Cute. Like most (all?) Fleischman books, written in rather a 'tall tale' style. A decent amount of characterization at the beginning, some (heavily foreshadowed) surprises in the middle, setting up a wild ride of coincidence and heroism at the end. And one real surprise - I did not have a clue what his father was up to until he told the boy. Not bad, but it didn't catch me like By The Great Horn Spoon or Dingo Django did. ( )