Silent Thunder: A Civil War Story
Publication Information
Author:  Pinkney, Andrea Davis	Illustrator:
Title:  Silent Thunder: A Civil War Story	Date:  1999
Publisher:  Hyperion	City:  New York
ISBN, paperback:  078682388-7	ISBN, hardback:
Recommended audience:
ABE/ABLE:   Yes	ESOL:
Family:   Yes	Young Adult:   Yes
Picture:
General Information:
Book Type(s):    fiction, historical fiction
HSE Descriptor(s):    social studies
Summary:
The book is set on a Virginia plantation in 1862. Eleven-year-old Summer and her older brother Rosco live with their mother on the Parnell Plantation as talk of President Lincoln's coming proclamation to free slaves reaches the community. Each of the main characters harbors a "silent thunder" or secret passion that creates family tensions.
Teaching Ideas:
Surely this book belongs with study of the Civil War. The characters are well developed, and historical information is skillfully interwoven into the fiction. After the notion of "silent thunder" is introduced (about a third of the way into the book), learners may want to select a character (or two) and keep track of evidence of the character pursuing his/her desires. Issues related to family may also provide a focus for discussion or writing, as may differences in perspective between the adults and the children or between the families of Kit (slave mother) and Clair (plantation owner's wife). Teachers might consider pairing this book with I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly by Joyce Hansen since they both deal with similar issues of forbidden literacy and power shifts with the coming freedom of slaves. A story map or sequence of events chain would be a good visual representation of events. Students could also chart Rosco's trip on a map.
Keywords: select any link below for a list of resources which also have that keyword
Ethnic Groups Ethnic Groups > African-American Education > literacy Emotions-Personal Issues > emotions > determination/perseverance Emotions-Personal Issues > emotions > love Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Southwestern United States History > topic > war > Civil War > plantation life Family > extended family History > region > U.S. history > well-known people > Douglass, Frederick

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