The Final Freedom

by Bill Wallace

Overview

Making unexpected friends with a legendary Apache Indian, Will Burke is in for the adventure of his lifetime as he learns how to navigate the Wild West with the help of his new warrior acquaintance.

Will Burke is daydreaming about Nate’s wonderful shotgun when he runs smack-dab into the fiercest brave of them all, Geronimo! Terrified, he lashes out against the mighty warrior, who’s amused—and impressed.

The boy is braver than the army of soldiers who have captured Geronimo after his fifteenth escape from the White Man’s reservation... and that won’t be his last. Will finds an unexpected friend when Geronimo saves his life in a deadly ice storm, then teaches him how to survive and fight back against bullies like Nate.

It isn’t until Geronimo takes Will on an unforgettable Wild West adventure at the St. Louis World’s Fair that he finally tells Will what he must do in return, and it turns out to be the hardest thing Will has ever had to do...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416994213
Publisher:	Aladdin
Publication date:	02/06/2009
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	730L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Bill Wallace grew up in Oklahoma. Along with riding their horses, he and his friends enjoyed campouts and fishing trips. Toasting marshmallows, telling ghost stories to scare one another, and catching fish was always fun. One of the most memorable trips took place on the far side of Lake Lawtonka, at the base of Mt. Scott. He and his best friend, Gary, spent the day shooting shad with bow and arrows, cutting bank poles, and getting ready to go when their dads got home from work.

Although there was no "monster" in Lake Lawtonka, one night there was a "sneak attack" by a rather large catfish tail. Checking the bank poles was not nearly as fun or "free" after that point, but it was the inspiration for this story. Bill Wallace has won nineteen children's state awards and been awarded the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award for Children's Literature from the Oklahoma Center for the Book.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4-6Old-fashioned in tone and content, this is the story of young Will Burke, whose chance meeting with Geronimo leads to a lifelong friendship and, for a short while, a job at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, as part of Pawnee Bill's Historical Wild West Show. Although Wallace surely means to reveal the man behind the stereotype and debunk myths, this title only succeeds in reinforcing those stereotypes by portraying Geronimo as a caricature. The "model" Indian is brave, wise, capable of prophetic visions, etc., and speaks in the halting English of so many bad Westerns ("Geronimo kill many men. In battle, kill to stay alive. Many good fights."). The surrounding plots, of Will yearning for a special rifle and facing a bully at school, won't excite readers and fail to compensate for the book's major flaws.Cyrisse Jaffee, formerly at Newton Public Schools, MA

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