Book Overview

"Keep My White Sneakers, Kit Carson" is a book about the Blackfeet Indians and the mountain men, trappers who tried to survive in the same, stunningly beautiful land just northwest of the Great Plains in what is now Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana. That they would get in each other's way was a given if one understands the fiercely independent nature of both.

Plot and Characters

In a twist of science fiction, Ted, a high school student, is hurled back in time to join the man reputed to be the greatest mountain man of them all, Jim Bridger, and his friend, Kit Carson. They are the enemies of the Blackfeet, wily rulers of what was in the 1830's called the Edge of the Rockies. Into this fierce struggle comes Wind-Singing-in-Grass, the Blackfoot princess who rivals the charisma of Sacajawea. Her unique personality touches all in this chaotic region, including her father’s captives such as Ted and the mysterious Shoshone, Sit-Near-Fire.

Questions and Themes

Does Ted ever get back to the Twenty-first Century? Does he survive a Blackfoot onslaught that promises to put an end to Jim Bridger and Kit Carson? You’ll enjoy the pace of a book written for young adults.