Books with title ACROSS FIVE APRILS -TEMPO

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.

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.