Title: Girl in the Hay
Author: Brittany Canasi
Illustrator: Ludovic Salle
Publisher: Rourke Educational Media
ISBN:1681917742
In this historical fiction chapter book, the reader is taken back in time to the Civil War. The O'Neill's are a family with three children, Patrick, Sam and Julia, who work for the Walker's, a very wealthy family in Maryland. The O'Neill's are a poor Irish family who make ends meat by working for the Walkers. One day in the barn, Sam, who is a young boy, finds a runaway slave named Eliza. Sam talks to her and asks what she is doing here and promises to take care of her and not let her get caught. The Walker's son Levi gets drafted into the war, but they pay the O'Neill's to have their son Patrick go to war instead. Right after Patrick goes to war, his parents take the money that the Walker's gave them and move to New York for a better life and once they get settled, Sam and Julia will go with them. But until then, they are stuck working for the Walker's and for Mr. & Mrs. Blake, the two whole took his parent's position. Sam and Julia sneak Eliza into the Walker's house and hide her in the closet of Patrick and Sam's room. They bring her food and keep her safe and hidden. Until one day Mrs. Blake is on to something and plants books in the room. Sam's room gets searched, but Eliza is no where to be found, just her doll. Sam and Julia realize they are no longer safe and decide that they need to escape to New York, a free state, to be with their parents and for Eliza to be safe. Sam and Julia take Eliza with them and take the train to New York but not without some bumps in the road. Eventually they are reunited with their parents and Eliza becomes part of the family.
I thought this was a great story. It was easy to read along with and was not too challenging. It provided insight on the Civil War and what life was like for the poor and slaves. It showed how controlling the owner's were and how hard the poor had to work just to get by. The end of the story provided detailed information on the Civil War. This story is great for readers about 10-13 years old. I really enjoyed reading it and was able to follow along well. It was a light read that I had a hard time putting down. I gave it 4 out of 4 stars.
After I read your post, I feel like I want to read this book as soon as I can. I was always want to learn more about the American Civil War from the perspectives of the poor and the slaves. This book would perfect for children to read because they will able to fully comprehend the text.
ReplyDeleteI also really like books set during the American Civil War. This sounds like a really good book. I hope to be a History teacher some day and really want to use historical fiction as a way to enhance the curriculum. Thanks for the post, Beck
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