From the Newbery Award-winning author of Across Five Aprils and Up a Road Slowly comes a tale of a brave young man's struggle to find his own strength during the Great Depression. In 1932, Americans' dreams were simple: a job, food to eat, a place to sleep, and shoes without holes. But for millions of people these simple needs were nothing more than dreams. When he was just fifteen years old, Josh had to make his own way through a country of angry and frightened people. This is the story of his struggle to find a life for himself during those turbulent times.
Southern Illinois is a place of mixed emotions as the American Civil War erupts. For the Creightons, the war lures two sons to the Union army and one to the Confederacy, leaving 10-year-old Jethro to care for the family farm.
As the war rages, Jethro does whatever he can to learn about the fates of his brothers, while the Creighton family faces its own danger. Some townspeople can't forgive the Creightons for having a rebel son-and they're willing to use violence to make their feelings known.
In a state torn by conflicting loyalties, Jethro is forced to grow up quickly to preserve his family and their home. Across Five Aprils is a powerful classic from Newbery Medal-winning author Irene Hunt.
Tom Stechschulte's homespun narration brings out the spirit and courage of a boy who shoulders a tremendous load--and becomes a young man in the process.
Julie would remember her happy days at Aunt Cordelia’s forever. Running through the spacious rooms, singing on rainy nights in front of the blazing fireplace. There were rides in the woods on Peter the Great, the races with Danny Trevort. Maybe best of all were the precious moments alone in her room at night, gazing at the sea of stars. But there was sadness too—the painful jealousy Julie felt after her sister got married, the tragic death of a schoolmate, and the bitter disappointment of her first love. Sometimes it all seemed like too much to handle. Julie was having a hard time believing life was fair. But she would have to be fair to herself before she could even think about new beginnings.
“A book of distinction.”--Saturday Review
Author Irene Hunt, who won the Newbery Medal for her novel Up a Road Slowly, went to live at her grandfather’s farm in Illinois after her father’s death in 1914. Her grandfather’s stories of his boyhood during the Civil War became the basis for this compelling novel, Across Five Aprils. Although young Jethro Creighton never witnessed a battle, his life on the family farm in southern Illinois was shattered by the Civil War. He was nine years old in 1861 and over the next five years, he would learn that war deeply affects lives well beyond its gruesome battlefields. Join with narrator Terry Bregy as he brings to life one boy’s story—how Jethro grows from a sensitive, carefree child to a man before his time, learning to face each day with courage and finally, hope.
“Outstanding”--AudioFile
Georgie Burgess has known only neglect and abuse during his seven and a half years of life. His alcoholic mother does little to prevent the bruises and scars inflicted on Georgie by her brutal boyfriend. With each blow, the little boy withdraws further into his dreams. When he wins a small rose bush in a lottery, it seems as if one of his dreams has finally come true. But after a particularly savage beating, he is taken from his mother and placed in a home for boys. Surrounded by strangers, and with the rosebush as his only link to the world, both the boy and his treasured plant must learn how to grow and thrive. Irene Hunt has written many books for young people; she has won both a Newbery Honor and a Newbery Medal for her work. Drawing on her professional background in psychology, she creates a heartwarming tale of emerging trust and hope in The Lottery Rose.
