Across Five Aprils

In 1964, author Irene Hunt (1907-2001) published the middle-grade novel “Across Five Aprils.” It’s the coming-of-age story of nine-year-old Jethro Creighton, the youngest of five brothers and a sister. They live and work with their parents Matt and Emma on a farm in southern Illinois.This coming-of-age story is set during the Civil War, beginning in 1861. It’s so well done, and such a good story, that it’s no wonder that it was runner-up to the Newberry Medal in 1965 (her second book, “Up the Road Slowly,” won the medal in 1966). In 212 pages, Hunt manages to tell both the story of the Creighton family and the story of the Civil War itself.Told from Jethro’s perspective, we watch what happens when the reports come of the fall of Fort Sumter. The oldest brother has not been heard from in years, having gone to California for the Gold Rush. Two brothers and the cousin who lives with the family join the Union army; Jethro’s favorite brother Bill joins the Confederate army. Jenny’s beau, the schoolteacher Jethro adores, eventually throws his lot in with the Union.While it is the story of the war and how his brothers fare, “Across Five Aprils” is also Jethro’s story and what happens back home. When Jethro is 10, his father suffers a heart attack, and the boy suddenly finds himself of being head of the family. Through Jethro’s eyes, we see the violence that happens in a region of conflicted loyalties, the impact of the war’s news on the family, and how the war meant unexpected struggles on the home front.The characters seem like real people. Hunt had a gift for characterization, and even the minor characters come alive on the page. Hunt based the story on the tales and letters of her own grandfather, who experienced the Civil War much as Jethro does in the novel. She also did extensive research in newspaper reports, government documents, histories, biographies, and memoirs.Hunt, a native of Illinois, taught English and French in Illinois schools and later psychology at the University of South Dakota. She returned to Illinois to become director of language arts at a junior high school. Including “Across Five Aprils,” she published eight novels between 1864 and 1985, and she won several awards for children’s literature. She died on her 98th birthday in 2001.After 60 years, “Across Five Aprils” has stood the test of time. It’s a riveting read as we watch, through a boy’s eyes, as the war unfold. The Creighton family will endure heartbreak and tragedy, fear and violence. But it is the family that endures.

I've heard this book recommended by many homeschoolers over the years as a must read during Civil War era history studies, and had purchased it for future use. Unfortunately when it was assigned the book was packed in boxes from our move so I bought the eBook version for the assignment! This fall I read this book aloud to my 7th grader as it was a parent-child discussion assignment.Set in southern Illinois, the story unfolds over five years, starting just before the Civil War and ending soon after the war ends. Jethro is the main character, a nine year old farmboy who is the baby in the family. Soon all his older brothers go off to war leaving his sister, he, and his parents to tend to the family farm which is a lot of work. Jethro's father falls ill and all the farmwork then falls to Jethro. Forced to grow up before his time given both the family's individual situation and the unrest in the country, this winds up being a coming of age tale. At the start of the story Jethro was a little boy and by the end he is a fourteen year old young man.Issues with the Civil War are debated and discussed in the story by the characters. An early situation is one of Jethro's brothers sympathizes with the Southerners and leaves the family to fight with the Rebels. This causes discontent, anger and hatred in the community, since they live in The North. Later the Creighton family is the target of hate crimes punishing them for the crime of the traitor son.Throughout the book we are informed of the happenings in the Civil War as the family hears news of various battles. Sometimes we read letters written by family members at the battlefront and other times we hear the opinions expressed in the newspapers. The opinions of the public about the Generals and President Lincoln are also shared as part of the story. I felt this showed that the issues were complicated and that even a family raised with the same values could not agree on which opinion was the right one. Later we wrestle with the issue of what should happen to soldiers who ran away from the battlefield and also what should happen to the traitors when the war was over.A subplot is the romantic love that develops between the fourteen year old girl and the schoolteacher who winds up fighting in the war. Her father had banned their marriage before he left to fight saying she was too young to marry. The girl matured in the war years and in the end we hope to see them united in marriage and hope he makes it through the war alive. (I'll not spoil the story...)I confess I am not a war story lover so in the parts that detailed the details of the battles my interest waned. However I was rivoted to the book and wanted to find out what happened to the Creighton family in the end. I would guess that any reader who likes battle details will be most interested in the book but honestly the story is solid and moves along quickly so even if you just want to know what happens to the individual people in the family and in the community you will enjoy the book.Character traits and virtues are clearly present in this historical fiction story. There is a lot to talk about regarding ethics and values as well as the topic of the Civil War. The book gave me a sense for what life was like for those who were both fighing in the war and those who were left at home struggling to make ends meet with most of the men in the family gone off to war.This is a solid, high quality historical fiction book that I think every middle school aged student should read, hopefully in conjunction with a study of The Civil War. I bet they'd learn a lot more by reading this than by reading a boring old textbook.

I really like history and country living. This story was very good in telling about how things may have been for both sides of this nation in a troubling time. I would recommend this story to your readers.

I bought this for my Grandson who was studying the American Civil war, he enjoyed it and would recommend it [he is age 12].

I recently re-discovered this book and was happy to find it available for Kindle. I remember my third grade teacher reading this book to us many years ago (in the 1970s), but at that time I was too young to really understand some of the conflicts going on with the Civil War. I thoroughly enjoyed re-discovering this book as an adult. It is certainly not an exhaustive record of the Civil War (nor does the author pretend for it to be), but the author weaves one family's story around that terrible war, telling it through the eyes of a young boy whose older brothers are divided between North and South because of their different idea of what was "right". This is an enjoyable read for anyone who wants to learn more about what life was like in the 1860s in the American farmlands. Well worth reading again!