4th grade booktalk
At the beginning of our story, fifteen year-old Simon has just completed third grade. For the fourth time. And his teacher, Miss Rogers, has had enough. Don’t get me wrong – Miss Rogers likes Simon very much – for a four-time third grader, he’s a great student (relatively speaking, anyway). But Miss Rogers thinks Simon is too old for the third grade now, and so she’s graduating him (but don’t confuse that with passing him). Miss Rogers tells Simon it’s time for him to spread his wings.

So, Simon walks home from school. For the last time.

On his way there, he passes Mr. Buffey’s turkey farm, and Mr. Buffey himself, grumbling about the size of the turkey flock he has, and how much they’re costing him in turkey feed. Simon suggests selling the turkeys in St. Louis – but that’s a fifty mile walk away, and they’ve got turkeys enough according to Mr. Buffey. And so Simon gets thinking.

“Seems to me if they don’t need turkeys here in Missouri, you ought to take ‘em where they are wanted.” [Mr. Buffey] humphed. “Sure and certain. I got me all summer to walk a thousand turkeys out West, where they’s wanted.” I scratched my head again. “How far out West, Mr. Buffey?” “Why, someplace like to Denver! I was just readin’ in the papers about Denver. Biggest boomtown you ever saw, what with gold littering the very streets like it is. But they ain’t got nothin’ to eat there but beans and bread and coffee, three times the day. Turkeys on the hoof’d go for five dollars a head out there.” I stared at the turkeys again. “I ain’t got nothing to do all summer, Mr. Buffey.” “What’s that?” “I said, ain’t a solitary thing holding me down. I could walk your turkeys to Denver, Mr. Buffey.” “You, Simon?” He laughed. “You walk my turkeys to Denver? Near a thousand miles?” He laughed some more as if he’d just made his day.

And that’s how The Great Turkey Walk begins.