All Sail Set, A Romance of the "Flying Cloud" by Armstrong Sperry

All Sail Set, A Romance of the “Flying Cloud” written and illustrated by Armstrong Sperry, introduction by William McFee. Published by John O. Winston Company, c. 1935, 171 pages. Upper elementary reading level.

Best known for his book Call It Courage, American writer Armstrong Sperry wrote many biographical and historical fiction books especially for boys. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1897, the same year as my grandfather! Sperry received his art training at Yale, and then was drafted into the U.S. Navy toward the end of World War I. During his boyhood, he had read and enjoyed the works of Herman Melville, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Jack London, so after the war he traveled extensively in the South Pacific. These experiences definitely influenced his writings. In the late 1920s, after his marriage, he illustrated for advertising, including Campbell’s soup. He illustrated the dust jacket for the first edition of Tarzan and the Lost Empires by Burroughs.

Sperry’s great-grandfather was a sea captain and undoubtedly passed on his love for the sea and stories of sea travel. Armstrong wrote All Sail Set and it won the Newbery Medal in 1936. After this he lived in the Southwest for a time and was inspired to write several novels about that area. His earlier travels in the South Pacific set the stage for his Newbery Medal winner Call It Courage in 1940.  This was the story of a young boy on a Polynesian island who had been branded a coward because of his fear of the sea, even though his name is Stout Heart. He goes out alone on his canoe, faces storms, stays on a deserted island, and eventually returns home. When accepting the medal for this book, Sperry said, "I had been afraid that perhaps in Call It Courage, the concept of spiritual courage might be too adult for children, but the reception of this book has reaffirmed a belief I have long held: that children have imagination enough to grasp any idea, and respond to it, if it is put to them honestly and without a patronizing pat on the head."

Armstrong Sperry died in 1976. Some of his books, both fiction and nonfiction, include:

Call It Courage

All Sail Set

Wagons Westward

John Paul Jones: The Pirate Patriot

Storm Canvas

The Rain Forest

Little Eagle: A Navajo Boy

Frozen Fire: A Story of the Amazon Jungle

Coconut: The Wonder Tree

The Voyages of Christopher Columbus, a Landmark book

The Amazon: River Sea of Brazil, a Rivers of the World book

Hull-Down for Action

Captain Cook Explores the South Seas, a World Landmark book

River of the West: The Story of the Boston Men, a Winston Adventure book

Black Falcon

All about the Jungle, an Allabout book

All about the Arctic and Antarctic, an Allabout book

All about Captain Cook, an Allabout book

Lost Lagoon

The Boy Who Was Afraid

One Day with Tuktu, an Eskimo Boy

One Day with Manu

One Day with Jambi in Sumatra

Thunder Country

Understanding Egypt

Great River, Wide Land: The Rio Grande Through History

Danger to Windward, about Nantucket Whaling

South of Cape Horn: a Saga of Nat Palmer and Early Antarctic Exploration

He illustrated The Story of Hiawatha by Chaffee, Thunderbolt House by Pease, and Boat Builder by Judson, among many others

This book, All Sail Set, is a story told by Enoch Thacher in his old age, of his adventures on the Flying Cloud, the very fast clipper ship built by the famous Donald McKay in the early 1850s. The introduction to the book, written by William McFee, sets the stage to this exciting tale of drama on the high seas.

“The maritime history of New England in the first part of the nineteenth century has certain features not found elsewhere in the world. A stormy, difficult coast; a hardy race of men, who were also born traders; an almost unlimited supply of oak and pine suitable for shipbuilding, and a network of manufacturing centers – all these combined to produce a shipping community second to none. It is not enough to have ships coming into harbor and merchants with cargoes to consign. True maritime prosperity arises when men take naturally, without immediate thought of money making, to ship and shipbuilding, when whole families are so saturated with seafaring thoughts that it becomes the natural way of life for boys to adopt, and the girls accept as part of their existence the absence of their husbands and sweethearts for long voyages.”

This is the environment in which Enoch Thacher grows up. At the age of 15, he signs on with the first voyage of the Flying Cloud, after helping Donald McKay work on its design. The story of this voyage and its record-breaking speed is told in a manner that makes it believable, without being over-sensational.  Thacher learns courage, faces an enemy on board, and earns respect as the story proceeds. The adventures of the crew sailing around the southern tip of South America and on to San Francisco do not follow the typical exaggeration and stereo-typing of other books about the sea. It’s easy to see how Sperry’s travels caused his writings to “ring true.” The book includes a lot of black-line illustrations done by Sperry, including informational diagrams of the clipper ship. There is also a Nautical Glossary, “a first aid for the landlubber” at the back of the book. I highly recommend this book for ages 9 to 12, especially for boys.

Recommended additional books/resources to aid your studies:

America Travels by Alice Dalgliesh

Clipper Ship Days by John Jennings, a Landmark book

When Clipper Ships Ruled the Seas by James McCague, How They Lived series

Meet the Men Who Sailed the Seas by John Dyment, a Step-Up book

Clipper Ships and Captains by Jane Lyon, an American Heritage book

Clipper and Whaling Ships by Tim McNeese

Seabird by Holling Clancy Holling

The Story of the Clipper Ships by R. Conrad Stein, a Cornerstones of Freedom book

South of Cape Horn: a Saga of Nat Palmer and Early Antarctic Exploration by Armstrong Sperry

Full Hold and Splendid Passage: America Goes to Sea 1815-1860 by Bill Bonyun

Voyage of the Javelin by Stephen Meader

Clipper Ship by Thomas Lewis, an I Can Read History book

Bluewater Journal by Loretta Krapinski

Yankee Clippers: The Story of Donald McKay by Clara Ingram Judson

Donald McKay and the Clipper Ships by Mary Ellen Chase, a North Star book

The True Adventures of Daniel Hall by Diane Stanley

Whaling Days by Carol Carrick

Harvest of the Sea by Walter Buehr

The Story of the New England Whalers by R. Conrad Stein, a Cornerstones of Freedom book

When Nantucket Men Went Whaling by Enid Meadowcroft, a How They Lived book

Whaler ‘Round the Horn by Stephen Meader

American Practical Navigator by Nathaniel Bowditch

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

Down to the Sea: A Young Peoples’ Life of Nathaniel Bowditch, the Great Navigator by Louise Hall Tharp

Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana

The Voyager’s Stone by Robert Kraske, about sea currents

Trail Blazer of the Seas by Jean Lee Latham, about Matthew Maury and his story of sea currents

Wandering Albatross (Birds of Antarctica) by Jennifer Dewey

Albert the Albatross by Syd Hoff, An Early I Can Read book

Tierra del Fuego: A Journey to the End of the Earth by Peter Lourie

San Francisco by Jean Fritz

Plants That Changed History by Joan Elma Rahn

The Money Trees, the Spice Trade by George Massalman

(Book review by Sandy Hall. All rights reserved. August 26, 2017)

The Silver Dagger by Allan Dwight

The Silver Dagger by Allan Dwight

First published by Macmillan 1959. My copy is by Acorn Books, paperback, 1963.

Upper elementary/jr high reading level. Historical Fiction.

About the Author:

From the dust jacket – “’Allan Dwight’ is a pen name for the husband-and-wife team of Turney Allan Taylor and Lois Cole Taylor, who have written many exciting adventure stories for young people. Their previous books include Drums in the Forest, The Silver Dagger, Guns at Quebec, and Soldier and Patriot: The Life of General Israel Putnam. Turney Allan Taylor, who recently wrote Morgan’s Long Rifles under his own name, was for twenty years a special writer on the staff of the Sunday edition of the New York Times. Lois Cole Taylor is at present senior editor with Walker & Company, and for many years was an editor with The Macmillan Company and senior editor with William Morrow & Co., Inc. The Taylors are long-time residents of New Jersey.”

I just recently read To the Walls of Cartagena, also by this husband-wife team. Excellent historical fiction.  And I have Guns at Quebec and Morgan’s Long Rifles, found at a used bookstore this summer, that I haven’t read yet but plan to soon.  If you enjoy historical fiction, or your sons do, I recommend this author.

The Story:

From the book cover – “Young Mark Woodbridge opened the door of his Connecticut farmhouse one wet spring evening in 1762 to a cloaked and sinister stranger who called himself Galvez – and thus began the adventure that was to change the whole course of his life. The appearance of Galvez triggered the discovery that Mark had inherited a hoard of treasure, buried somewhere in Cuba. To get there, Mark enlists with the Colonials, and together with his friend Simon he sails to that faraway island – right into the middle of dangerous intrigue. During the long siege of Morro Castle, and with the agents of the evil Galvez on his trail, Mark seeks for the hidden chest of jewels. Trapped and imprisoned, he escapes to find the treasure at last, and in finding it discovers something even more important.”

This story line is fast-moving, full of adventure and danger, and ends in a satisfying way. Mark matures as the story goes along, so that he begins to think before he acts, learns to value true friendships, and sees beyond riches to do what is right. The characters of the story are well-defined, both protagonist and antagonist. One can almost feel the oppressive heat of Cuba and sympathize with the desire for the New England home. Similar to the main character of the Henty novels, Mark gets into one scrape after another, yet always comes out on top. Still, if you have a son of upper elementary or junior high age, this adventure story may appeal to him.  The writing is similar in length, level and style to William O. Steele, Leonard Wibberley, and Stephen Meader, all great writers for boys.

Recommended additional books/resources to aid your studies:

Connecticut by Bernadine Bailey

Pirate Chase by Earl Schenck Miers

The Black Buccaneer by Stephen Meader

Unwilling Pirate by West Lathrop

Pirate – DK Eyewitness book

Indians of the Longhouse, the Story of the Iroquois by Sonia Bleeker

Cuba by Clifford Crouch

Cuba by Karen Jacobsen, A New True Book

Soldier and Patriot: Israel Putnam by Allan Dwight – he is briefly mentioned in the story

Israel Putnam: Fearless Boy by Augusta Stevenson, Childhood of Famous Americans

Today in Old New York City by Elva Jean Hall

New York by Susan & John Lee

A Day in the Life of a Colonial Soldier by J.L. Branse

Boys and Girls of Colonial Days by Carolyn Bailey

If You Lived in Colonial Times by Ann McGovern

Everyday Life in Colonial America by Louis Wright

Colonial Living by Edwin Tunis

Colonial American Troops, 1610-1774 by Rene Chartrand, Men-at-Arms series

Wooden Ship-Building by Charles Desmond

Once Upon a Time: The Way America Was by Eric Sloane

Other historical fiction of this time period:

The Young Voyageur by Kirk Gringhius

Time of the Tomahawk by Robert Edmond Alter

The Great Pine’s Son, A Story of the Pontiac War by Margaret Widdemer

A Spy in Old Detroit by Anne Emery

River of Danger, a Story of Samuel Kirkland by Denice Williamson, a missionary story in upstate NY

(Book review by Sandy Hall. All rights reserved. July 30, 2017) 

The Mystery of the Stalwart - Book Review

The Mystery of the Stalwart by Elbert M. Hoppenstedt

Published by Franklin Watts, c. 1965. Illustrations by Claudine Nankivel

Written at a middle elementary reading level.

Do you remember putting together intricate puzzles? We would work to get the framing pieces all put together, set up the box cover nearby, begin to sort pieces by color/design, and then finishing putting that puzzle together no matter how long it took! Oh, the delight we felt when we found two odd pieces that snapped together. Yay!

Well, this book gave me that same feeling. Recently, I traveled from Rhode Island to upstate New York. On the way, I needed to make a stop in the little town of Haddam, CT, to see the lady at the historical society. I had a book that belonged to a Spencer in the 1800s and wanted to see if she wanted it for the museum.  My ancestor, Gerard Spencer, helped to settle that town in the 1650s. Lots of wonderful stories I could tell. After seeing the historian, I went to the Brainerd Memorial Library nearby to check out their books for sale in the basement. $.25 each! I bought 100 delightful children’s books and continued on my way to NY. My trip later continued on to the southeast shore of New Jersey to be with my daughter at the birth of her first child. While I’m here, I’ve been reading some of the books picked up on my journeys. The Mystery of the Stalwart was one of the books I purchased that day in Haddam. This book takes place right here in NJ where I am now! So a book I bought in my ancestor’s home town is about the town my kids live in now. Such a fun coincidence. Just like two pieces of a puzzle snapping together!

Elbert M. Hoppenstedt, the author of this children’s book, was born in 1917 and died at the age of 96 in 2013. He spent most of his life in New Jersey until retiring to Florida where he was at the time of his death. From his obituary, this information is given:  “Elbert served his country in World War II as an Air Force Bombardier for the Fifteenth Squadron stationed in Italy. At home, he was a dedicated teacher, principal and superintendent for the Shore Regional School District. Throughout his life, he was an artist, an established author, and talented wood worker”.

His books include:

Sunken Timbers

The Mystery of the Deserted Village

Tillicum

Aerial Gunners of World War II

A House Divided

Secret of Stygian River

Mystery at Ten Fathoms

President Harrison’s Horse Race

And several books for teachers.

The Mystery of the Stalwart is the only one I have from this author, but I will definitely watch for more.

From the dust jacket:

“The Pine Barrens of New Jersey are only an hour’s drive from Philadelphia and a little more from New York City. Yet the people who live in this region are largely isolated – often without telephones and electricity – and superstitious. Jesse Shadow and his family are Pineys, and this very fact produces great conflict in the young boy. Jesse’s father wants his son to remain at home to aid his failing boatbuilding business. Jesse burns with an ambition to become a botanist. Jesse’s only hope of pursuing his career seems to rest in the Stalwart, a Revolutionary War boat built by his ancestors. If it is true that the Stalwart treasure is hidden somewhere on the Shadow property – as Jesse’s father believes – then perhaps both Jesse and his father can realize their dreams. An intriguing mystery set against an authentic background, The Mystery of the Stalwart is the story of one boy’s struggle between his environment and his dreams.”

The plot builds well throughout, with an exciting climax and satisfying ending. The characters are believable. Jesse struggles with the tension between his dreams and his obedience to his domineering, unreasonable father. At one point in the story, his father strikes him in anger, which obviously a father should not do. However, the next morning, his father humbly apologizes and Jesse accepts the apology. They work out an agreement for their futures and the story progresses.

The inclusion of salt marsh botany makes this story very interesting. If you had a student interested in that field of study, this story would definitely be enjoyed by him/her.

The sub-plot running through this book is about the Revolutionary War, when the British Raid on Chestnut Neck took place. During the war, boat-owners from the area of the Great Bay on the south shore of New Jersey, about ten miles north of Atlantic City, captured many British supply ships and then loaded up the contents and got them to Washington's army at Valley Forge. The British held New York City and Philadelphia at this time in 1778, so the supplies for General Washington’s army were cut off in this area. The gains from the privateering by American citizens helped the Continental army with badly-needed supplies. The Raid at Chestnut Neck by the British proved fruitless because of prior warning to the privateers of the area. That event plays into the story of this book, so even though the book takes place in the mid-1900s, the reader learns about the history of this remote area and its significance in the War of Independence.

Recommended additional books/resources to aid your studies:

Codes, Ciphers and Secret Writing by Martin Gardner, a Dover publication

Codes and Cypher Puzzles – Usborne

Ship by David Macaulay

The Story Book of Ships by Maud and MIska Petersham

The First Book of Ships by Jeanne Bendick

Ships and Life Afloat by Walter Buehr

American Revolution by Alden Carter

The First Book of the American Revolution by Richard B. Morris

The Story of Valley Forge by R. Conrad Stein, a Cornerstones of Freedom book

The American Revolution by Bruce Bliven Jr, a Landmark book

The Winter at Valley Forge by Van Wyck Mason, a Landmark book

Flora Americae Septentrionalis, Or, a Systematic Arrangement and Description of the Plants of North America: Containing, Besides What Have Been ... During Twelve Years Travels and Residence by Frederick Pursh (This botanist is mentioned in the story)

 

A Field Guide to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey: Its Flora, Fauna, Ecology and Historical Sites by Howard P. Boyd

 

Aquatic Vegetation of New Jersey by David E. Fairbrothers

 

A Day in the Salt Marsh by Kevin Kurtz

 

Wetlands by Darlene Stille

 

Following the Coast by Jim Arnosky

 

New Jersey by Bernadine Bailey

 

G is for Garden State by Eileen Cameron

 

The Pine Barrens of New Jersey by Karen F. Riley, Images of America series

 

Pirates and Patriots of the Revolution by C. Keith Wilbur, Illustrated Living History Series

 

Privateers of the Revolution: War on the New Jersey Coast 1775-1783 by Shomette. This is an adult book I have not read.

 

(Book review by Sandy Hall. All rights reserved. July 21, 2017)