The Hero's Trail: True Stories of Young People to Inspire Courage, Compassion, and Hope, Newly Revised and Updated Edition - Softcover

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.

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.