Alcock and Brown and the Boy in the Middle

Kelly L. Green is editor of the Canadian Book Review Annual’s
Children’s Literature edition.

Eight-year-old Ralphie Moyst lives with his family (mother, father, two
sisters, and four brothers) in 1919 St. John’s, Newfoundland. Ralphie
is special, however, because he is a polio survivor. When doctors told
his mother he would probably never walk, she simply worked harder at
exercising his limbs, and now he can walk with only one walking stick.
He is still very jealous of his older brothers’ abilities to run and
play soccer, though. That is, until one day, when a team of pilots,
Captain Alcock and Mr. Brown, come to build an airplane in a field near
Ralphie’s house so that they can compete in the race to be the first
to fly across the Atlantic and win the Daily Mail prize of Ј10,000. Mr.
Brown was wounded in the war, and walks like Ralphie. He takes time out
to tell Ralphie that he can do anything he wants, in spite of his leg.
How Ralphie and Mr. Brown put this philosophy into action is both
surprising and inspiring.

This wonderful family story was passed down to George Morgan. The
language is simple and straightforward, the typeface large, and the
story filled with details about Newfoundland and the world in 1919 that
children of a wide age range will find fascinating. Jennifer Morgan’s
black-and-white line drawings add charm to this already charming book,
especially her maps and layouts of old St. John’s. Recommended for
everyone; highly recommended for reluctant readers with an interest in
aviation.