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Blood on the River

James Town, 1607

Author Elisa Carbone
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Paperback
$9.99 US
Penguin Young Readers | Puffin Books
5.13"W x 7.75"H x 0.72"D  
On sale Sep 20, 2007 | 272 Pages | 9780142409329
Grade 5 & Up
Reading Level: Lexile 820L
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Twelve-year-old Samuel Collier is a lowly commoner on the streets of London. So when he becomes the page of Captain John Smith and boards the Susan Constant, bound for the New World, he can’t believe his good fortune. He’s heard that gold washes ashore with every tide. But beginning with the stormy journey and his first contact with the native people, he realizes that the New World is nothing like he imagined. The lush Virginia shore where they establish the colony of James Town is both beautiful and forbidding, and it’s hard to know who’s a friend or foe. As he learns the language of the Algonquian Indians and observes Captain Smith’s wise diplomacy, Samuel begins to see that he can be whomever he wants to be in this new land.
© Sharon Natoli
Elisa Carbone taught in the Speech Communications department at the University of Maryland, but now she enjoys being a full-time writer and part-time rock climber, windsurfer, and white-water kayaker. “The physical exertion of the sports balances out the mental exertion of writing,” she says. She loves doing the research required to write historical fiction and is fascinated by the small details of everyday life in the past. Ms. Carbone’s Sarah books, Starting School with an Enemy and Sarah and the Naked Truth, have been praised for their accessibility to reluctant readers.  View titles by Elisa Carbone
  • WINNER
    School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
"Lively historical fiction at its best." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Samuel’s account of the voyage to Virginia, political intrigues among the settlers, and the harrowing first winter of the James Town settlement brings to life figures like Smith, Powhatan, and Pocahontas. Details about food and daily life add realism to the story, and quotes from historical sources begin each chapter." -School Library Journal, starred review

About

Twelve-year-old Samuel Collier is a lowly commoner on the streets of London. So when he becomes the page of Captain John Smith and boards the Susan Constant, bound for the New World, he can’t believe his good fortune. He’s heard that gold washes ashore with every tide. But beginning with the stormy journey and his first contact with the native people, he realizes that the New World is nothing like he imagined. The lush Virginia shore where they establish the colony of James Town is both beautiful and forbidding, and it’s hard to know who’s a friend or foe. As he learns the language of the Algonquian Indians and observes Captain Smith’s wise diplomacy, Samuel begins to see that he can be whomever he wants to be in this new land.

Author

© Sharon Natoli
Elisa Carbone taught in the Speech Communications department at the University of Maryland, but now she enjoys being a full-time writer and part-time rock climber, windsurfer, and white-water kayaker. “The physical exertion of the sports balances out the mental exertion of writing,” she says. She loves doing the research required to write historical fiction and is fascinated by the small details of everyday life in the past. Ms. Carbone’s Sarah books, Starting School with an Enemy and Sarah and the Naked Truth, have been praised for their accessibility to reluctant readers.  View titles by Elisa Carbone

Awards

  • WINNER
    School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

Praise

"Lively historical fiction at its best." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Samuel’s account of the voyage to Virginia, political intrigues among the settlers, and the harrowing first winter of the James Town settlement brings to life figures like Smith, Powhatan, and Pocahontas. Details about food and daily life add realism to the story, and quotes from historical sources begin each chapter." -School Library Journal, starred review

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