Daniel Boone's Great Escape

While out hunting buffalo one day, the great Wild West explorer Daniel Boone was captured by powerful Shawnee warriors. Enraged by the settlers’ murder of one of their own, the Shawnee chief decided to take Boone hostage as revenge. Even though he was eventually adopted by the Shawnee and grew accustomed to their way of life, Boone was constantly concerned about the safety of his family and friends. So when he heard that the Shawnee were preparing to attack the settlers in an attempt to regain their land, Boone decided to escape. Over four long days, he navigated the cruel landscape—crossing wide rivers, hiding in tall grass or trees, covering his footsteps at every turn, and never looking back but all the while knowing that the angry warriors were in hot pursuit.

This little-known episode from the life of one of our most famous Western heroes provides a balanced look at a difficult time in our history, while presenting a stunning act of courage that will keep young readers on the edge of their seats.

Publishers Weekly

Spradlin (Texas Rangers: Legendary Lawmen) and Hoyt (I'm a Manatee) deliver a thrilling adventure about famed 18th-century frontiersman Daniel Boone. The storytelling is immediate and swift: "Suddenly the woods went still.... Boone looked behind him and saw a fearsome sight. Four Shawnee warriors were riding through the trees toward him." Gripping prose relates Boone's experiences as the Shawnee hold him captive from February to June in 1778, until he makes a daring escape to warn fellow settlers of an impending attack. Hoyt's skillful blend of close-ups and eye-level perspectives pulls readers right into the action. Maintaining the tight-as-a-drum tension, the watercolor-and-ink scenes show the escapee hightailing it through thick forests, even hiding inside a log at one point while a pursuer obliviously jumps it on horseback. Spreads with multiple vignettes emphasize the nonstop movement (Boone is said to have run day and night, barely stopping, for four days), as well as endowing the book with a contemporary, graphic-novel-style feel. An epilogue adds further dimension, pointing out that Boone was accused of treason for his initial surrender to the Shawnee. Ages 5-8. (Aug.)

Michael P. Spradlin lives in Lapeer, Michigan.