Teen Fiction - Boys & Young Men, Fiction - Historical Fiction, Teen Fiction - Family & Relationships, Fiction - Family Life

Across Five Aprils

Name: Across Five Aprils
Author: Irene Hunt
ISBN: 9780425182789

by Irene Hunt

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Overview

The Newbery Award winning author of Up a Road Slowly presents the unforgettable story of Jethro Creighton—a brave boy who comes of age during the turbulent years of the Civil War.

Young Jethro Creighton grows from a boy to a man when he is left to take care of the family farm in Illinois during the difficult years of the Civil War.

Synopsis

The unforgettable story of young Jethro Creighton, who comes of age during the turbulent years of the Civil War, by the Newbery Award-winning author of Up a Road Slowly. "An impressive book both as a historically authentic Civil War novel and as a beautifully written family story."--University of Chicago Center for Children's Books.

Publishers Weekly

Narrator Terry Bregy adopts an appropriately boyish tone for his reading of Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt, a Newbery Honor Book in 1965. Bregy compels readers to hear young Jethro Creighton's account of how the horrifying events of the Civil War changed life on his family's Illinois farm, even so many miles from the front lines. (Feb.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

About the Author, Irene Hunt

Irene Hunt is the author of many distinguished books for young people. Her first novel, Across Five Aprils, was a Newberry Honor Book and received a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. For her second novel, Up a Road Slowly, Ms. Hunt was awarded the Newberry Medal. Ms. Hunt was born in southern Illinois and has received degrees from the University of Illinois and the University of Colorado. For many years she taught in the public schools of northern Illinois, and later she taught psychology at the University of South Dakota. Ms. Hunt now lives in Florida.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

School Library Journal

Gr 4-8-Irene Hunt's Civil War novel (Berkley Pub., 1986) takes listeners from the first shots fired at Fort Sumter to Lincoln's assassination as seen through the eyes of a Southern Illinois farm boy. Jethro Creighton is nine when his close knit family learns that hostilities have broken out. As numerous male relatives go off to fight for the North and the South, and after his father falls ill, young Jethro takes responsibility for the family farm. With help from an older sister and neighboring farmers, he copes with attacks from local vigilantes, and he makes mature choices about a cousin who has deserted the army. Hunt artfully transforms her grandfather's childhood experiences into a powerful story of family love and the challenges of war. He also weaves a great deal of historical information into this Newbery Honor Book, and adds a generous measure of old-fashioned country wisdom as well. Terry Bregy provides a reliable, low key narration of the descriptive text. Cassettes and case are sturdy and well marked, with simple, but effective cover art. Recorded Books' audiobook of Across Five Aprils (March 2002, p. 85) is narrated by Tom Stechschulte whose voice has a stronger regional sound and provides more distinctive voices. Audio Bookshelf's version, also available in CD format, is strengthened by placing a valuable author's note at the beginning of the story. Either recording of Across Five Aprils will be a valuable addition to libraries where nonprint material on the Civil War is needed.-Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library. Rocky Hill, CT Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.