Sam Patch: Daredevil Jumper

by Julie Cummins, Michael Allen Austin (Illustrator)

Folks say that when Sam Patch was born, he jumped right into his mother's arms. That was just the beginning! When he jumped into Niagara Falls, news of his death-defying leap swept the nation--and Sam Patch Jumped right into American Legend.

Genres: Biography, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 5, 2009

About the author

Julie Cummins has milked cows and climbed silos, ridden subways and lived in a high-rise. She currently lives in New York City, where she has a spectacular view of the Empire State Building, and vacations in the country, where she enjoys the lake views.

Reviews

[Peter Derk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, Sam Patch, you old-timey anacronism!

Sam Patch was a "Daredevil Jumper," as stated in the title, but after reading, I can't say I totally understand the difference between a Daredevil Jumper and a Guy Who Falls Off Tall Shit.

Sam jumped from high stuff, then higher stuff. Then he went to Niagara Falls with his pet fox and pet bear, which is great, and then he threw his pet bear off Niagara Falls, which was kind of a dick move. I guess if you've got a pet bear, you want to do SOMETHING with it that you couldn't do with a hamster, but maybe just take pictures of it with its hand in a bee hive or something. Also, are bears known for being able to fall really far? Is this another animal science thing I didn't know? Supposedly the bear was fine, although that's gotta be a terrible day for a bear. I'd be pretty confident that, for a bear, falling off Niagara Falls would be the worst day of your life, provided you don't have some entitled little punk sleeping in your family's beds and eating their food, critiquing every little thing along the way.

As the story is told, it turns out that watching a dude jump off tall shit was big entertainment back in the day. And I kind of feel like it still would be. I would watch a dude jump off...well, whatever! But not a guy who drinks Red Bull and stuff. It's gotta be a normal guy, like Sam, who doesn't even have a uniform or anything.

If you can believe it, Sam met his end when he jumped off a tall thing, pinwheeled down, and hit the water hard. Never to surface again...until a farmer found his corpse, I guess. It made me wonder, when you went to watch this kind of thing back in the day, how long did you hang out before you shrugged and walked off, assuming the dude was dead? What's the polite interval there?

[Kelly Elder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Julie Cummings did an excellent job writing Sam Patch, Daredevil Jumper. With each page comes great detail from the feeling of the main character, Sam, to how the audience that came to watch each jump felt. Cummings left young readers excited to see what each page had to say. The illustrations were also wonderful! Readers will without a doubt be able to follow along with story and feel like they too are apart of each jump!

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I was reading William Getz’s book “Sam Patch,” I found this 2009 picture book about the same subject. Julie Cummins has a good voice for keeping young listener’s /reader’s interest engaged. Her biography borders on the tall tale, but this is not inappropriate for the subject matter. Michael Allen Austin’ s illustrations support the bigger than life legacy of one of our country’s earliest dardevils.

[Kate Edmonds · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was well written and would be great for a young reader to follow along with to learn about this amazing jumper. I think Sam was a very brave person that not many know about and I am glad to know more about him through this book

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, I sometimes wonder how I've never heard of these fascinating people that keep showing up in picturebook biographies! Sam Patch was quite a character - definitely larger than life, and the pictures are gorgeous.

[Phoebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tried this one out on my 8 year old, he was fascinated by such a crazy person as Sam Patch, a young man who loved to jump from high places, the higher the better. Just the sort of quirky history to appeal to kids. Great whimsical illustrations give the book even more charm.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had never even heard of Sam Patch until I read this book. It was very interesting and I loved the pictures. This book would be a great biography picture book to present to students about someone most of them had never heard of!

[Jennifer Cunningham]

Genre: biography

Sam Patch was no one I had ever heard of. I found this book doing a search for biography picture books. My students were intrigued by Sam and this book sparked interest in doing more research! That's never a bad thing!

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

a few too many dates but interesting story.