In zesty prose and exuberant pictures, Steven Kellogg captures all the fun and adventure from Mike's beginning as a runaway, when he was two days old, until he was King of the Keelboatmen. Mike Fink, the larger-than-life hero of American folklore, was the most daring and rugged frontiersman on any American river.

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Mike Fink was king of the keelboatmen -- the strongest, rowdiest bunch of fellows ever to work on the Mississippi. Mike was a whole lot more than a keelboater -- yes, sir! He was a crack shot and the best grizzly and gator wrestler on the river. They don't make 'em like Mike these days, now do they? ( )

I liked this book for two reasons. First, I enjoyed the constant acton within the story. There is never a dull moment between Mike Fink wrestling bears or boats exploding. The second reason I liked this book was because of the illustrations. They are very detailed and give a great visual to the story. My favorite illustration was the bears lifting the rock dumbbells. The creative pictures made the story come to life and helped the reader broaden their imagination. The message in this story is that you can do anything that you put your mind to no matter who doubts you. ( )

I was not a fan of this book. It sounded like a parody of the story of Paul Bunyan. I honestly am not sure which story came first, but it may be that one influenced the other. The story was easy to follow and slightly entertaining. I really loved how Baby Mike ran away from home. The illustrations matched perfectly and brought the story more to life for me. I especially like the illustrations of the steam boat and row boat fight. All in all, the book was good, just not my favorite. The main point of the story was to show that children of settlers had to be strong to survive. I can see this story being told to small children to inspire them to be strong and to warn them away from becoming keelboat operators. ( )