Danny and Life on Bluff Point My Horse Sally

The narrative opens with the rain outside and the children playing hide and seek in the house. There are many good hiding places in a house having an attic, basement, and two living levels. Small for his age, Danny has squeezed into the small place under the dining room table where the chairs and tablecloth have him all but hidden. Sisters Mary and Carolyn are having quite a task trying to locate him when Clara the cat spies him and snuggles in too.

Danny and Life on Bluff Point My Horse Sally continues as in the other books, there are chores to do, trips to town, and because it is spring a lot of mud. Danny now has his own Morgan mare he is learning to care for. Following the custom of the time, Teacher, Miss Spaulding, is ending her sojourn in the Lee home and is preparing to move to the Marshall home for a few months. Danny takes a long ride on Sally to the local college to see if butter, beef and eggs might be needed, and the family is treated to a tour of Birkett Mills. Steamboating in the family boats, a fall down a well, and rescue by a boy Danny has not met before all figure in the tale. A new suit WITH his first pair of long pants, Easter Sunday, and family visits are all treats enjoyed by Danny.

Rooted in the author’s Grandfather’s journal musings, the ‘Danny and Life on Bluff Point’ series is an exceptional read especially for those who enjoy historical novels. According to Author Lee, the family persons mentioned in the recital are real. The character of Danny is based on the author’s father. New York State locations noted are factual, and the author notes many of the houses mentioned continue to be used today. Farm life everywhere during 1890s was filled with few conveniences in the sense we know today, hard work, familial values and belonging, and happy times. The spirit of the period, the warmth of caring family, and upright steadfastness of the characters portrayed are all brought to life under the skilled pen of writer Lee.

On the pages of Danny and Life on Bluff Point My Horse Sally readers will enjoy meeting Sally the mare, Olive - Danny’s young doe goat, Buster the collie, and Clara the cat. Sisters Ruthie, Mary and Carolyn, Ma and Pa, Uncle Jerome and Aunt Liz, Uncle Henry and Aunt Mertie and Cousin Jay return in this work. Readers will also see more of Cousin William Fenner, no longer bully Billy Marshall, Doc and Uncle Ed. Cooking and heating the house is done with wood. Draft horses; Belgians Kit and Bess, or Jim and Dan, are used to pull the heavy farm machinery used for working out in the family vineyard. Eggs and butter to sell, pruning vines and cleaning all out all the brush in the family vineyard, learning of the Seneca people, and the whole community enjoying Easter festivities, provide a lot of information for children and others.

Presented in a charming, well written and easily read, continuing tale Danny and Life on Bluff Point My Horse Sally is a wealth of information explaining times, places and activities that might be downright boring on the pages of a text book. That the anecdotes offered in the DANNY AND LIFE ON BLUFF POINT books are based on true events and real people is a boon for teachers as they attempt to bring ‘social studies’ alive in the classroom. Some situations offered in the story: work done on the farm, solving problems and overcoming challenges, cooperation with family and community, no TV, no video games, and few ‘store bought’ goods, all speak of a time and place now all but forgotten. Old time family fun and caring are attributes valued then and valued today, This is a book I will use in my classroom. I know the children will enjoy hearing it read aloud and will want to read it again for themselves. Pencil drawings sprinkled throughout the work add to reader understanding and enjoyment. Danny and Life on Bluff Point My Horse Sally, an excellent choice for the personal reading list for the 8 to 13 set, school library, home reading shelf and classroom library. Danny and Life on Bluff Point My Horse Sally will provide much information for discussion groups with respect to life in the United States a century ago.

Enjoyed the read, and am happy to recommend for the middle grade reader and adults who enjoy historical tales. by Mary Ellen Lee Format: Paperback Pages: 192 ISBN: 059536084X Published: iUniverse Aug-2004