By Linda Cline
Originally published as Weakfoot
Copyright 1975
You might say it’s obvious that I have a profound love of
books and reading. That’s quite
true. You might think I would naturally
choose a spouse with the same passion for literature. You would be very wrong. It has become a running joke that The Ghost
of Cramer’s Island is, in Mike’s opinion, the best book ever written. That’s because it is the only book he ever
remembers truly enjoying and one of the handful of fictional works he’s ever read. It was his go-to book each year in grade
school for book reports. Pictured here
is his original copy and it is obviously well-loved. After hearing about this book for the past 30
years, I finally broke down and decided to read it.
I can see why Mike likes it since the story is based on what
his actual passions are: the outdoors,
adventure, survival skills, and animals in the wild. A dangerous panther lives and hunts deep in
the swamp on Cramer’s Island and Lonny comes face to face with it one day. Lonny thinks Weakfoot is the most dangerous and
fearful creature in the swamp. When a
fugitive kidnaps Lonny he finds out how wrong that assumption is. Held captive for months by this wild
fugitive, the two eventually form a bond and learn from and help each
other. Lonny learns survival skills
while his kidnapper learns that people really do sometimes need each
other.
I have to admit, I did enjoy this book. Yes, it is exciting and action packed. It’s more than that, though. The lesson is clear. Lonny faced life-threatening situations and
at first thought of himself as a coward for being afraid. Over the course of his trials and adventures,
he learns the truth: being afraid does
not make a person a coward. As his
pa tells him, “I reckon being afraid is as natural as being sad, or happy, or
crying or laughing.” What an important life lesson for every child to learn!
So anyway, it’s perfectly fine with me that Mike does not
share my interest in books. That allows
him more time to build me bookshelves!
I LOVED this book as a teenager, and have been trying to remember the title so I could read it again. I lost my copy, but it looked exactly like this one haha I can't wait to read it again!
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