“His over forty books cover genres of adventure, biographical fiction, nautical historical fiction, entrepreneurial or occupational fiction, environmental fiction, sports, mystery and war. His books were meant to educate the mind and cultivate the character as well as entertain which make them books we highly recommend.” – taken from the Biblioguides author profile of Stephen Meader

Down the Big River by Stephen Meader is a fast-moving, exciting, and wholesome historical fiction novel that blessed our Morning Basket for several weeks this winter. In our Forgotten Books: Historical Fiction podcast episode at Plumfield Moms, this book was Sandy Hall’s selection (you can read her detailed review, here). In that episode, both she and Tanya Arnold of Biblioguides gave us a lot of great information about Meader and his reasons for writing these kinds of books. He is a gift to our young people! His stories are set from shore to shore across our country, celebrating America and her growth. And, while we have not read them all, we feel confident in recommending any of his books. You can find that episode here. 

“And while these wagons jolted back and forth through the wilderness, along the same roads poured an ever-swelling stream of humanity – a stream that moved in only one direction – westward. All sorts of people made up the multitudes that choked in the swirling dust or struggled through the mud of the old Conestoga Road.”

In 1805, Tom Lockwood and his Quaker aunt and uncle sold their Pennsylvania home and headed west to Missouri down the Ohio River. Tom’s uncle Ezra, a gunsmith and farmer, taught his strong and solid nephew well in the arts of hunting and shooting. Tom’s parents died when he was young, and his worthy aunt and uncle were as dear to him as any parents could be. This happy family was heading west at the invitation of old neighbors who were holding a farm claim for them in the new Missouri territory. Reasonably wealthy, the family commissioned the construction of a riverboat and hired a steersman to help them navigate the river. It is their wealth, of course, that puts a mark upon their backs and attracts pirates. 

Once underway, it does not take long for the bad guys to make their move. When they do, however, they overlook the resourcefulness of Tom, his dog Cub, and his friend Andy. That resourcefulness will be tested to the full limit, but it will win out in the end. And the reader is cheering loudly as it does. 

“It was a strage mixture of good and bad that populated the west of that generation. But fortunately for the history of our country the evil doers lived out their wild lives and disappeared, while the true pioneer farmers handed on their tradition to big families of sons and daughters.”

This story, like so many of Stephen Meader’s stories, is practically perfect for young readers. The language is complex and elegant. The vernacular is fun to read. The characters are so alive that they jump off the page. The description is so well drawn that it plays like a movie in your head as you read. It is historically sound. It is patriotic. It is moral. And it is good wholesome fun. It is hard not to learn a bit of history while chewing on your fingernails to see how Tom will overtake the pirate camp. 

This story, a fusion of history and literary writing, makes this book a feast. But the adventure and action make it so much fun that readers are almost unaware that they are learning as they read. Best of all, Meader so respects our young readers that he is quite careful to draw heroes who are worthy models of morality and good character. 

While there are no real cautions to mention with this book, it may be of interest to some parents to know that there are several Native American characters. One is a friend to Tom and his friends. The others are in league with the pirates. Like nearly all of the characters in this book, they are represented a bit stereotypically. 

You can purchase this book from Purple House Press or from Southern Skies Publishing. You can find out more about Stephen Meader and this book at Biblioguides.