Danny wishes his dad would come home from Nevada for Christmas and writes him a letter to tell him so. When snow cuts off the mail until spring, only postman John Thompson can get through the Sierra Nevada Mountains to deliver his letter. "Based on a true story, this is lively historical fiction with a nice sense of character and adventure, [and] the illustrations are packed with feeling and action." —BL.

Notable 1992 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)

One winter John Thompson skis across the Sierra Nevada Mountains and creates a path upon which mail and people may travel, thus earning his nickname "Snowshoe Thompson"