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By The Great Horn Spoon!  By  cover art

By The Great Horn Spoon!

By: Sid Fleischman
Narrated by: Willard E. Lape,Jr,the Full Cast Family
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Editorial reviews

Aided skillfully by a full cast, narrator Willard E. Lape, Jr.'s weather-beaten voice gives this rollicking tale a real sense of adventure. One of the most beloved stories by Newbery Medalist Sid Fleischman, this story follows a 12-year-old boy named Jack who heads to California with his butler, Praiseworthy. The pair encounters villains, eccentrics, and friends alike as they travel to take part in the Gold Rush. The cast gives the characters larger-than-life voices, and their delight in Jack and Praiseworthy's exploits is infectious. Listeners will find themselves either holding their breath or unexpectedly bursting in laughter by the story's events.

Publisher's summary

One of Newbery Medalist Sid Fleischman's most beloved books, this rip-snortin' saga of a young man and his butler bound for California during the great Gold Rush was just made to be read by a full cast. Our collection of coots, codgers, geezers, and outlaws will have you laughing out loud...when you're not holding your breath in suspense!
©1963 Sid Fleischman (P)2004 Full Cast Audio

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What listeners say about By The Great Horn Spoon!

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Spoon!

I added this book to my cart as part of a series of books I remember reading in gradeschool, and which I remembered more about the emotional reaction I had to the book then the content. I am pleased to report that at 45 years old, the story was delightful as I remember, and the cast was marvelous, enlivening the book with colorful characters whose apparent age and gender matched the protagonists and made the story much easier to follow and more enjoyable to listen to. I look forward to sharing it with my nephew in a few years.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Bravo!

I have read "By the Great Horn Spoon" to my class for many years, but this is the first time I have used the audio book. What a difference it has made. The students were so inthralled! I recommend this to any fourth grade teacher who used "By the Great Horn Spoon" in their curriculum!

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This version is a must!

I've heard many parents and kids complain that this book is boring, but none of them have listened to this acted out version with a full cast. My 5 children and I listened to this book 4 years ago, and haven't stopped talking about it since. We just finished it for a second time so that my younger kids could experience it, and my 2 teenagers, remembering it from last time, begged to listen along again. It's the best way to learn about the gold rush culture, but most of all, it's fun! My kids couldn't wait to get in the car and turn it on again.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Gave my students a great intro to the Gold Rush

If you could sum up By The Great Horn Spoon! in three words, what would they be?

California History fun!

What did you like best about this story?

My students loved following along in their book's while listening to this story. I was able to cover the content on do the fun activities without talking 4 weeks to read it in class. We were running out of time at the end of the year and it worked out great.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

good book, horrible performance

heavy handed, self indulgent acting makes this highly entertaining book an impossible to listen to "performance". Most painful is the condescending narrator. Hurt my head to listen to him. I wish I could get my money back. I know there's a straight-forward audio-book version of this. I wish audible had that. I sincerely hope, for everybody's sake, the people who put this "performance" together NEVER do it again.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun for the whole family!!

We listened to this on a long car ride. I didn’t expect to love it so much! Really wonderful performance by narrator and actors. The story itself is a fantastic adventure story and about finding the true riches in the end! Appropriate for the whole family.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Whole family loved

This is a fantastic story! All our boys (12, 9,8, and 6) loved it and the adults did too.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A great story

My boys listened to this story for school but loved it. They even listened to it a second time while traveling. The characters do a fantastic job and having more than one makes it so much fun to listen to. Your kids won't even realize they are learning about history!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Fun!

This reminded me of an American rendering of England's Bertie and Wooster. Sid Fleischman delivers a fast paced story while the folks at Full Cast Audio once again prove their magic touch. A great story for the whole family.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

It is the WORST book I've ever read :(

I hoped this book would be better than it was, but if you liked it then really, I'm glad, but this book was soooo bad and it was a schoolbook that meant I HAD to read it and it was torcher complete torcher I'm sorry but it's true

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