GENRE 5 - NIGHTJOHN

Paulsen, Gary. 1993. NIGHTJOHN. Delacorte Press: New York.

CHARACTERS
The characters in the story vary from a young child to adults. The main characters are a young girl, Sarney, and a man, John. They are very believable in their mannerisms, actions and voice for the time period. They are so real that the reader may experience a roller coaster of emotions as they progress through the book.

PLOT
The story is about slavery in the Southern part of the United States. John wants to teach the slaves to read and write because he believes that is the only way for the black person to break free of slavery. He says that the black people need to be educated to make decisions. Of course, at this point in history the slave masters do not want the slaves to be educated.

SETTING
The setting is a southern plantation in the United States. The main house, slave quarters, and breeding shack are described. The spring house is described as well as the chains that held the slaves for their whippings.

THEME
The topic of slavery is one that evokes various emotions in the reader depending on their background. The description of the treatment of the slaves and how they lived during this time is gut wrenching. It is a good reminder that we need to know history so it does not repeat itself.

STYLE
The story flows well as you read through the characters lives. The author captures the broken speech of the slaves as well as the owner’s words dripping with malice. The story brings forth many questions as to how slavery could have existed in the United States.

ADDITIONAL CRITERIA
There is no documentation as far as cited material. The only note is before the story begins,” Except for variations in time and character identification and placement, the events written in this story are true and actually happened.”.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Positive Reviews
Publisher’s Weekly - Starred
Children’s Literature
School Library Journal – Starred
The Horn Book – Starred
ALA Best book for Young Adults
ALA Notable Children’s Book
IRA-CBC Children’s Choice
American Bookseller Pick of the Lists