When the Whistle Blows

Growing up in the 1940's railroad town of Rowlesburg, West Virginia, Jimmy Cannon just wants to grow up and work on the steam engines like his family has for generations. Oh, and keep his no-nonsense father from finding out about his antics. And stick up for his friends. And win the championship football game for his high school. And grow up to become a man...maybe more like his father than he would have ever guessed. When the Whistle Blows is an example of an excellently-written story teamed with a tangible, charming setting, a cast of believable, lovable characters and a touching plot. I could go on for a long time about everything I love about this novel, but I'll limit myself to only a few: 1) Voice. Fran Cannon Slayton uses the first person voice of her narrator with incredible skill, adroitly expressing setting and time period not so much by what is said as by how it is said...and that also serves to make this an excellent read-aloud. 2) Style. Each chapter is presented vignette-style, presenting several consecutive All Hallows' Eves, each with its own story...which leads to 3) Plot. Although each chapter is a vignette, each perfectly advances the overall plot, which is beautifully wrapped-up in the final chapter, while still leaving the reader with plenty to reflect upon. Very highly recommended. (You can read my full review at my blog: [...])

I was attracted to this book because it is a coming of age story with a teenaged boy character set around a train town in the 1940s. Both books about trains and good stories from the 1940s are not common themes for children aged 9-12. I hoped it would be a good story for my train aficionado son to enjoy reading. The book was quite different than what I assumed, it was better than expected. But first I'll share that my almost-twelve year old son grabbed the book first and when he read the back cover he said, "This is the best idea for a story I've heard in a long time!" He put aside the book he was currently reading in order to read this one and he finished it over two days, riveted to it. He said it was a very good book with sadness in the end and he implored me to read it right away. When I began reading it I was surprised by the format and the storytelling style. The format is telling one long story of what happens on All Hallows Eve, in seven stories total. So, the book is like a short story collection of one boy's life from ages 12-18. Author Fran Cannon Slayton weaves in details of what happened in the last year and more about the main character's life and of his family and the changing times so with each chapter we learn more and more about the family, the railroad, the times and how they are changing. Secondly I was surprised at the voice of the character. I was reminded of the wonderful storytelling of my grandmother who passed away recently at age 98. I used to love hearing her old tales, rich in the language of days gone by, with local terms and old fashioned sayings. I love the way the author chose to tell this story! This storytelling style is not common in new published fiction for readers aged 9-12. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I wondered if today's kids would like it and specifically asked my son what he thought of that method of storytelling. He said he loved it because it was different than most books he reads and that it made him feel like he was transported back in time and really helped him feel like he was in that place and in that time. You couldn't wish for much more than that in a story! (I'll note that his favorite genre is fantasy such as ERAGON and secondarily he likes fiction such as Andrew Clements, so I was happily surprised that he enjoyed this writing style which is very different from the books he usually reads.) Two elements that I was drawn to were the very strong family bonds especially between the brothers and the boy's father (the mother is not a strong figure in the story) and the feeling of brotherhood and camaraderie between the teenaged boys and the men. These were clear in the stories about pranks with friends and dealing with an older bully, the football championship game, the men who worked on the railroad together and the adult men in the Secret Society. This is a masculine book through and through with strong men as role models. This is a book that boys should read and is one that I hope girls will

WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS follows Jimmy Cannon through four years of his life in the railroad town of Rowlesburg, West Virginia. Jimmy grows up before the reader's eyes as he struggles to come to terms with his changing world. From Halloween pranks, to football games, to secret societies, Jimmy rushes through life like one of the steam trains he loves. But the lessons he learns will stay in his mind and heart long after the train whistle is silent. And they will stay with the reader, too. I specifically enjoyed how each chapter was a new year of Jimmy's life and always began on his father's birthday, which happens to be Halloween. Jimmy started out as a boy and, by the end, was well on his way to being a man. The book took me full circle on a journey I will never forget. Though steam trains are no longer a prevalent part of our society, I will still think of this book and remember Jimmy's journey whenever I hear a train whistle blow. Reviewed by: Joan Stradling

I picked this book up, having no idea what it was about (only that it's about West Virginia and trains) and as I made my way to page one, I kept thinking about the other books in my to-be-read pile. Shouldn't I be reading something else? This is, after, a novel for young adults. I read the first few pages and thought, "Hm. This is good. The narrator's voice sounds authentic, it's carrying me back to another time. I like this." Thoughts of my to-be-read pile melted away as I turned page after page, unable to stop. And, much like a freight train, the story gathered speed until the last sentence, when it dumped me back into my own world -- with a lump in my throat. And now, I can't get the characters out of my head. Boy, would this ever make a good movie! -Janis Jaquith, author of Birdseed Cookies: A Fractured Memoir

Every so often you pick up and read a book and know instantly you have a winner on your hands. So it was and is with this new novel by Fran Cannon Slayton. The fact is some authors have that something "special," while others simply are found lacking. This author most definitely has it. We have on our hands here a very remarkable work! This is a coming of age book about a young man growing up in a small town in West Virginia in the early 1940s. Ms. Slayton has used a somewhat unique technique in that she tells the story of our young lad by relating incidences which happen on each Halloween (All Hallows' Eve) from 1940 through 1949. Each chapter tells us of the adventures, feelings, relationships, and essence of the young boy's life; each chapter is a story unto its own, but each story is interlocked in a way that we are allowed to view the life of not only boy growing into a man, but also that of his family, friends, town and surprisingly, the changes our entire country was going through during this period. Now this may sound like a tall order, but the author has pulled it off in spades! There are two features in this work that tie the story together and to which the author hangs all. First, this is a deeply intimate tale of the relationship between a father and a son, and secondly there is the ever present background of the trains and the railroad. This entire community; indeed the young man `s life and the life of his family, are closely tied to the steam engine at a time when progress is changing everything with the coming of the diesel power engines and, lets face it, the death of the American Rail Road. This story, while extremely profound and serious in many ways is actually hilarious at times. The author's sense of humor, as transmitted through the eyes of a young man, shines throughout the book. Many times I found myself chuckling and in fact, laughing. Again, it takes quite a lot of writing skill to pull this swing from sadness and pathos to hilarity and light heartedness off, but the author is well up to the task. It is quite amazing, actually. There are several items the reader needs to note and will spot instantly from the first page. First, Ms. Clayton has nailed her characters perfectly. I grew up in a small town in the Ozark Mountains at the very time this story took place. There was not one single character in this book that was not absolutely believable. There was not one single character that I could not introduce to you their counter part in my own home town as I grew up. Secondly, this work is being marketed and targeted for youth, ages between 9 and 12. This you will quickly find is a bit misleading. While this book is certainly appropriate for that age group, it goes well and far beyond. This work is one of those cross over books which a youth can read and enjoy, but at the same time someone like me, slowly sinking into his dotage, can read and relish just as well as the young. Thirdly, I was gratifi