The Peddler's Boy

Or, I'll Be Somebody

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Pages: 54

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About this book

A family business failure sets young Samuel Bissell on the path of earning his own living. Francis C. Woodworth, writing as Uncle Frank, introduces him through an account of his upbringing and the habits that may shape his future. The story also makes room for country peddlers in Massachusetts and Connecticut, describing their wagons, tinware and trunks of small goods, along with the sharp bargaining that accompanies a sale.

Work and ambition share the stage with everyday tests of character. On a holiday, Samuel and Frederick encounter boys gambling for money and others offering a strong drink. Their decision to resist both pressures becomes the narrator's example of courage and a clear conscience. Later, village bells and a cannon salute mark the Fourth of July. The conversational storytelling and pauses for advice offer a view of how an older American children's novel linked diligence, restraint and hopes of success.