Plane and Plank; or, The Mishaps of a Mechanic

What this book is like

This is a nineteenth-century boys' story with a clear moral purpose. The title pairs a carpenter's plane with a plank of wood, and true to that, the tale follows a young mechanic whose trade and good intentions keep getting him into trouble. The setting is small-town America of the period, and the tone is warm but firm: every mishap is a lesson in honesty, self-discipline, and the value of steady work. Religion and temperance run through it, as they did in much juvenile fiction of the time.

Listeners who enjoy old-fashioned stories of boyhood, or who are curious about how Victorian America taught its children right from wrong, will find this a friendly listen. Expect the measured, slightly formal language of the 1800s, a narrator who comments on the action, and a chain of small adventures rather than one tight plot. It is best taken in short sittings, like a serial.