{"product_id":"banjoisbn-9780375842641","title":"Banjo","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn the spirit of of \u003ci\u003eWhere the Red Fern Grows \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eBecause of Winn Dixie, \u003c\/i\u003ethis is a contemporary classic in the making about a boy and his dog, and a choice that will test their loyalty and trust.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDanny Mack is a rising rodeo star in rural Oregon. He lives on a ranch with his older brother, their dad, and his faithful border collie, Banjo.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLate one night, Danny is awakened by gunshots. Banjo has been wounded. The neighbors claim he was going after their livestock, which gives them the right to shoot the dog or have him put down. Dad reluctantly agrees. They must obey the law. Danny knows Banjo is innocent, and comes up with a desperate plan to save him--but something goes terribly wrong.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDays later, on a distant ranch, Meg Harris finds a frightened dog alone in the woods. Banjo. She takes him home and searches for the dog's owner, furious that he was abandoned. She's not going to give Banjo up easily.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTold by Danny and by Meg, this fast-paced, heartrending novel explores the deep connection between humans and animals, and reminds readers that you can't judge an animal--or a person--before you know their story.Honors and Praise for books by Graham Salisbury: \u003cbr\u003e Winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction\u003cbr\u003e An ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults\u003cbr\u003e An ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book\u003cbr\u003e A Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year\u003cbr\u003e Multiple state awards \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Morally and psychologically complex, historically accurate, and \u003cb\u003eunforgettably gripping\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews, \u003c\/i\u003estarred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003cb\u003eFast-paced \u003c\/b\u003eand\u003cb\u003e compelling \u003c\/b\u003e. . . will be enjoyed by voracious and reluctant readers.” —\u003ci\u003eSLJ\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Transports readers with his \u003cb\u003eevocative descriptions\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“An \u003cb\u003eabsorbing\u003c\/b\u003e novel with a distinctive setting.” \u003ci\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eGraham Salisbury\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of several novels, among them the award-winning \u003ci\u003eLord of the Deep\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Blue Skin of the Sea\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eUnder the Blood-Red Sun\u003c\/i\u003e.Saturday\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Danny Mack was pretty sure he’d just lost his thumb.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He’d caught the steer but lost control of his rope. He tried to wrap it around the saddle horn but wasn’t quick enough. When his horse, Pete, dug in and pulled back, the rope snapped into place and ripped his roping glove clean off his hand.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Ow!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Danny grimaced and gaped at it. No blood. And his thumb was still there. He shook out the sting.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e His best friend, Ricky, ran over from where he’d been manning the roping chute. “You all right?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I think so.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Summer vacation had just begun, and Danny and his dad were in their home arena practicing team roping, getting ready to compete in the Jefferson County Fair and Rodeo in a couple of weeks. Ricky and Danny’s brother Tyrell were helping out. Tyrell was seventeen, four years older than Danny. As a team, Danny and his dad competed in community and open rodeos. Danny was the header, roping the horns. Dad, the heeler, roping the back feet. They were good at it, because they practiced.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Dad, who’d caught the steer’s two back legs, loosened his rope and loped over on Mandingo. “You hurt?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Stings,” Danny said, squeezing his hand. He had to fo­cus on his dally—­his wrap around the saddle horn.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Dad leaned in for a closer look. “You’ll live. But be more focused. Roping’s dangerous, which is why we’re out here getting it right.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Yes, sir.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Tyrell drew up on his horse, Half-­Asleep. “What happened?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Rope almost took my thumb off.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Looks like it’s still there.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Yep.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Danny turned in his saddle. His glove was lying in the dirt by the fence. He whistled. “Banjo! Get my glove.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Banjo, his border collie, snapped up, got it, and ran it over.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Danny leaned down and took it. “Good boy.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He pulled the glove back on.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Tyrell rode off to free the steer from the ropes and herd it back to Ricky at the chute.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Let’s give it one more run and call it a day,” Dad said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Danny nodded and coiled his rope. He loped Pete around the practice pen to calm himself down. This time, focus!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Tyrell and Ricky got the steer back into the chute.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Banjo trotted back to his place by the fence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Danny backed Pete into the box on the left side of the chute, where he’d wait until the steer was released. Dad backed Mandingo in on the right.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e When the steer was in place, Ricky glanced at Danny. “Ready when you are.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The idea was to stay in the box as short a time as possible. Get in, get ready, and hope the steer got up to the gate with his head aimed forward. That was the unknown, the steer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Dad nodded to Danny.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Danny nodded to Ricky.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Ricky slammed the gate open. “Haw!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The steer burst out running.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A split second later, Danny spurred Pete ahead.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The hardest part wasn’t the roping but the riding, and Danny’s balance astonished anyone who watched him. Dad once told him that he was about as good a rider as it was possible to be.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Danny stayed to the left, with Pete’s nose even with the steer’s hip.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Dad on Mandingo flew out of the heeler’s box, staying about ten feet off to the right, keeping the steer on a straight path so Danny could get a good shot at its head.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Danny threw his loop—­a clean catch over both horns. He made his dally around the saddle horn, doing it right this time. He slowed and pulled the steer to the left so the steer’s hind legs flayed out as it turned.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Dad threw his loop and caught both back feet. He hadn’t missed all day. He made his dally and turned Mandingo to face Danny and Pete, the horses pulling the ropes taut, the caught steer between them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Dad nodded. “Do it like that two weeks from now and we’ll be all right.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Yep,” Danny said. “Just like that.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Not bad, little brother,” Tyrell called. “You too, old man.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Dad grunted.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Ricky and Tyrell removed the head protector from the steer’s horns and released the steer into the pasture. Dad and Tyrell took their horses into the barn.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Danny sat his horse, looking down on Ricky. “What you doing after this?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Chores, I guess.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Want to do something later?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Like what?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Danny looked back at the barn and out toward the pasture. “Oh, I don’t know. Watch grass grow?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Ricky grinned and walked over to his bike to head home. Danny rode Pete alongside him, while Banjo sniffed through the weeds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Thanks for helping out today,” Danny said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “No problem. You’d do it for me.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Not with bulls, I wouldn’t.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Ricky laughed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Ricky was a junior bull rider, and Danny was not a fan of bulls. One wild kick and they could kill you. Danny knew of a rodeo bull from Texas that weighed 1,900 pounds. That one could kick you from Oregon to South Carolina. As a junior rider, Ricky rode bulls that were between 500 and 1,000 pounds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Danny said, “You have more guts than brains.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Ricky laughed. “You’re just jealous.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He whistled for Banjo, squatting as he trotted over. “You take care of that wimp on the horse, you hear? He needs help.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Banjo nosed Ricky’s hand.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Ricky looked up. “Guess he sees my point.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Get outta here,” Danny said, smiling. “Wanna do some fishing? If not later today, then next week?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Sure. Call me.” Ricky gave him a thumbs-­up and rode off.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Danny whistled and slapped his thigh. “Banjo! Come!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Banjo raced over and leaped. Danny caught him by the skin on the back of his neck and lifted him into the saddle. Banjo licked his face.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I think you’ve earned yourself a treat, don’t you?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Together, they rode back to the barn.","brand":"Wendy Lamb Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46305515765989,"sku":"NP9780375842641","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780375842641.jpg?v=1730760746","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/banjoisbn-9780375842641","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}