as if I was doomed to learn a trade that didn't have any future at all. What with beaver hats going out of fashion, the fur business was keeling over as we spoke. Beavers themselves were getting trapped out, as was pretty much every other living thing with the misfortune to wear fur and have four legs."
How many of you are first-born sons? If you've found yourself in that position, like Zebulon Crabtree (the oldest of seven kids) and me (the oldest of three), then you know well what it is like to navigate the world without the instruction manual that most younger siblings have ready access to -- thanks to having watched the first-born repeatedly fall on his face. So, if you find yourself overly appalled or skeptical about how easily twelve year-old Zeb falls for the silken spiel of riverboat gambler Charles Ambrosius "Chilly" Larpenteur, and hands over the entire $70 apprenticing fee his pa has had to scrape up for grand-Uncle Seth, then I bet you haven't spent much time stumbling through the world, searching for direction as an oldest son.
And the boy falls hard. By time wide-eyed Zeb steps off that river steamer into 1849 St. Louis, he has lost the money and become Chilly's apprentice, has pledged a blood oath to the Brotherhood of the Gamblers, and finds himself heading for a new home on the outskirts of St. Louis -- an inn, housing a gambling parlor. (Chilly is secretly half-owner of the establishment.) There, Zeb is installed as the keystone to Chilly's scheme for methodically cheating a never-ending stream of men who pass through that gambling parlor.
CROWS AND CARDS is an exceptional coming-of-age story in which Zeb must untangle himself from the web of Chilly's lies about the righteousness of the cheating (Chilly calls it "shortening.") and seek out understanding of what is necessary to become a man of character.
Having been thrown to the world by his father, the boy has the good fortune to be nurtured, instead, by two wise men:
The first is Ho-John, the inn's resident slave who steadfastly burns every one of the meals that he is required to prepare. His feet are permanently chained together, having three times been "caught clinging to a log while trying to swim to Illinois, which didn't tolerate slavery."
"'Do people really think of this place as a gambler's den?'
"'Mostly. And if you're bound and determined to become some kind of gambler yourself,' Ho-John added, 'just don't go thinking you're somebody important. That's all I'm asking.'
"I didn't know how to handle such a request as that, so I didn't say much of anything to it. It was the kind of undermining talk that nags at a person though. After a bit, I said kind of sassy-like, 'So what exactly is it would make a person important?'
"'That's a question every man's got to answer for himself,' Ho-John said, ignoring my tone, 'but owning my own tools would do 'er for me.
' "There wasn't much I could say to that, coming as it did from a slave, who had never owned anything his whole life and didn't have no hopes of ever owning anything either, not unless he ran away again."
The second nurturing male character is the blind Indian seer who is in possession of the golden treasure that Chilly covets as being the key to true happiness. Zeb's first encounter with "the chief" takes place as the river steamer docks in St. Louis:
"Up to then the chief had been staring straight ahead, but now he turned toward the Rose Melinda and gazed at me. You could tell in a flash he was blind, as both his eyes were snowier than a blizzard, not that it mattered. I sure enough felt as though he was seeing parts of me never before seen under the sun, parts I didn't even know I had."
Having, myself, made that lonely journey as a firstborn son who can still well remember how clueless and vulnerable, how lacking of the instruction manual I felt as a twelve year old, I was continually and thoroughly immersed in Zeb's path to discovery. Author Joseph Helgerson, himself, came of age living close to the Mississippi and reading Twain. Helgerson has given us a notable and engaging piece of historical fiction that poses some of the biggest questions with which a young person must come to terms.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
"It's the same story the crow told me, it's the only one he know." -- Hunter/Garcia
"'You've got a great-uncle, name of Seth, who's down in St. Louis. He used to be a trapper on the Missouri but has turned to tanning in his dotage. Fact is, I hear tell he's the best tanner there is west of the Mississippi. When it comes to treating furs, he knows himself some secrets. Picked 'em up from the Indians, I shouldn't be surprised. We're going to put you on a steamer with a letter of introduction and see if he'll take you on.'
"Hearing that left me feeling buried alive, with Pa's every word landing like another shovelful of dirt atop me. When it comes right down to it, twelve-year-olds don't have much bargaining power, not with the likes of my pa. So it looked as if I was doomed to learn a trade that didn't have any future at all. What with beaver hats going out of fashion, the fur business was keeling over as we spoke. Beavers themselves were getting trapped out, as was pretty much every other living thing with the misfortune to wear fur and have four legs."
How many of you are first-born sons? If you've found yourself in that position, like Zebulon Crabtree (the oldest of seven kids) and me (the oldest of three), then you know well what it is like to navigate the world without the instruction manual that most younger siblings have ready access to -- thanks to having watched the first-born repeatedly fall on his face. So, if you find yourself overly appalled or skeptical about how easily twelve year-old Zeb falls for the silken spiel of riverboat gambler Charles Ambrosius "Chilly" Larpenteur, and hands over the entire $70 apprenticing fee his pa has had to scrape up for grand-Uncle Seth, then I bet you haven't spent much time stumbling through the world, searching for direction as an oldest son.
And the boy falls hard. By time wide-eyed Zeb steps off that river steamer into 1849 St. Louis, he has lost the money and become Chilly's apprentice, has pledged a blood oath to the Brotherhood of the Gamblers, and finds himself heading for a new home on the outskirts of St. Louis -- an inn, housing a gambling parlor. (Chilly is secretly half-owner of the establishment.) There, Zeb is installed as the keystone to Chilly's scheme for methodically cheating a never-ending stream of men who pass through that gambling parlor.
CROWS AND CARDS is an exceptional coming-of-age story in which Zeb must untangle himself from the web of Chilly's lies about the righteousness of the cheating (Chilly calls it "shortening.") and seek out understanding of what is necessary to become a man of character.
Having been thrown to the world by his father, the boy has the good fortune to be nurtured, instead, by two wise men:
The first is Ho-John, the inn's resident slave who steadfastly burns every one of the meals that he is required to prepare. His feet are permanently chained together, having three times been "caught clinging to a log while trying to swim to Illinois, which didn't tolerate slavery."
"'Do people really think of this place as a gambler's den?'
"'Mostly. And if you're bound and determined to become some kind of gambler yourself,' Ho-John added, 'just don't go thinking you're somebody important. That's all I'm asking.'
"I didn't know how to handle such a request as that, so I didn't say much of anything to it. It was the kind of undermining talk that nags at a person though. After a bit, I said kind of sassy-like, 'So what exactly is it would make a person important?'
"'That's a question every man's got to answer for himself,' Ho-John said, ignoring my tone, 'but owning my own tools would do 'er for me.
' "There wasn't much I could say to that, coming as it did from a slave, who had never owned anything his whole life and didn't have no hopes of ever owning anything either, not unless he ran away again."
The second nurturing male character is the blind Indian seer who is in possession of the golden treasure that Chilly covets as being the key to true happiness. Zeb's first encounter with "the chief" takes place as the river steamer docks in St. Louis:
"Up to then the chief had been staring straight ahead, but now he turned toward the Rose Melinda and gazed at me. You could tell in a flash he was blind, as both his eyes were snowier than a blizzard, not that it mattered. I sure enough felt as though he was seeing parts of me never before seen under the sun, parts I didn't even know I had."
Having, myself, made that lonely journey as a firstborn son who can still well remember how clueless and vulnerable, how lacking of the instruction manual I felt as a twelve year old, I was continually and thoroughly immersed in Zeb's path to discovery. Author Joseph Helgerson, himself, came of age living close to the Mississippi and reading Twain. Helgerson has given us a notable and engaging piece of historical fiction that poses some of the biggest questions with which a young person must come to terms.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
June 8, 2017
This was a free download through the Audiofile SYNC Audiobooks for Teens program. The author was obviously inspired by Mark Twain and I believe the target audience is grades 4-8.
The historical information and dictionary in the afterword were informative and the story was mostly entertaining.
The historical information and dictionary in the afterword were informative and the story was mostly entertaining.
July 23, 2017
I listened to the audio version. I think this book would be best in audio with the narrator's accent and inflection in the reading.
I enjoyed the author's wording and phrases. Literally laughed out loud several times on phrases and circumstances.
An intriguing and interesting book.
I enjoyed the author's wording and phrases. Literally laughed out loud several times on phrases and circumstances.
An intriguing and interesting book.
August 7, 2021
Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2021-a book with a spade, heart, club, or diamond on the cover.
If you're looking for something deep and meaningful, this probably isn't for you. But, it's a fun romp with a moral tale that is very evocative of Mark twain.
If you're looking for something deep and meaningful, this probably isn't for you. But, it's a fun romp with a moral tale that is very evocative of Mark twain.
August 30, 2017
3.5 stars. Entertaining, if a little hard to get into initially. I enjoyed the dictionary at the end, too.
December 16, 2017
Fun historical fiction that takes place in St. Louis. Be sure to read the dictionary at the end.
September 29, 2018
Let’s just not talk about this...
December 30, 2010
I got this book as an Advanced Reading Copy through Amazon Vine. I was excited to read it because it is written by a local MN author and I had heard good things about it from other Vine members. It was a clever little book but I had a lot of trouble getting into it.
Zeb gets sent off by his parents to apprentice with a tanner. Only thing is, Zeb meets up with a gentleman on his way to St. Louis named Chilly. Chilly accepts the money for Zeb's tanner apprenticeship and agrees to take Zeb on as a apprentice riverboat gambler. Zeb, isn't sure if he holds with the cheating aspect of what Chilly is up to and when he crosses paths with an old Indian chief and his daughter Zeb really starts to wonder if he's made the right choice to serve as a gambling apprentice.
I really wanted to love this book. It is reminiscent of something written by Mark Twain. You can tell a lot of research went into getting the quirks of language and the surroundings as right as you can without living them. There is even a dictionary in the back of the book that will help you familiarize yourself with all slang of the times if you're having trouble following.
Zeb is an interesting character that has enduring phobias of everything from chickens, to splinters, to the river. As an outsider looking in, you sometimes want to smack Zeb for his naivete but I suppose that is part of his charm. The Indian Chief and the Indian Princess are intriguing characters that really add some mystery to the story.
As I said, I was excited to read and love this book. I had a lot of trouble starting it out though. Although Zeb and Chilly are interesting characters the story didn't hold a lot of suspense for me; it didn't really pull me through. I also did not find any of the characters to be especially likable; I had a lot of trouble caring about where the story was going. I really had to push myself to get through this book. Even when Zeb was facing the driest of consequences I wasn't really all that engaged in the story.
All in all, it was an okay book. It's a pretty common-type coming of age story set in the river-boat era of the Mississippi. Young boys would probably enjoy it, young girls would be disappointed that there isn't a place for them in that era. The writing was good and you could tell the book was well researched. I wish though that more work had gone into writing a really engaging and detailed story. I'd recommend this book to young boys or fans of Mark Twain. Will I read more of Helgerson's books? Probably not, the writing style and story line didn't really mesmerize me. I can imagine though that a lot of people will really like this book given the rarity of young adult books written in the setting of this book and the solid coming of age lessons included in it.
Zeb gets sent off by his parents to apprentice with a tanner. Only thing is, Zeb meets up with a gentleman on his way to St. Louis named Chilly. Chilly accepts the money for Zeb's tanner apprenticeship and agrees to take Zeb on as a apprentice riverboat gambler. Zeb, isn't sure if he holds with the cheating aspect of what Chilly is up to and when he crosses paths with an old Indian chief and his daughter Zeb really starts to wonder if he's made the right choice to serve as a gambling apprentice.
I really wanted to love this book. It is reminiscent of something written by Mark Twain. You can tell a lot of research went into getting the quirks of language and the surroundings as right as you can without living them. There is even a dictionary in the back of the book that will help you familiarize yourself with all slang of the times if you're having trouble following.
Zeb is an interesting character that has enduring phobias of everything from chickens, to splinters, to the river. As an outsider looking in, you sometimes want to smack Zeb for his naivete but I suppose that is part of his charm. The Indian Chief and the Indian Princess are intriguing characters that really add some mystery to the story.
As I said, I was excited to read and love this book. I had a lot of trouble starting it out though. Although Zeb and Chilly are interesting characters the story didn't hold a lot of suspense for me; it didn't really pull me through. I also did not find any of the characters to be especially likable; I had a lot of trouble caring about where the story was going. I really had to push myself to get through this book. Even when Zeb was facing the driest of consequences I wasn't really all that engaged in the story.
All in all, it was an okay book. It's a pretty common-type coming of age story set in the river-boat era of the Mississippi. Young boys would probably enjoy it, young girls would be disappointed that there isn't a place for them in that era. The writing was good and you could tell the book was well researched. I wish though that more work had gone into writing a really engaging and detailed story. I'd recommend this book to young boys or fans of Mark Twain. Will I read more of Helgerson's books? Probably not, the writing style and story line didn't really mesmerize me. I can imagine though that a lot of people will really like this book given the rarity of young adult books written in the setting of this book and the solid coming of age lessons included in it.
January 14, 2010
From the very first paragraph of Joseph Helgerson's "Crows and Cards" you know that wild and wooly shenanigans will be the norm because well...Zebulon Crabtree, that pesky, irresistible main character, (sprat that he is) has a penchant for trouble. It's that very same truculence that has gotten him a one-way ticket on the Rose Melinda to his great-uncle Seth in St. Louis to train him up as a tanner. As much as his parents will miss him (and so will the crow in the wood shed), Crabtree has gotten into enough scrapes to earn him a lifetime of indenture to his uncle.
It's one pickle after another when Zeb's journey to great-Uncle Seth's turns into a big detour. After all, does he really want to be a tanner? Does he really want to be around smelly hides? He decides his best bet is to hook up with Mr. Chilly Larpenteur, a shifty-eyed gambler who cons the boy out of his apprenticeship money and reckons he'll teach him the trade of parting rich men from their wealth. As exciting as this new life sounds, Zeb is finding out (rather slowly) that maybe not all is what it seems with Mr. Shifty-Eyes Larpenteur.
The best part of Helgerson's book is the language. It is rich in a vernacular that will inspire, and exhilarate readers. Obviously comparisons to Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn abound, but Zebulon Crabtree is a different kettle of fish. As our wet- behind-the-ears boy is exposed to the rather quirky situations at hand these coming-of-age lessons can be read as funny, bittersweet and exceptionally lighthearted. When Zeb is repeatedly roped into an elaborate ruse to aid Chilly at cheating at cards, he realizes the lasting implications of his actions. Especially when those cheated are Old Chief Standing Tenbears and his daughter.
After experiencing first hand the wise magic of the Chief and his instant affinity with his crow, Zeb sets off to right the wrongs done. You'll find yourself chucking along at the shenanigans. It was a distinct and warm pleasure to dive into Helgerson's characters: including the birdman Professor, Ho John, and Goose. It's truly a perfect tale to treat for bedtime stories, but equally fun for all ages. Enjoy!
It's one pickle after another when Zeb's journey to great-Uncle Seth's turns into a big detour. After all, does he really want to be a tanner? Does he really want to be around smelly hides? He decides his best bet is to hook up with Mr. Chilly Larpenteur, a shifty-eyed gambler who cons the boy out of his apprenticeship money and reckons he'll teach him the trade of parting rich men from their wealth. As exciting as this new life sounds, Zeb is finding out (rather slowly) that maybe not all is what it seems with Mr. Shifty-Eyes Larpenteur.
The best part of Helgerson's book is the language. It is rich in a vernacular that will inspire, and exhilarate readers. Obviously comparisons to Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn abound, but Zebulon Crabtree is a different kettle of fish. As our wet- behind-the-ears boy is exposed to the rather quirky situations at hand these coming-of-age lessons can be read as funny, bittersweet and exceptionally lighthearted. When Zeb is repeatedly roped into an elaborate ruse to aid Chilly at cheating at cards, he realizes the lasting implications of his actions. Especially when those cheated are Old Chief Standing Tenbears and his daughter.
After experiencing first hand the wise magic of the Chief and his instant affinity with his crow, Zeb sets off to right the wrongs done. You'll find yourself chucking along at the shenanigans. It was a distinct and warm pleasure to dive into Helgerson's characters: including the birdman Professor, Ho John, and Goose. It's truly a perfect tale to treat for bedtime stories, but equally fun for all ages. Enjoy!
August 14, 2009
Gr 4-8-It's 1849, and though 12-year-old Zeb would rather remain in their familiar log cabin with his six siblings, Pa places him onboard a steamship bound for St. Louis and Great-Uncle Seth's tannery to learn a trade. Feeling lonely and unhappy about the prospect of working "with a bunch of smelly old hides," Zeb is thrilled when a fine gentleman strikes up a conversation with him. Chilly Larpenteur's specialty is helping wealthy travelers share their riches-through rigged card games. He asks Zeb to become his apprentice upon their arrival in St. Louis, assuring the boy that his work is philanthropic since he donates part of his winnings to orphans. Zeb accepts, but it's not long before Chilly's true colors show and the boy realizes that he has been flimflammed. However, he's made real friends along the way, including a blind old Indian chief known for his visions and a grouchy slave who burns everything he cooks. How they beat Chilly at his own game makes for a tale that Mark Twain would be proud to call his own. It takes a lot of gumption to create a protagonist who follows in the footsteps of Tom Sawyer, and Helgerson succeeds. Full-page illustrations, an author's note about 19th-century life along the Mississippi, and a hilarious glossary are added bonuses.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
February 9, 2017
This is a fun and fairly unusual book with a style much like Mark Twain. Much of the humor comes from being smarter than the main character, who gets picked up by a professional gambler on the riverboat when he is supposed to be going to start his apprenticeship in tanning. He thinks L (the gambler) will give him an interesting, easy life, and that his main motivation is to (Robin Hood like) win money from rich people to give it to the poor. He wises up about half way through and spends the rest of the book trying to help the slave in their house and the previously-swindled Indian chief.
It's a fascinating take on historical fiction that would be especially enjoyed by strong readers, both boys and girls, with an interest in history. It's from 2009 and you can find it on our Staff Picks shelf.
-Anastasia
It's a fascinating take on historical fiction that would be especially enjoyed by strong readers, both boys and girls, with an interest in history. It's from 2009 and you can find it on our Staff Picks shelf.
-Anastasia
August 19, 2015
Zebulon Crabtree is afraid of everything, including his shadow. So when his Pa starts suggesting different apprenticeships he might be able to find, Zeb has an objection to all of them. In frustration, Pa sends him downriver to St. Louis to work with a relative learning to be a tanner. But Zeb, not the brightest kid, is easily swayed by a riverboat gambler into becoming his apprentice - to "help the orphans." But before long he starts having second thoughts. Is it really right to cheat cheaters?
Funny look at 1850s life on the Mississippi River, the options for young boys to learn a trade, and the traps of gambling. At first the situations Zeb finds himself in are quite humorous, but eventually you realize (as does Zeb) that it's a lot more serious than he thought. The story is nice, although comparisons to Tom Saywer are quite a stretch. I really appreciated the discussion at the end that talked about the real history and how it had been woven into the story, as thought the "dictionary" of terms which are no longer commonplace was a nice touch. Also, the illustrations were really good, simple pencil drawings, but added nicely to the feel of the book. Probably a fun book for boys ages 9-12.
Funny look at 1850s life on the Mississippi River, the options for young boys to learn a trade, and the traps of gambling. At first the situations Zeb finds himself in are quite humorous, but eventually you realize (as does Zeb) that it's a lot more serious than he thought. The story is nice, although comparisons to Tom Saywer are quite a stretch. I really appreciated the discussion at the end that talked about the real history and how it had been woven into the story, as thought the "dictionary" of terms which are no longer commonplace was a nice touch. Also, the illustrations were really good, simple pencil drawings, but added nicely to the feel of the book. Probably a fun book for boys ages 9-12.
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