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Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Gr 4-8-Crisp manages a remarkable feat here: she melds the well-rounded characterization and vivid attention to detail common to classic writers of historical fiction with the more colloquial and leaner writing style of more recent authors. Twelve-year-old Ben runs away from home to find the 106th Pennsylvania, Company A, and his older brother, Captain Reuben Reynolds. Their father has just died, and the boy wants Reuben to come home, take over the family store, and make things as right as they can be. Reuben's dog-the "Private Captain" of the title-and cousin Danny tag along on the quest, much to Ben's displeasure, but the younger boy's often graceless and foolish behavior becomes an important element of the story, as well as of Ben's growing up. The two meet up with Confederate and Union soldiers, see good and bad in places they might not have predicted, and come to understand the dangers and grim harvest that war brings with it. Some episodes are quite strong-including Ben's help in tending to the bodies of the dead after the battle-and are sharply rendered. However, this novel is also a story of the indelible bond between a dog and his owners, and the undergirding power of family love. Crisp deserves praise for telling the story at the length and depth it deserves.-Coop Renner, Moreno Elementary School, El Paso, TX
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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