The Great Turkey Walk: A Graphic Novel Adaptation of the Classic Story of a Boy, His Dog and a Thousand Turkeys

by Kathleen Karr

Winner of the grand prize at the Angoulême International Comics Festival!

Kathleen Karr's classic American story of grit, friendship, and turkeys—finally reimagined as a sensational graphic novel.

Missouri 1860: Simon Green is a bad student. His mother is dead and his father has disappeared. But he’s daring, and so when he hears that turkeys fetch a higher price in Denver, he borrows his teacher's life savings and buys a herd of a thousand birds. Then he sets off on the thousand-mile trek with his dog and a pair of mules. To survive the odyssey that follows, Simon will need grit, luck and smarts—and a colorful cast of friends.

Kathleen Karr’s beloved middle-grade novel of a resourceful boy and his herd of a thousand turkeys has enchanted readers everywhere since it was first published in 1998. Now it will reach a whole new audience in Léonie Bischoff's enchanting graphic novel, finally available in English. The adaptation has already garnered two of the world's most prestigious graphic novel awards: the grand prize at the Angoulême International Comics Festival as well as the ACBD (French Comic Book Critics Association’s Award).

Genres: Historical Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Hardcover

First published September 7, 2022

About the author

Kathleen Karr was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and grew up on a chicken farm in Dorothy, New Jersey. After escaping to college, she worked in the film industry, and also taught in high school and college. She seriously began writing fiction on a dare from her husband. After honing her skills in women’s fiction, her children asked her to write a book for them, (It Ain’t Always Easy, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1990), and she discovered she loved writing for young readers.

Reviews

[Rosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: A graphic novel adaptation of the 1998 children’s book by the same name. Loads of fun, but also covers plenty of dark themes. Wild West setting, historical era, adventure, and turkeys! Great for middle-graders and younger teens.

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Plot Preview:

Simon is not really the brightest of bulbs, so his class teacher (in whose class he has spent many years repeating grades) advises him to stop schooling and “explore the world.” His mother is dead and his father disappeared soon after, so Simon, who stays with his maternal aunt’s family, has no clue what to do next. That’s when an opportunity presents itself.
When Simon hears from his neighbour Mr. Buffey that turkeys fetch a higher price in Denver, he decides to go into business. He borrows money from his teacher, bids a hearty goodbye to his uncaring guardians, purchases a thousand turkeys from Mr. Buffey and sets off on an 800-mile journey from Missouri to Denver. His sole companion is an old drunk Mr. Peece, who is the only fellow Simon found to help steer the mule wagon while he himself herds the turkeys. Thus begins an epic adventure filled with plenty of memorable moments and close calls.
The story comes to us in Simon’s first-person perspective.

Kathleen Karr originally wrote a middle-grade novel named ‘The Great Turkey Walk’ in 1998. A graphic novel adaptation of this book was first published in French in 2022 under the title ‘La longue marche des dindes’. With this new translation releasing in October 2024, the graphic version is now available in English.


Bookish Yays:
🦃 Simon is the worthy lead for such a story. Initially dismissed as ‘pea-brained”, his good heart and his business acumen immediately proves that there are several strengths to him. His personality is sketched wonderfully. Simon’s story proves how bookish know-how isn't the only thing guaranteed to give you success in the world.

🦃 Simon often wallows in self-doubt thanks to always being referred to as a dullard, but his teacher supports him beautifully through his lack of confidence and shows faith when he needed it the most. Such a wonderful example of how teachers should be!

🦃 The other characters who accompany Simon on his journey – Mr. Peece the alcoholic mule driver, Jo the runaway slave, and Lizzie the lone survivor of her family after an epidemic – also contribute much to the story. I love how they are supporting characters not just in name but also in deed. Whenever Simon stumbles, they have his back.

🦃 The above characters shatter the usually clichéd depictions of an alcoholic, a slave, and a delicate teenage girl. Another character who makes a surprise appearance midway the story is also not sketched the typical way. I appreciate the themes of the importance of freedom, coming out through Jo’s arc, and of women’s equality through Lizzie’s narrative.

🦃 The turkeys add to a lot of fun to the plot. There’s even a lovable dog – a nice addition to any story!

🦃 The adventurous journey from Missouri to Denver, covering a variety of terrain and bumping into varied kinds of people. The almost 800-mile-long trip is filled with episodic adventures, each of which has a different kind of struggle to overcome. There is a healthy balance between the fun and the serious elements of the journey.

🦃 The found family trope is used well in the plot, proving that friends are better than blood relatives at times.

🦃 The idea that everyone has a talent, even if they don’t know it yet. How lovely for little ones to know!

🦃 The illustrations are gorgeous. The graphics are in light pastels whereby you can actually feel the sunshine and the prairie breeze. The night-time illustrations are suitably darker but never dull. A special mention of Simon's wild mop of hair! The lettering is done in a lovely serif-style typeface that suits a first-person narration wonderfully.


Bookish Mixed Bags:
🌵 Some important details should have been made clear at the start for those who haven’t read the original middle-grade novel. We know only later into the story that the journey begins in Missouri and that Simon is twelve. The year in which the story is set isn't revealed at all, except in the blurb that mentions 1860 Missouri. Not everyone reads the blurb before beginning a book!

🌵 There are too many moralising themes tackled in the story. While all of these are important, they make the book feel needlessly overloaded, especially as it is only 144 pages long and hence there is not much depth to each episode. This could be a negative of being the condensed form of a full-length novel.

🌵 There are a few spelling errors, which might a be deliberate choice to show Simon’s lack of schoolish knowhow, but they could be confusing to little readers.


All in all, despite some issues, I enjoyed this book. I am not usually a fan of Wild West or cowboy-style stories, but this proved a worthy exception with its loveable characters, adventurous historical plotline, and worthy life lessons.

Recommended to middle-graders looking for an inspiring + entertaining story with awesome graphics.

4.25 stars.


My thanks to Helvetiq for providing the DRC of “The Great Turkey Walk” via Edelweiss+. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Content warnings: parental death (off page), alcoholism, racial discrimination, shooting, references to slavery, cruelty against the indigenous, violence, toxic parent.

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[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon wants to start his own business so he can get away from his bullying aunt and uncle. He asks his schoolteacher to invest in the business; they will buy 1,000 turkeys and herd them to Denver where they will fetch a better price. But Simon also needs a driver to drive the mules and wagon, so he hires a worn-out drunk, gets him cleaned up and sober, and they start on their trek across the wilderness with a massive gaggle of turkeys. Along the way they meet thieves, they befriend a runaway slave, and they struggle to survive in the wild prairies while keeping their flock together.

This story is so adventurous and fun! I really loved that Simon meets so many people during his journey and helps them, befriends them, and inspires them to better their lives. The drunkard finds a reason to stay sober. The orphan finds a family. The runaway slave finds freedom. And Simon finds friendships that last a lifetime. There are so many great themes of courage and resilience in this book!

The illustrations in this graphic novel are fantastic! I loved the warm colors and the sweeping prairie scenes. The characters are all really well designed, so that you can tell something about their personalities just from how they look, their body language, and facial expressions. The art is full of energy and emotion!

To see the few instances of minor violence and other questionable material in this book, check it out on Screen It First! https://screenitfirst.com/book/the-gr...

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Julia Harkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tumble back in time to this crazy adventure full of twists, turns and gumption! This graphic novel is quick to pull readers in and take them on a journey west with a motley crew of turkey wranglers, Indians, thieving circus performers, and faithful friends. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3rd grade and up!
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Thanks to @netgalley for this eARC of The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr coming 10/8/24!

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

some extremely yikes moments. this was one of my favorite novels when i was a kid and i expected it to not hold up... but an adaptation i had more hope for.

[Uri Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this review, I will briefly discuss the original book as well as the graphic adaptation.

The Great Turkey Walk is an underrated juvenile novel by Kathleen Karr (1998). The likeable teen narrator, Simon, decides to make his fortune by herding 1000 turkeys from his hometown in Missouri (where they cost 25 cents in 1860) all the way to big-town Denver (where they cost $5). During this adventure, he accumulates a found family – Mr. Peece (expert mule driver and recovering alcoholic), his herding dog Emmett, escaped slave Jabeth, and love interest Lizzie (sole survivor of a pioneer family). They need to guard the turkeys from two circus conmen (one of whom is Simon's estranged father). Along the way, Simon learns that people are often better than their stereotype – whether it's blacks, girls, or Indians.

The Great Turkey Walk is a heartwarming book with a happy ending. (It reminds me of Sid Fleischman's classic By the Great Horn Spoon!) I am surprised that it doesn't seem to have won awards or to appear on any "greatest" book lists.

I also read the graphic novel based on the book, which was adapted by Léonie Bischoff (2022) and translated from the French by Michelle Bailat-Jones (2024). It is very good and mostly true to the original.

I noticed two changes, though. First, the ages of Simon and Lizzie are changed from 15 and 16 to 12 and 14, presumably to minimize the romantic tension and thoughts of marriage. Second, the escaped slave is not Jabeth (a boy) but Jo (a girl). As in two of the graphic retellings of The Pilgrim's Progress that I read recently and one of the graphic retellings of The Island of Dr. Moreau that I read not too long ago, the graphic adaptation genderswaps a character. Is this a new trend, or did I just not notice it until now?

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The English translation of a French graphic novel adaptation of an American Western novel by an American author, published in Switzerland! I guess Westerns appeal across the globe…

Simon Green is an orphan living with his aunt and uncle and a brood of malcontent cousins. He is terrible in school, although he loves his teacher Miss Rogers. She finally releases him from repeating more grades and kindly tells him to go off and find his talent. Simon hears that in the new boomtown of Denver, people are hungry. So, with a loan from Miss Rogers, he buys 1,000 turkeys from his neighbor, finds a mule driver named Mr. Peece, and together with a dog named Emmett, they start on an 800-mile walk from Missouri to Colorado.

Along the way, Mr. Peece and Simon have adventures with Native inhabitants of Kansas, take on a runaway slave named Jo, run into Simon’s n’er-do-well father, and rescue a young woman from “prairie madness,” as well as figure out how to get 1,000 turkeys across a river. This is a charming and heartwarming Western adventure set during the Civil War and at start of the Gold Rush. Simon, 14 years old, is a protagonist that you’d love to have as a friend – kind, enterprising, and open-minded, and all the characters are interesting and nuanced. It’s gratifying to see Simon and the people he meets come together on their long journey. You get to love the characters and I almost wished for a sequel.

The text is executed in a handwriting-like font, and flows nicely with Simon’s Missouri-boy narrative. I loved the graphic art, in a palette of soft grays and pinks, evoking an old sepia photograph, which used lots of different panel arrangements to tell the story graphically and creatively.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coming to this junior graphic novel I thought it was based on fact, but no – this is a belated adaptation of a novel from the late 1990s. And while being thoroughly readable in a pleasant way, I did wonder why it was being presented like this, until its true colours turned up. Those colours belong to Jo, an escaped slave girl who presents as a boy and becomes a third member of an oddball team of people – a drunkard muleteer and a go-getting, Twain-inspired kid – driving a thousand turkeys across America, from the land of dusty, grumpy farmers to where the big cities of hungry consumers live.

So this is based in wokeness, representing the slave child – without going into her story at all, such as her reasons for appearing more masculine – but it's still done pretty well. But towards the end the final third will overload on this – the wiping out of the bison by white men, the semi-imprisonment of the native populations by white men, the leaving of young women alone to go mad, BY WHITE MEN.

All told then it's certainly readable, and never drops from having a light touch when discussing serious issues. But here, as a comic, it can't really do much discussing – as I say it just shows us soapy problem upon soapy problem and never gets anywhere with the nitty or the gritty. When there is a lapse in people turning up with a beef about their lot, our kid's father comes back to the scene with all he brings (being a white man, of course, just one of his flaws). Ultimately it's perfectly harmless, if too slight to engage with what it presents, and while pitched well as a young graphic novel it does leave you hoping the source novel had a bit more oomph. Three and a bit stars.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an absolute treasure of a historical fiction story. Simon Green just isn’t good at school, but his teacher tells him that everyone has a talent, and he has to find his. Turns out he is good with animals, so decides to see what he can do with that information. When he discovers that a local farmer wants to get rid of his turkeys, he offers to buy them, and walk them from Missouri to Denver.

Full of evil people and good people, that he meets along the way, Simon may not be booksmart, but he is people smart, and reads them well enough to know when some are bad, and when some are good.

I love how he does this too. Talking through, exploring and letting each new friend he meets along the way to find out their special talent.

I thought, as I always do, that I would just peak at this book, and found I wanted to devour it in one sitting.

I love Simon, and cheer for him, all through the adventure.

This book is coming out on the 8th of October. Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Bailey Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Great Turkey Walk is a fascinating, engrossing, unique, daring, fun, and thrilling story! This is a well known book turned into a graphic novel. Though I haven't read the original to compare, I have a feeling this book won't disappoint for anyone who has read the original. Taking place in Missouri 1860 this book highlights grit, compassion, valuing all people, kindness, and determination. Simon Green an orphan, bad student, and underappreciated worker is inspired to take a chance on himself after speaking with his teacher. Not only does Simon take a chance on himself, he takes a chance on the many outcasts he encounters believing everyone has something special they can contribute. I love storyline, illustrations, and heart of this story!

[Meggie Ramm · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dated view on the American West, featuring a kid that thinks herding turkeys is a good idea. 

Simon Green isn't bird smart, but according to this book he's turkey smart, and he's going make his first paycheck by herding turkeys to Denver. This is based on a book by Kathleen Karr from the 1990s, and the book was the winner of the 2023 youth award at Angouleme. I liked the art, but the story felt a little saccharine and white savior-y. 

Also, no wolf packs?? There was a pack of 1000 turkeys and nary a coyote thought to shoot their shot???

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE GREAT TURKEY WALK is a graphic novel adaptation of the novel by the same name. It tells the story of a boy named Simon who comes up with a grand scheme to walk from Missouri to Colorado with a herd of turkeys to sell in the 1800s. It is quite the adventure with an accumulating band of unlikely friends, huge obstacles and some American history woven together. I found his journey thoroughly enthralling and full of heart.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great graphic novel in the vein of Tom Sawyer but graphic novel format and more modern sensibilities with a protagonist everyone can love. Reluctant readers, especially boys, would love this one. A boy who is not great at school but good heart decides to herd 1000 turkeys from Missouri to Denver where he can get a good price. Add in a drunk mule driver, a dad who abandoned him to join the circus and an escaped enslaved person and you have a great adventure story!

[Raven Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read the novel this is based on, but I am curious about a few details and possible changes. This is a sweet, simple, nothing bad happens book, while a lot of "bad things happen" but you know it will work out and is not graphic. All ages could read, and it is a great talking point book (how slaves and the native populations are treated). Yet, it is also a good book about trying and doing your best in the face of difficulty. Fun and bright illustrations add to the enjoyment.

[Sophy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story, it's a redone of a classic story. It's about a boy who isn't very bright but his teacher thinks it's time for him to get out in the world because everyone has a talent and she doesn't think he will find his in the school house. He comes up with the idea of walking a lot of turkeys to Denver to sell them for a larger price and they face many challenges along the way.

[Zoe Kaylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great adaptation! I was not very familiar with the source material, but after reading the GN, I went back to look into it! I think this is a great entry point to historical fiction for middle graders with lots of cute moments and humor thrown in. Highly recommend.

Thanks to Helvetiq and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book.

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story, love the art (especially of the animals). The writing is a bit on the nose and some of the portrayals are a bit odd. Nice happy ending, and a quick simple read.

[Twan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit of a turkey....

[Lexy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published in 1998, "The Great Turkey Walk" is being republished as a graphic novel this October. Set in the late-1800s, it begins as 15-year-old Simon has just finished the third grade for the fourth time, and his teacher politely "graduates him." After a series of chance meetings, unexpected events, and impressive negotiating skills on Simon's end, Simon sets out on an adventure with a rag tag group and 1,000 turkeys.

I love the educational value in discussing 19th-century Westward expansion and pioneer life. Beyond that, Simon's character is such an important role model for young readers. Despite facing doubt from others about his intelligence, Simon perseveres and ultimately triumphs.

Simon's journey is an inspiring narrative for young readers, particularly those who may be struggling to discover and reach their full potential.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. In the interest of my teaching career, I'm trying to read (and maybe review) more children's/YA books, though I'm BUMMED that my 2024 reading goal is going to be inaccurate/inflated.

[Ande Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Great Turkey Walk: A Graphic Novel, follows the story of the great turkey walk book with the addition of fantastic illustrations to bring it to life. My memory of the original book is a little fuzzy as I haven't read it since I was a child, but I loved this edition. It was great to see the adventure of Simon and his crew as they take the turkeys across multiple state lines for a big payoff. I particularly liked the illustrations during the storm of locusts LOL.

Overall, this was a super charming story, and this adaption will appeal to middle grade readers today. Content warning for instances of racism, alcoholism, and general abuse.

Thanks to NetGalley, Kathleen Karr, and Helvetiq for the chance to review this advance copy!