Day of Tears : A Novel in Dialogue

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Interesting story of historic slave auction.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that the way slaves are treated is disturbing -- they are beaten into unconsciousness, treated like animals with no feelings, and separated from their families. Readers will encounter the whipping of slaves, a forced fight in which a slave loses an eye, the death of a baby in a rainstorm, and a suicide.

  • Told through many differing voices, this book examines the issue of slavery in a unique and thoughtful way. Despite the difficult subject matter the anti-racism message is undeniably strong.
  • Pervasive racism, as whites discuss how blacks don't have theintelligence or emotions of whites, characters admire the KKK, and ingeneral treat slaves as animals or dimwitted children.
  • Whipping of slaves, a forced fight in which a slave loses an eye, the death of a baby in a rainstorm, a suicide, a son punches his father.
  • Not applicable.

What's the story?

In 1857, Pierce Butler, a plantation owner deeply in debt due to a gambling habit, held what became the largest slave auction in American history to raise the money to pay off his debts. Author Julius Lester takes this real historical event and tells the story through the eyes of those involved, black and white, both at the time and reflecting back on it years later.

Some of these characters are: Emma, a child slave who takes care of the Butler children and is sold despite a promise to her mother not to sell her; Sampson, a slave who believes in slavery and the inferiority of his race; Sarah, oldest Butler daughter, who takes after her mother in despising slavery; and Jeremiah, a white abolitionist conductor on the Underground Railway, who sets in motion more than he had planned.


Is it any good?

 

Julius Lester tells the story in the form of snippets of scripted dialogue, thoughts, flashbacks, and quotes from an historical pamphlet that gives the names and prices of those sold at this auction. Though it sometimes can be a bit confusing when read silently, the format makes the story very accessible to elementary-age children, as does the author's careful avoidance of the more sensational and lurid aspects of the story.

This format, though, creates an emotional distance that robs the novel of some of the raw power one might expect from the subject matter. The author skips from character to character, and time to time, never letting the reader identify too strongly with any one person. Perhaps the author felt this was necessary to avoid overwhelming young readers. In any case, this is a fascinating and engrossing look at a little-known historical event that encapsulates the institution of slavery.


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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about the historical background of the American slave system.

  • How could people who considered themselves to be good, decent peoplehave treated others in this way?

  • How could the slaves endure it?

  • Howcould Sampson, a slave, come to identify so strongly with being a slavethat he resisted freedom?


This review was written by Matt Berman
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
this book is a must read
this is a book u can really get a feel with. it cathes your eye and has your attention. i believe many young and old would really connect with this book. if there was a book i had to choose to do a report on it would this book. thank you julius lester for writting such a great book.

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Teen, 18 years old
December 15, 2010
 
e.g. Perfect for who ever wanna read it
this book is very good and awesome so i think if u wanna read this book you should read it

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Teen, 18 years old
April 9, 2008
 

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Teen, 18 years old
April 9, 2008
 
A must-read book for every 8 year old
The book was realy good and my teacher Ms. Petrin pick it out for our Language arts class,we read the book together and everyone thought it was a realy good book. we did vocabulary on the book and we also did true or false quizes on the book it took us about 15 days to complete the book.Julis Lester did a great job on the book.

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Teen, 16 years old
January 23, 2010
 
Love it. It teaches kids about slavery. And even though it's violent, I think that that's part of the point- the evils of slavery.

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Teen, 16 years old
October 20, 2009
 
new perspective
I really really enjoyed this book. There were some times where the racism made me mad, but it really gives you a new perspective on how people think. This book helps you to understand how hard it really was, and sometimes still is for people of different races to live with eachother. It really opends your eyes up

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
A discussion starter
I began reading this book in what began as sun filled morning with just a few clouds. As read the novel, it began to rain and my heart grow as somber as the tale Lester begins to tell. As a native of South Carolina and an African American I truly appreciate how this story weaves the history of blacks and their relationships with each other and whites of the times. This novel will begin a conversation of healing and understanding for a terrible time in American history.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
I was glad to read this book.
I had to read this book for an english class im taking, but I'm glad I chose this book because it was very well written and kept me interested.

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Parent of 5 and 12 year old
May 17, 2010
 
perfect for younger kids
I liked this bookIyhought that it somewhat helped my daughter get a better look on slavery

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Teen, 17 years old
January 18, 2009
 
i cried....alot
THIS BOOK IS MARVELOUS ITS GREAT IT ALMOST MADE ME CRY.... (SNIFF) (SNIFF) U'V GOT TO READ IT....

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This review was written by Matt Berman
Author:Julius Lester
Book type:Fiction
Genre:Historical Fiction
Publisher:Hyperion Books for Children
Publication date:February 5, 2006
Number of pages:177
Hardcover price:$15.99
Publisher's recommended age(s):9 - 12
Read aloud:9

This review was written by Matt Berman
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

 

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