T. A. Barron - The Heros Trail

Rave Reviews for THE HEROS TRAIL

A rewarding, informative read, the book introduces and pays homage to heroes throughout time, literature, and life.

Booklist, starred review

The stories are well worth sharing.

School Library Journal

The simplicity of the message and wide range of examples combine to make compelling motivational reading.

Kirkus Reviews

Incredibly important... both potent and inspiring.

Chinaberry Book Review

Here is so much grace to regard closely, to hold tight in mind, heart, and soul.

Robert Coles, M.D.

The Heros Trail inspired me to implement a yearlong hero theme in my classroom! Its an excellent teacher resource that can be used in excerpts or in its entirety to promote an understanding of heroes as well as the need for them in our world. I love observing the positive everyday heroic behaviors of my students that result from focusing on the concepts of this book!

Fran Wilson, teacher and former chair of the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children

Other Books by T. A. Barron

A TLANTIS S AGA

Atlantis Rising

Atlantis in Peril

Atlantis Lost

T HE M ERLIN S AGA

Merlin: Book One: The Lost Years

Merlin: Book Two: The Seven Songs

Merlin: Book Three: The Raging Fires

Merlin: Book Four: The Mirror of Fate

Merlin: Book Five: A Wizards Wings

Merlin: Book Six: The Dragon of Avalon

Merlin: Book Seven: Doomragas Revenge

Merlin: Book Eight: Ultimate Magic

Merlin: Book Nine: The Great Tree of Avalon

Merlin: Book Ten: Shadows on the Stars

Merlin: Book Eleven: The Eternal Flame

Merlin: Book Twelve: The Book of Magic

The Wisdom of Merlin

T HE H EARTLIGHT S AGA

Heartlight

The Ancient One

The Merlin Effect

Tree Girl

Where Is Grandpa?

High as a Hawk

The Day the Stones Walked

Ghost Hands

PUFFIN BOOKS

Published by the Penguin Group

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First published in the United States of America by Philomel Books,

an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, 2002

This updated edition published by Puffin Books,

an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, 2015

Copyright Thomas A. Barron, 2002, 2015

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS CATALOGED THE PHILOMEL EDITION AS FOLLOWS:

Barron, T. A.

The heros trail : a guide for a heroic life / T. A. Barron ; with a preface by Robert Coles.

p. cm.

Summary: Explores how to lead a heroic life, facing challenges with courage, strength of character, and wisdom much as a hiker uses those qualities on a challenging trail. Includes bibliographical references and an index.

ISBN: 978-1-101-65140-7

1. HeroesJuvenile literature. [1. Heroes. 2. Character. 3. Values. 4. Conduct of life.] I. Title. BJ1533.H47 .B29 2002 170.44dc21 2002001667

Version_3

To my mother, Gloria Barron,

who guided many others on the trail

and

To my good friend

who has always lived his life

by the ideals in this book

PREFACE

BY ROBERT COLES, M.D.

What follows are stories about individuals who have made a great moral difference in the lives of so many of us who are eager to find our way through life productively and meaningfully. T. A. Barronan American writer with many stories to tell us, be we children or far along in yearshas chosen to look backward and upward in this book. He introduces us to some brave and selfless people from the past who have followed the summons of their conscience, even when such a response has meant death. And we also meet many more people, nearer to our own time, who have stood exceedingly tall ethically, no matter what dangers they faced.

For this books authoras well as for us, his grateful readersthe heroic life of such remarkable people can become a most instructive and helpful guide. As the title of this book reminds us, right off, we can cover great distance while here alive! We hike (as Tom Barron stirs us to consider) across the seasons given us by luck, chance, and circumstance. And so we seek directionsnot to mention some sense of the overall point of the particular journey that is ours. In a sense, then, this book offers moral companions for this trip we take: people assembled for us to know their lives, their words, and their deeds. The result is a psychological and spiritual gift that will enrich us as we head across our given spell of seasons toward that last moment when life departs.

As I read this book, and encountered the honorable and courageous people it celebrates, I marveled at these vulnerable human beings who did so much good, no matter the odds against them. Barron thought of certain heroespeople who gave others a vision of what is desirable, but, even more helpful and inspiring, of what is possible. Their decisions made, words spoken, and acts taken send a loud and clear signal to the rest of us. So as we hike along, take our various steps, choose our own pathways, and keep our eyes open for detourswhether challenging or dangerous, enlivening or deadlythese heroic people will be very much with us. They will be there in our thoughts while we take our promising or perilous strides through life.

The heros trail of this book is meant to be the readers possible privilege. We are given moral stories, examples, and qualities that will help us be more knowing and kindly every dayboth with ourselves and with others who are near us now and later at our side! Here then, ahead, is a map that graces us with the ideas and ideals of other travelers who dared to put their thinking into action.

Many of us will be glad, for sure, that T. A. Barron took the time, and called upon the energy, to connect us to the moral giants in this book. Here is so much grace to regard closely, to hold tight in mind, heart, and soul, as we keep moving on our own hiking trails through life.

Robert Coles, M.D.

Robert Coles, M.D., child psychologist, is the Pulitzer Prizewinning author of Children of Crisis and The Spiritual Life of Children.

Every great journey begins with a single step.

Lao-tzu

INTRODUCTION: THE POWER OF HEROES

As I walk along the trail of life, sometimes strolling and sometimes stumbling, one thing is clear:

We all need heroes. We need them to be our guides on this often twisting and difficult trail. For heroes, real heroes, can help us know just how far we can go, just how high we can climb.

Today, it seems, we need heroes more than ever. Why? Because our modern society is seriously confused about something importantthe difference between a hero and a celebrity.