The Boy Scouts Through the Big Timber Or, The Search for the Lost Tenderfoot

Herbert CarterProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.2

Word count: 280K words
Chapters: 28

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Boy Scouts Through the Big Timber; Or, The Search for the Lost TenderfootAuthor: Carter, Herbert, active 1909-1917,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Feb 12, 2014

Editor's review

This book is a typical sample of early twentieth-century American boys' adventure fiction, centered on Boy Scouts going deep into primeval forest to search for a lost new member. The work continues the narrative tradition of such reading matter, emphasizing wilderness survival skills, teamwork, and the cultivation of courage; the plot is compact and the chapter endings are clearly designed as cliffhangers, making it suitable as introductory material for understanding early English-language juvenile literature as a genre. As a free Project Gutenberg ebook, it is extremely accessible, the English original is preserved in full, and it can be used to observe the language style and values directed at young readers of the time. It should be noted that the book was written long ago, and some descriptions of nature, race, and gender roles carry the limitations of their era; readers should maintain a critical perspective. For readers studying the cultural history of scouting, the genre of boys' adventure fiction, or teaching English extensive reading, the book has value both as material and as entertainment; those expecting complex characters or modern narrative techniques should not set their expectations too high.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Intermediate English learners seeking accessible original English texts for extensive reading practice
Researchers interested in scouting history and early twentieth-century boys' adventure literature
Parents and educators looking for classic adventure story material for children
Young readers who prefer fast-paced wilderness adventure plots

Not a good fit for

Serious fiction readers seeking modern narrative techniques and complex characterization
People sensitive to outdated gender and racial descriptions who are unwilling to read critically
Beginners with weak English foundations who cannot yet read long English works independently

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to become familiar with the author's narrative rhythm and unusual wilderness vocabulary, then decide whether to read closely or extensively.
Keep paper or an e-annotation tool at hand to note passages related to scouting skills and period attitudes.
If using the book for English study, retell the main plot of each chapter in three to five English sentences after finishing it.
Read alongside similar boys' adventure works, noting common plot patterns and value assumptions of the genre.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What English level is this book suitable for?

The original is early twentieth-century English, with rather long sentences but generally accessible vocabulary; it is recommended for learners with intermediate reading ability who can complete a long text with the help of a dictionary. Beginners may first read a simplified version or a parallel translation, then return to the original.

Is this a complete story or one part of a series?

It is one of a series of scouting adventure stories; this book focuses on the main line of going deep into the great forest to search for a lost new member, and the plot is relatively self-contained. Even without reading other works in the series, readers can finish this book smoothly.

Are the ideas in the book suitable for recommending directly to children?

The book preserves such worthwhile content as wilderness cooperation, courage, and responsibility, but it also carries the conceptual limitations of its time. Adults should preview it first, or, when reading together with children, provide appropriate explanation and discussion of outdated descriptions.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Herbert Carter Author · American

Herbert Carter was an American author whose dates and biographical details are unknown, and public information about him is very limited. According to reliable sources, this name was a pseudonym used by the prolific writer St. George Henry Rathborne, chiefly for the "Boy Scouts" series published by A. L. Burt between 1913 and 1917. Twelve of his works are held in this collection, including The Boy Scouts in the Rockies, The Boy Scouts in the Blue Ridge, and The Boy Scouts at the Battle of Saratoga. These novels follow the young members of the Silver Fox Patrol through camping, tracking, and adventure in wilderness and historical settings; their tightly plotted stories stress courage and cooperation and are classed as inspirational coming-of-age reading.