The year is 1798, and Jenny and her father, Sam Tinker, are working in the market. Sam gets mistaken for a thief and finds himself on a ship full of criminals. They are on their way to Australia. Jenny has her own plans to rescue him. Penguin Readers are simplified texts designed to provide a step-by-step approach to the joys of reading for pleasure. The book has extensive activity material. The level is Easystarts (200 words), the original in British English.
Harding's outstanding debut unfurls the history and final thoughts of a dying grandfather surrounded by his family in his New England home. George Washington Crosby repairs clocks for a living and on his deathbed revisits his turbulent childhood as the oldest son of an epileptic smalltime traveling salesman. The descriptions of the father's epilepsy and the cold halo of chemical electricity that encircled him immediately before he was struck by a full seizure are stunning, and the household's sadness permeates the narrative as George returns to more melancholy scenes.
It’s 1798. Sam Tinker and his daughter Jenny live in London. One day a thief puts a watch in Sam’s hand. ‘Take this,’ he says, and runs away. Two policemen see the watch and take Sam away. What can Jenny do? Can she help her father?
It is 1800. Jenny Tinker arrives in New York with her father, Sam. The Tinkers are English. They’re starting a new life in America. They want a farm, but they haven’t got any money. What can they do?
