The Train Jumper: A Deborah Brodie Book

Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, Ed "Collie" Collier embarks on a cross-country adventure, jumping from one freight train to another, in search of his older brother, Little Bill. After the death of their father in a lumberyard accident, Collie and Little Bill are forced to quit school and work to help the family make ends meet. But when an argument between Little Bill and their mother drives Collie's brother to run away, Collie is left to fend for himself. His solution is to jump a series of freight trains in hopes of tracking down his older brother and of bringing him home. Along the rails--and with the help of Scarecrow, a skinny, gray-haired hobo, and Ike, an African American drifter about Collie's own age--Collie encounters one obstacle after another: angry railroad workers, crooked policemen, scamming missionaries, hunger, racism, dust storms, and the inherent dangers of the fast moving trains themselves. An action-packed story told in the stark language of the times and brought to life with vivid imagery, the novel conjures up connections to both The Grapes of Wrath and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.