The Hero's Trail: A Guide for a Heroic Life

T.A. Barron

ISBN 10: 1439512191 ISBN 13: 9781439512197

Publisher: Paw Prints 2008-07-10

Synopsis

What is a hero? Using the metaphor of a hiking trail, bestselling author T. A. Barron discusses the great variety of heroes and brings them to life through their own stories: Some are well known, like Wilma Rudolph, Anne Frank, and Stephen Hawking. Yet most are “ordinary kids” who have made amazing choices: saved their siblings from a fire, struggled to stop prejudice at their school, helped raise money to build a well in an African village. This book will be invaluable to kids, parents, and educators who need role models for young people to look up to—and a new way to look at what a hero is.

About this title

About the Author:

T.A. Barron is the award-winning author of fantasy novels such as The Lost Years of Merlin epic—soon to be a major motion picture. He serves on a variety of environmental and educational boards including The Nature Conservancy and The Land and Water Fund of the Rockies, and is the founder of a national award for heroic children. Following a life-changing decision to leave a successful business career to write full-time in 1990, Barron has written seventeen books, but is happiest when on the mountain trails with his wife, Currie, and their five children.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-9-In introducing and concluding this assemblage of fictional and real-life characters, Barron differentiates between the terms "hero" and "celebrity" and probes the qualities that constitute the former. The remaining chapters categorize individuals according to whether they have responded to a crisis, survived dreadful circumstances, displayed inner faith, helped others near or far, or exhibited such extraordinary actions as to be notable "for all time." The stories of Merlin and Prometheus mingle with those of Lance Armstrong, Charles Eastman, and Helen Keller. There are many examples of courageous children from Ruby Bridges and Mattie Stepanek to the lesser known, but equally inspiring young people who have raised money for people suffering in third-world countries, successfully lobbied for changes in legislation, or saved a drowning sibling. Entries are footnoted, so readers have a wealth of books, articles, and Web sites to pursue for further information. Barron likens the journey through life to a hike on a trail; his thesis is that heroes serve as guides along the way and remind us that we are not "walking alone." These and other messages are interspersed with the descriptions and conveyed through invented dialogues between the author (I) and an imagined companion (you) on the trail. While these sections are well meaning, they seem unnecessary; the biographical accounts stand on their own, with a more subtle connection to the metaphor. Nevertheless, the stories are well worth sharing. Black-and-white photos and a list of uplifting quotations add to the book's value.
Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Paw Prints 2008-07-10
• ISBN 10: 1439512191
• ISBN 13: 9781439512197
• Binding: Library Binding