Bo at Ballard Creek

Bo has two fathers, but she didn't get them in the usual way.  She also eventually gets a little brother, but he doesn't join the family in the usual way either.  This this charming story tells all about young Bo's childhood as the adopted daughter of two big, burly miners just after the height of the Alaskan gold rush.  The town of Ballard Creek is filled with tough miners and loving Eskimo families, and everyone takes a hand in raising Bo.  Over the course of a year, Bo sees her first airplane, encounters a grisly bear, helps one of her papas in the cookshack, listens to lots of records, and attends a big Fourth of July celebration.  All the while the miners are busy working, hoping that they'll hit enough paydirt to make it through the year.  Even though Bo lives in a small town in the wilderness, there is never a dull moment in Ballard Creek!

Kirkpatrick Hill's charming novel, Bo at Ballard Creek, reminds me quite a bit of Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic Little House in the Big Woods.  Each chapter of the book recounts a different episode in Bo's life and provides exquisite detail about what everyday living in this specific time and place was like.  The story is very engaging, the characters are lovable, and Bo herself is a spirited counterpart to Laura Ingalls.  As a reader I found myself especially fascinated by Bo's papas and their unique co-parenting situation.  Such partnerships may seem unusual to modern readers, but it really does make perfect sense given the time and the place.

Overall Grade:  A+

If you'd like to learn more about this book check out an interview with Kirkpatrick Hill, the author of Bo at Ballard Creek.  Hill herself grew up in Alaska in the company of mining, just like Bo does.  In the interview, Hill describes how some of her own experiences were included in the story.