Jimmy lives in Rowlesburg West Virginia during the 1940s. He does all thethings boys do in the small mountain town plays a mean game of football pullsthe unforg... » 

Jimmy lives in Rowlesburg West Virginia during the 1940s. He does all thethings boys do in the small mountain town plays a mean game of football pullsthe unforgettable Halloween prank with his friends in athe Platoon a andpromises to head off into the woods on the first day of hunting seasona nomatter what. He also knows his father belongs to a secret society and isdetermined to uncover the mysteries behind it But it is a midnight encounterwith a train that shows Jimmy the man his father really is. Newcomer FranCannon Slaytonas powerful first novel captures the serendipity of boyhood byshining a spotlight on the peak adventures of Jimmyas life. But at its heartthis is a story about a boy and his father in a time when trains reignedsupreme. aWhen the Whistle Blows is reminiscent of classic tales by JackLondon William Golding and Robert Louis Stevenson yet carries the remarkablefresh voice of its author. Fran Cannon Slayton should be extremely proud ofthis her debut novel.aaEllen Hopkins author of Crank and Identical «