Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue

Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue

Julius Lester's novel, Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue, is a touching story of a young slave named Emma. She, along with her mother and father, work for Pierce Butler's family. Emma accompanies Pierce to a slave auction in order to care for his children. Despite his original intentions, Pierce breaks his promise to Emma's parents and sells her for a large price. While working on Mistress Henfield's plantation, Emma and her friend Joe often discuss the idea of being free and finally decide to make the dream a reality.

Day of Tears is a great inside look at the issue of slavery. Lester effectively captures the emotions, feelings, and attitudes of not only slaves, but also masters and the advocates for or against slavery. The writing style which he chose to use in this book allows the reader to become captivated by and absorbed in the story. Lester not only uses dialogue between the characters to tell Emma's story, but also flashbacks, inner character thoughts, and foreshadowing to bring this story to life. Furthermore, it is a quick read, yet it allows the reader to connect with and feel the emotions of the characters. It is also fairly easy to read and understand, making this book suitable for anyone grades 4 or above. Middle school students, especially, would be a good audience for this novel. I, personally, did not find objective material in it, but adults should be prepared to discuss and elaborate on the issue of slavery with young students who choose to read this book.

read

this is the best book i have basically read everybody has to read this i Julius lester did a great job

A 'Must Read' for All Students

This book is definately a 'Must Read' for all students studying American History and slavery. Sad but poignant, it is a true account with fictionalized characters of the largest Slave Auction in U.S. history. Gives a true sense of what it must have been like for the slaves, to be thought of as nothing more than chattel, bought and sold as livestock, with no with thought given to their feelings. An excellent book and very deserving of the nomination for the California Young Reader Medal.

Tears to your eyes

Lester, Julius. Day of Tears. New York: Jump at the Sun Hyperion Books for Children, 2005. Tears to Your Eyes *****outstanding Day of Tears is a book about a man that is deep in debt. He is trying to erase his debt by selling his slaves. This book explains how the slaves felt about being sold. This book is about the troubles and hardship that the slaves had to face and conquer. The conflict of the story is when Pierce Butler sells Emma and Joe to Mistress Henfield. Emma and Joe have to change to a different style of life. During the course of the book, it explains how Emma has to deal with her emotions while being separated from her family. I thought the book was really great. It has so many opinions, emotions, and hardships involved in it it will make you cry. Emma is a strong girl and has trouble dealing with her family being away from her. I really liked Emma. She was passionate about Pierce Butler¿s children like the time when Sarah was crying for her mother. Emma dropped what she was doing and rushed to comfort Sarah until Sarah went to sleep. In my opinion, all of the characters were fully developed. I really connected with Emma throughout the whole story

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