Jayhawker - Hardcover

Beatty, Patricia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688098509 ISBN 13: 9780688098506

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 1991

Synopsis

In the early years of the Civil War, teenage Kansan farm boy Lije Tulley becomes a Jayhawker, an abolitionist raider freeing slaves from the neighboring state of Missouri, and then goes undercover there as a spy.

About this title

About the Author

Patricia Beatty was born in Portland, Oregon, and was a longtime resident of southern California. After graduating from college, she taught high school English and history, and later held various positions as a science and technical librarian and also as a children's librarian. She taught Writing Fiction for Children at several branches of the University of California.

Patricia Beatty is the author of many popular and award-winning children's books, including such NCSS Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies as Eight Mules from Monterey; Behave Yourself, Bethany Brant; Turn Homeward, Hannalee; Be Ever Hopeful, Hannalee; and Jayhawker. Her novel Lupita Maņana is a Jane Addams Children's Book Award honor book, and Charley Skedaddle won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- To 13-year-old Elija "Lije" Tulley, the fanatical abolitionist John Brown is a hero in a righteous cause. He eagerly joins the band of men recruited by Brown to be Jayhawkers, Kansans who cross into neighboring Missouri to steal away slaves and help them to freedom. The Jayhawkers and their pro-slavery counterparts, the bushwhackers, clash often in bloody, sometimes murderous shootouts. In one such confrontation, Lije's father is killed, and Lije is recruited to live among a group of pro-slavery activitists as a spy. He learns about the quasi-soldiers led by Charles Quantrill, a cruel and unsavory character, and he meets Frank James and his brother Jesse. The story reaches its climax as Quantrill's forces attack and burn Lawrence, Kansas, where Lije's family lives. The unquestionable star of this story is Lije, a thoroughly believable boy caught up in events beyond his control but wanting to do his part for a cause in which he believes. The historical figures who populate the story are equally well portrayed; they appear as flesh-and-blood characters, not just names out of a history book. Another strength of this novel is that it tells a fast-paced suspenseful story while presenting a clear picture of a crucial period in U. S. history. The violence is not overplayed, nor is the abolitionist side portrayed as totally good. There is one glaring error in the text. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 did not free all slaves in the United States, as the story says, but only those in states in rebellion against the Union. Other than this, the book is a solid piece of historical fiction that's sure to have strong appeal. --Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NC
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0688098509
• ISBN 13: 9780688098506
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 214