The Boy Who Saved ClevelandJames Cross Giblin
Micheal Dooling, illustrator
Henry Holt and Company, 2006
Ages 9-11
Ten year old Seth Doan loved to read, his favorite story was Abraham and Isaac. He read this story from the family bible that had been brought with them on the long journey from Conneticut, the only book that they brought with them to Northern Ohio. However much he loved to read he did not have a lot of time to read because he was always busy with chores, they ranged from hauling water into the house, to clearing the land, to fishing. Today was a special day, his father let him stay inside and read while his older sister, Mercy, when out to help their parents weed the cornfield. Back when they lived in Conneticut his mother was the one always encouraging him to read, ever since they moved to Ohio she did not want him to read and said that his father was too easy on him. One reason why his father was so easy on him was because he was the last living son. His older twin brothers, Ethan and Matthew, died of lung fever back when they lived in Connecticut. He also had a baby brother named Thomas, he died two months earlier due to colic.
Seth's special day was cut short when suddenly his mother screamed and his father rushed Mercy into the house and laid her on the bed, she had the Shakes & Fever and fainted while working in the field. His mother had to stay inside and take care of Mercy so Seth ended up having to go and work anyways. In order to make it more interesting Seth pretended to race his father at pulling weeds. One second he saw his father and then when he looked up again he did not see is father. He yelled for him and went running over to where he was weeding, to find him on the ground, much like what had happened to Mercy. So, his father also went to lay down in the bed, this sent a sense of dread over Seth.
They had a simple life out in Cleveland, ate mostly corn, squirrel, rabbit, fish, wild fruit and berries. Since they relayed so much on corn they had to make trips to the mill quite often. The next day his father was still too ill to go to the mill so Seth volunteered to go, even though it was up hill the whole way. Cleveland was very small, only three cabins were there yet and it was founded by a Mr. Carter. Seth missed his life in Connecticut, he had friends there and no one here was his age.
On his way back from grinding the corn, Seth ran into Lorenzo Carter. Lorenzo gave Seth a squirrel to take home and give to his other to cook in stew, he told Seth that they had to stay well and take care of everyone. This made him very excited, Lorenzo, the giant of the settlement had treated his as an equal. When he got home he could tell that his other was coming down with the illness as well. He helped her make dinner and fed it to the rest of the family, even though no one really had an appetite. That night Seth had a bad dream that everyone in his family, except him, had died in a snow storm. He awoke in a cold sweat.
The next day his father was too sick to go to the mill again so Seth was getting ready to go when he heard someone at the door. It was Mrs. Stiles, her husband had also become sick and was unable to go to the mill, she asked Seth if he could grind corn for them as well. He also had to do it for the Carters as well because they had also become ill. Now he had three bags of corn to grind. He did this everyday for two weeks, carrying three bags up hill, grind them, carry them back down, and deliver them to the other families. One time he heard a bear coming so he froze in place and did not more, thankfully the bear when on his way after determining that he was not a threat to him.
Since his family was sick not only did he have to take care of the corn for everyone in the settlement, he had to do all the chores around the house. He hauled water in to bath them, made food for them to eat, took care of their needs as best he could, and listen to what they had to say, even if it made no sense. The hardest conversation he had to listen to was his fathers. His father was talking about if he died Seth had to take the rest of the family back to Connecticut where his Grandfather and Uncle could take care of them. Seth begged his father not to talk in this way but his father made him listen. Seth became so worried that he could not sleep and had to sit up and read out of the bible till he fell asleep.
One afternoon when Seth got back from the mill, he was surprised to see that Mercy was out milking the cow, she looked much more like herself than she had in the past two weeks. He was very greatful to have her help so that he could rest before dinner time. Next morning when he woke up he had a little bit of a chill as he got dress but he shrugged it off, he knew he had to go to the corn mill again in order to feed and take care of everyone. Mercy noticed something different and asked if he was alright, he lied and told her he was fine. He set out on his everyday mission to the mill, this time the bags seemed heavier than normal and he had to rest more often, but he still made it and ground the corn. On his way back however, he had a seizure and fell down. Next thing you know he was back in his cabin laying in the big bed, he had no idea how he got there. His father told him that he had found him after he did not return and that Mercy had carried the corn meal back. Seth had the chills for three weeks, by this time everyone was better.
They decided to celebrate the fact that no one had died and everyone was better. So one day in September they all made food and went down to the lake to celebrate. Out of no where come to strange men, they said that they had cut a road from Cleveland to a city that was 70 miles away, they started in early May and just arrived there in September. As a token of everyone's appreciation, they presented Seth with a book. This was the best gift he would have gotten! All he wanted to do was go off somewhere and start his book on Robinson Crusoe.
I had never even heard anything about his book or the author, I simply found it on the bookshelf in the IMC when trying to locate another book. After reading the Author's note at the end that not only was this a story of a brave little boy, it is also based on a true story and the character in the book is a real person that lived in Cleveland, as were most of the other characters. Seth's family arrived in Cleveland in 1798 and were among the first settlers of the area. Before Ohio became a state in 1803, it was part of the Western Resene of Connecticut. The land was first surveyed in 1796 by a man named Moses Cleaveland, he was the one that established the settlement and also what it was named after, with out the "A" of course. The illness they talk about, shakes & fever, also know as ague, was a type of malaria. It came to Cleveland in the summer of 1978 and was most likely brought in by mosquitoes. The real Seth actually kept everyone alive, just like the story tells. When he grew up he was a county sheriff, and he lived to see Cleveland grow from three cabins to one of the largest cities.
This book would be excellent if the class were doing a study on a person who helped contribute to the society they lived in, a history project. The student, after reading the book, could look up and see if they could find out anymore information on Seth or the settlement of Cleveland. It could be presented to the class or just as an assignment for a history lesson.
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