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    The Cardboard Box Children: Meet Benjamin Franklin
    The Cardboard Box Children: Meet Benjamin Franklin
    The Cardboard Box Children: Meet Benjamin Franklin
    Ebook128 pages53 minutes

    The Cardboard Box Children: Meet Benjamin Franklin

    By Scott W. Guttormson

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    About this ebook

    A young family prepares for a massive hurricane ripping through the Gulf of Mexico. When the storm crashes ashore, a massive lightning strike hurtles three young girls into the past, where they encounter young master Benjamin Franklin struggling with his adolescence and station in life.

    The story provides a charming glimpse into the life for Americas early colonists and into the mind of one of her early heroes, against the backdrop of a very young Boston.

    The book details the power of the human spirit, love of family, strength of character, and immeasurable importance of the American spirit.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTrafford Publishing
    Release dateJan 24, 2018
    ISBN9781490752822
    The Cardboard Box Children: Meet Benjamin Franklin
    Author

    Scott W. Guttormson

    Benjamin Franklin personifies the American ideal. He was an inventor, a publisher, an author, an entrepreneur, a scientist, and a philosopher. And most importantly, he was a self-made man. Having brilliant and independent pre-teens in the house, I was inspired to imagine what a teenage Benjamin Franklin must have been like. Thus the Cardboard Box Children series was born. Drawing on research into Benjamin Franklins life, I introduced teenage Ben to my kids in the same historical context. From there, the story naturally and organically grew. This is meant to be a fun, inspiring summer read, perfect for a few hours on the beach or during a short flight. For those familiar with Benjamins life and colonial Boston, the story is riddled with historical references and foreshadowing of things to come in the great philosophers life. Most of the story was written during travels between Japan, Papua New Guinea, and Australia, during an expat assignment, to fill the void of missing my family and to try to capture the emerging personalities of my wonderful children.

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      Book preview

      The Cardboard Box Children - Scott W. Guttormson

      Copyright 2013 Scott W. Guttormson.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

      Printed in the United States of America.

      ISBN: 978-1-4907-5281-5 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4907-5283-9 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4907-5282-2 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2017915007

      Trafford rev. 11/27/2017

      21097.png    www.trafford.com

      North America & international

      toll-free: 1 888 232 4444 (USA & Canada)

      fax: 812 355 4082

      To the outstanding women in my life…

      Anika, Kylie and Lindy for inspiration…

      Shari for being the perfect wife…

      and to my mother, who taught me a love

      of history and reading.

      OACC

      Not all great things must come from great wars or great happenings. Sometimes great things come from the simplest of occurrences. Like what happens when three young girls climb into a simple cardboard box.

      Contents

      Chapter 1—Homework

      Chapter 2—The Calm

      Chapter 3—The Storm

      Chapter 4—The Hurricane Room

      Chapter 5—The Box Transform

      Chapter 6—Meet the Boy

      Chapter 7—Walk to Town

      Chapter 8—Boston and the Carriage-Driver

      Chapter 9—The School

      Chapter 10—The Haldimand Confrontation

      Chapter 11—Continue the Walk

      Chapter 12—The Rescue

      Chapter 13—The Print Shop

      Chapter 14—Brother James

      Chapter 15—The Obverse

      Chapter 16—Milk Street

      Chapter 17—Franklin Home

      Chapter 18—Dinner

      Chapter 19—Benjamin’s Parents

      Chapter 20—Franklin’s Living Room

      Chapter 21—Dinner

      Chapter 22—Song

      Chapter 23—Shared Troubles

      Chapter 24—Morning

      Chapter 25—Science

      Chapter 26—Library

      Chapter 27—The World is Round

      Chapter 28—The Scientific Method

      Chapter 29—Night

      Chapter 30—New Morning

      Chapter 31—The Race

      Chapter 32—The Rules

      Chapter 33—The Market

      Chapter 34—Flying a Kite

      Chapter 35—The Test

      Chapter 36—Thunderclap

      List of Illustrations

      Interesting Facts about Benjamin Franklin and the English Colonies

      Timeline of Benjamin Franklin’s Life

      Bonner%20Map%20Boston%201723%20large%20copy.jpgAbove%20chapter%201%20homework.jpg

      CHAPTER 1

      Homework

      I n the Gulf of Mexico, a massive Category Five Hurricane rips across the water headed straight for Brownsville, Texas. Ninety foot swells precede the storm, with the tempest smashing and tossing everything in its wake. Insulted skies turn steel-grey, mocking the color of the rolling sea.

      Meanwhile, a different type of storm brews in a modest house on the Texas Gulf Coast.

      Anika! shouts Anika’s mom up the stairs. Have you finished your homework?

      Disturbed from an intense staring contest with one of her gerbils, Anika snaps, I know! I’m working on it!

      Anika purses her lips and lowers her head, sandy blonde hair covering her face. Huffing, she angles her head to stare at the mirror hanging next to the door to her room. Wide hazel eyes stare back. Ten-year-old thoughts dance in those eyes, causing them to flash and spin.

      Her mom’s voice drifts back up the stairs, Anika, you have to still do your homework!

      Anika cuts her eyes at the reflection in the mirror. Suddenly a shape flits into the doorway. An elfish figure bursts into the room, saying, Anika, mommy is calling you.

      I know, Kylie! shouts an exasperated Anika, as she stands and slams the door to her room.

      Above%20Chapter%202%20The%20Calm.jpg

      CHAPTER 2

      The Calm

      O utside, the sky is bright and still and strangely quiet. No sounds disturb the stillness. The animals sense danger in this uneasy quiet and dutifully prepare to hunker down in their nests and burrows in order to weather the incoming storm.

      Inside the house, the family prepares as well. The children’s mother refers to a list, Flashlights? Check. Radio? Check. Batteries? Check.

      The next line causes her to pause and pick at her ear. Move kids downstairs? Kids? Where ARE the kids?

      Anika, she calls out. You still have to do your homework!

      I know! Anika barks down the stairs, as she rolls her eyes at her mother’s insistence. She fights a sudden urge to run outside and join her friends who are celebrating the upcoming storm and the cancellation of school classes.

      A certain level of providence and care and feeding goes into the growth of a child. Unfortunately, wild, winged urges feed off the love and care provided by parents, and try to burrow as deep as they can into the minds of children. Adult minds are too crowded with schedules and lists and worries to leave much room for the winged beasts.

      Anika had reached the age that encouraged the most fertile and imaginative mindspace without the necessary distraction of adult practicality, so that the highest numbers of wild things rolled

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