All that changes when his pa, tired of Eben's moping, challenges him to find Seven Wonders in Sassafras Springs that can stand up to the real Seven Wonders of the World. And if he does? Then Eben will get the adventure he's been craving for -- a trip out West. Eben doesn't reckon he'll have any luck -- he can't think of even one thing that would be called "interesting," let along wonderous, in Sassafras, but he figures he'll give it a try; there's nothing else to do in Sassafras anyway.

While his mission puzzles and annoys some of his friends and neighbors, Eben perseveres, little knowing that he is in for a big surprise. For what with a singing saw, a floating table, and a truth-telling loom (just to name a few), the Wonders Eben will discover among his neighbors, friends, and family will give him the adventure of a lifetime...without his ever leaving home.

Told in a down-home narrative with glimmers of magical realism woven throughout, and illustrated with sumptuous drawings by Matt Phelan, Betty G. Birney's tale about a boy's journey of discovery reminds us all that extraordinary things can happen in the most ordinary of places...even in Sassafras Springs.

The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs

ANNOTATION

Eben McAllister searches his small town to see if he can find anything comparable to the real Seven Wonders of the World.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Eben McAllister longs to see the world outside of his small farming community. He might get a chance IF he meets Pa's challenge to find Seven Wonders right there in Sassafras Springs. With his faithful dog, Sal, at his side, Eben begins his quest full of doubts. Little does he know that the Wonders he'll discover among his neighbors, friends and family will give him the adventure of a lifetime ... without his ever leaving home. The book's striking black-and-white illustrations are by Matt Phelan.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

How do you keep them down on the farm after they've read about the Seven Wonders of the World? That's one of the heart-tugging questions gently raised in Birney's (The World According to Humphrey) tender and captivating gem of a novel. Farm life in dusty Sassafras Springs, Mo., in the early 1920s seems pretty boring to young Eben McAllister, who longs to see the world's big cities, the pyramids and the other grand things that he's pored over in books. He may get his wish, too, when he accepts his father's challenge to find seven true wonders right in his hometown. The prize is a train journey to visit relatives in Colorado. Eben's search turns up the sparkle to be found in everyday life when one takes the time to look-and even listen-for it. Through a series of neighbors' and his own family's colorful accounts, Eben finds a bit of surprising magic right under his nose, and begins to view the people around him differently, too. Birney's engaging, memorable cast and homespun phrasing convey a comfortable, porch-sitting tone that emphasizes the power of story. Phelan makes his children's book debut with the accompanying sweet, rustic pencil drawings that bring Eben's journey into clearer view; he often places silhouettes of characters gazing at one another across a spread, to pique readers' interest. One full-page drawing per Wonder helps dramatize why each qualifies for the definitive septet. Ages 8-12. (July) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-7-A literary folk story blending down-home narrative and characters with a sprinkling of magical realism. It is a tale of transformation, of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, of the wonderful things that can happen anywhere to anyone. In Sassafras Springs, MO, in the summer of 1923, Eben McAllister, 11, is fascinated by the Seven Wonders of the World. Pa assures him that there are marvels right under his nose. In fact, the man challenges him to find Seven Wonders in seven days in Sassafras Springs. If Eben can do so, his father will buy him a ticket to visit his cousins in Colorado where he'll be able to see a mountain. On the first day, Eben hears the story of his Sunday school teacher's applehead doll, which saved the woman's life when she was very sick as a child. Then there's the wonder of an old saw that, when played, allows Calvin Smiley to grow more food than anyone around. Cully Pone's bookcase used to belong to a rainmaker who was seeking revenge when he ended a drought but didn't get paid by the town; it has saved a man's life, held the secrets of the universe, and now holds up Cully's house. Most certainly this is a wonder. Eben completes his quest in this old-fashioned tale that could have been set in Bill Brittain's Coven Tree (The Wish Giver [HarperCollins, 1983]). Black-and-white sketches enhance the text and its folksy character. Perfect for reading aloud.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

In this fun, folksy outing set in 1923, 12-year-old Eben McAllister has seven days to find seven wonders in Sassafras Springs, Mo. Convinced that his ordinary berg has nothing on the Seven Wonders of the World, Eben reluctantly accepts his father's challenge: "I just think there's no use searching the world for Wonders when you can't see the marvels right under your own nose." What follows is a weeklong odyssey where Eben asks people he's known his whole life if they have anything special lying around. They do. It's not the objects themselves that are so extraordinary-an applehead doll named Miss Zeldy, a rickety bookcase, a table-as much as his neighbors' magical stories that accompany them that will inspire everything from chuckles to chills. The matter-of-fact first-person narrative is refreshing, as Eben is neither overly precocious nor terribly troubled-just a small-town boy with wanderlust who learns that an explorer doesn't have to travel too far afield to have an adventure, but that leaving town still sounds awfully good. (Fiction. 8-11)