When the Whistle Blows- Slayton

Jimmy Cannon grew up in a small railroad town. Railroading was all his family knew. His father worked as a foreman for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad as did many of the men from the community. It was the main source of income for most of the families in town. Jimmy's father didn't want Jimmy anywhere near the railroad but that is all he could think about.

The book follows Jimmy through six years of his life. He spends most of those years trying to figure out his father. Mr. Cannon was a hard man to get to know. He was a hardworking, rule following kind of guy but he had a side to him that was a complete mystery to Jimmy. As we follow Jimmy we learn that he is a young man who isn't afraid to get into a little mischief every now and again. Jimmy is a prankster, a hunter, a football player, and most of all a young man who admires his father.