Product Description

Long ago, a lone little burro roamed the high cliffs of the Grand Canyon and touched the hearts of all who knew him: a grizzled old miner, a big-game hunter, even President Teddy Roosevelt. Named Brighty by the prospector who befriended him, he remained a free spirit at heart. But when a ruthless claim-jumper murdered the prospector, loyal Brighty risked everything to bring the killer to justice.

Brighty's adventures have delighted generations of readers, and he has become the symbol of a joyous way of life. Some people say that you can even see his spirit roving the canyon on moonlit nights-forever wild, forever free.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #146060 in Books
• Published on: 1991-04-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780689714856
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-Marguerite Henry's book (Rand McNally, 1953) is based on actual incidents in the life of a Grand Canyon burro. Brighty loves his life of independence along the Bright Angel Creek for which he was named, going to the rim in the summer and down to the canyon floor in winter. He is present as President Theodore Roosevelt discusses the beauty and grandeur of the Canyon and how it should be preserved for the American people. Brighty is the first to walk the historic bridge connecting the north and south rims. Befriended by prospectors, government men and campers, Brighty alternately helps his friends and runs free as the spirit moves him. His friend and companion, Old Timer, a prospector, is murdered by a claim jumper. A saddened Brighty searches for the killer, an adventure which runs through the book. John McDonough reads with a sonorous voice which compels careful listening. He brings the characters to life for listeners. This unabridged retelling will fill children's minds with the sights, sounds, and smells of the grand Canyon in the early 1900's.
Carol Robison, Colby Public School, KS
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Philadelphia Inquirer "An exciting tale... fun to read aloud." -- Review

Review
Philadelphia Inquirer"An exciting tale... fun to read aloud."

Customer Reviews

The real Brighty and Bobby McKee
My father and grand parents started the Wylie Way camp at the North Rim in 1916. The Summer of 1918 was when Brighty became their water carrier and my father and Brighty made several trips a day to a water source 200ft. below the rim. The camp was about 100yds North West from the current Grand Canyon Lodge and held up to 100 people per night at it's capacity. My Grandmother did all of the accounting and was basically in charge of the people and the kitchen, including the ordering of food, cooking and purchases from Z.C.M.I. It was a pioneering effort, to say the least. Dad's encounters with Brighty have become synonymous with early life at the North Rim. Grandfather wrote an article on Brighty for Sunset Magazine and Marguerite Henry based her book on this article. The book is fiction but has some true things such as Brighty crossing the Bridge first and being independant. I'm not sure if Brighty actually was used by Roosevelt but another Burro was used and his name was Ted. Dad used Ted his first summer at the camp. Ted was stubborn so the following summer Brighty was given them by Uncle Jim Owen who had used Brighty off and on in his cougar hunting adventures. Owen was a resident expert who worked for the government culling the cougar population and raising cattle and buffalo. Thanks. M. Krueger

Excellent Book
This great book I read when I was 6,7,8,& 9, but I still remember how great it was. This book was written by a great author, Marguerite Henry. She always wrote Realistic Fiction about horses. Even if you're not a horse lover, you would love these. In Brighty of the Grand Canyon, a donkey named Brighty lives with an old man that lives in the Grand Canyon. One night a "bad guy" comes and meets the two friends. The old man thinks he is really friendly, so he lets him stay the night. Before they went to bed, the old man tells the other too much information and that night, the other man kills him. Brighty knew when he first laid eyes on him, he could tell he was up to no good. As the story goes on, the man runs away and Brighty tries to get him in jail. Brighty goes through many tough challenges and exciting times. Brighty fights with other animals, plays with children, gets sick, and gets trapped with the man and a young boy. I'm not going to give away the end, but not very many people have even heard of Marguerite Henry, so if you think you will enjoy this book from my review, please do so. I admired Marguerite Henry for how well she wrote her stories and how her imagination worked. Sadly, she died in 1998. Once again, I hope you will enjoy the book if you decide to read it.

His Free Spirit Haunts the Canyon
Set in the Grand Canyon during Teddy Roosevelt's presidency this charming tale introduces readers to an unlikely animal protagonist: a wild burro who lives alone, but has been partially tamed by kind men. Rescued first by the Old Timer, then from a cougar's wounds by the North Rim's resident lion-killer, Brighty experiences the gamut of human behavior toward animals and each other: from the absurd, the selfish, the ambitious, and even the criminal. As the only witness to the evil schemes of a thieving murderer, Brighty relies on his own natural instincts which warn him about vicious Jake Irons.

Ruthless Irons murders the kindly and trusting prospector in order to obtain his copper mine. The sheriff frets for several years that the heinous crime goes unsolved and that the murderer remains unpunished. But Uncle Jimmy Owens' moon-lily tea helps trick a confession from the cruel scoundrel-with Brighty as a non-verbal but wary witness. Even in his lonely pilgrimages down to Bright Angel Creek the burro has many adventures on his own; he even crosses the Colorado River twice on a bridge which he helped men construct. Will he one day prefer to live
with his own kind as king of the herd? Or Be satisfied to be honored and befriended by human beings? Teddy Roosevelt looms larger than life as his personality is interwoven with Marguerite Henry's fictitious characters. For it was this charismatic president who devoted his efforts to setting aside the wilds of the Grand Canyon in the form of a national park.

Readers rejoice at Brighty's free spirit, which is said to prance through the gorges and trails which he cut en route to his beloved North Rim. This gentle burro epitomizes the youth and vigor of the primeval canyon-showing how humans and animals should cooperate to preserve America's natural wilderness. Delightfully illustrated by Wesley Dennis, this book is for outdoors enthusiasts and animal lovers of all ages.