Witness

商家名称	信用等级	购买信息	订购本书
		Witness
		Witness

基本信息·出版社：Scholastic Paperbacks
·页码：168 页
·出版日期：2003年03月
·ISBN：0439272009
·条形码：9780439272001
·装帧：平装
·正文语种：英语
·外文书名：目击证人

内容简介 在线阅读本书

Leanora Sutter. Esther Hirsh. Merlin Van Tornhout. Johnny Reeves . . .These characters are among the unforgettable cast inhabiting a small Vermont town in 1924. A town that turns against its own when the Ku Klux Klan moves in. No one is safe, especially the two youngest, twelve-year-old Leanora, an African-American girl, and six-year-old Esther, who is Jewish.In this story of a community on the brink of disaster, told through the haunting and impassioned voices of its inhabitants, Newbery Award winner Karen Hesse takes readers into the hearts and minds of those who bear witness.
作者简介 KAREN HESSE won the Newbery Medal for Out of the Dust, and was recently named a MacArthur Fellow. Ms. Hesse and Ms. Watson previously collaborated on the picture book, The Cats in Krasinski Square, whichreceived three starred reviews as well as numerous awards and Honours. She lives in Vermont with her husband.
编辑推荐 Amazon.com Review
It is 1924, and a small Vermont town finds itself under siege--by the Ku Klux Klan. Using free verse, Newbery Medal-winning author Karen Hesse (Out of the Dust) allows 11 unique and memorable voices to relate the story of the Klan's steady infiltration into the conscience of a small, Prohibition-era community. The Klan's "all-American" philosophy is at first embraced by several of the town's influential men, including Constable Parcelle Johnson and retailer Harvey Pettibone. But Harvey's sensible wife, Viola, and independent restaurant owner Iris Weaver suspect from the beginning that the Klan's arrival heralds trouble. As the only African Americans in town, 12-year old Leonora Sutter and her father try to escape Klan scrutiny, while 6-year-old, city-born Esther Hirsch remains blissfully unaware of the Klan's prejudice against Jews as she enjoys the Vermont countryside. And Sara Chickering, the lady farmer who has opened her home to Esther and her father, is torn between her own hidden biases and her growing love for Esther.

All, however, are galvanized towards action when a shadowy figure shoots at Esther and her father right through Sara's front door. Who would commit such an evil act? And is it too late to remove the poison that has insidiously leaked into their once tight-knit community? Part mystery, part social commentary, Hesse's historically accurate chronicle is a riveting catalyst for discussion that thoughtfully explores race and identity from every possible point of view. The free verse format and distinct characterizations also make Witness a perfect choice for library or classroom reader's theater productions. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
The author of Out of the Dust again turns language into music in her second quietly moving novel written entirely in verse. Here, 11 narrative voices chronicle actual events occurring in a sleepy Vermont town after the arrival of the Ku Klux Klan in 1924. Those victimized by the Klan include the families of Leanora Sutter, a 12-year-old African-American girl, and Esther Hirsh, the six-year-old daughter of a Jewish shoe salesman. Rounding out the portrait of the town are community leaders (an enlightened physician, a newspaper editor who moves from neutral to anti-Klan) as well as less prominent folk shopkeepers, a Protestant minister who are swayed into joining the white supremacist group. Their chorus of hatred rings loudly at first, but is tempered by their dawning realization of the severity of the Klan's punishment to their targets as well as the more rational, compassionate strains of the Klan's opponents. Hesse offers glimpses of the world at large through references to Prohibition, the Leopold and Loeb case and a letter Leanora pens to Helen Keller. The author distinguishes the characters (whose pictures appear in the front of the book) not only by their varying opinions but also by their tone of speech. The simpler, candid language of the two youngest cast members, Leanora and Esther, effectively crystallizes their gradual loss of innocence. Easily read in one sitting, this lyrical novel powerfully records waves of change and offers insightful glimpses into the hearts of victims, their friends and their enemies. Ages 9-12.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal
Gr 6 Up-In this remarkable and powerful book, Hesse invites readers to bear witness to the Ku Klux Klan's activities in a small Vermont town in the 1920s. Using free verse as she did in Out of the Dust (Scholastic, 1997), the narrative here is expanded to encompass the voices of 11 townspeople, young and old, of various races and creeds. The story is divided into five acts, and would lend itself beautifully to performance. The plot unfolds smoothly, and the author creates multidimensional characters, all of whom seem very real. One of the least sympathetic is an 18-year-old boy who begins the book by wanting to open a classroom window to let out the smell of the black girl. By the end, he is transformed by circumstances in a thoroughly plausible way. The writing includes vivid images, such as when Leanora, the black girl, sees a burning cross. She hides in a closet: "in that dark and narrow place,/i opened a hole for myself/but no matter how i turned,/the light from the cross/curled its bright claws under the door." It also includes some quiet yet irreducible moments that resonate long after the book is put down. The small details seem just right, and demonstrate that this is much more than a social tract. It's a thoughtful look at people and their capacity for love and hate.

Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From AudioFile
Newbery Medalist Karen Hess (OUT OF THE DUST) is an author who likes trying new things. She has written WITNESS as a drama, with a cast of characters that perfectly populate a small town in Vermont in 1924, just after the Ku Klux Klan has arrived. While the story is little hard to get into at first, this performance by a cast of 11 picks up speed after we begin to be able to identify the characters' voices (a problem the written book doesn't have). Pivotal character Esther Hirsh, a 6-year-old Jewish girl transplanted from NYC to Vermont, is given a sometimes irritating voice that sounds more mentally impaired than young. Still,the overall effect overcomes the drawbacks to pull listeners into the lively action, which includes a Klan shooting,a close call with a train, and the humorous exchanges between shopkeeper Harvey Pettibone and his droll wife, Viola. This listening experience is definitely worth having. M.C. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 5-9. Using real events, Hesse tells a story of the Ku Klux Klan in a small town in Vermont in 1924 in the same clear free-verse as her Newbery winner, Out of the Dust (1997). This time, however, she uses 11 different voices, each one distinct, including two kids who are new to town--Leonora Sutter, 12, who is black, and Esther Hirsh, 6, who is Jewish. Then there are various adult townspeople: the violent Klan bigots (who attack "those who are not like us" in the name of Protestantism and patriotism), the antiracist crusaders, and the bystanders. Most interesting is Merlin, 18, who starts off in flaming hatred but changes. Then there's the affectionate married couple--he's in the Klan; she's against it. Their comic squabbles about it are fun, until you realize how serious the issue is. The story is told in five acts, and, in fact, it will work best as reader's theater. It's more a situation than a straight narrative, with too many characters and too many plot threads that aren't fully developed. But Hesse's spare writing leaves space for readers to imagine more about that time and about their own. The voices personalize the history and reveal how events felt to different people: the daily hurt (like the circus sideshow, where it's fun to take shots at the "nigger's" head); the lure ("the kkk / is looking to rent the town hall for their meetings / why shouldn't they?"); the opposition that refused to allow the Klan to move in. Add this to the Holocaust curriculum, not because every racial incident means genocide, but because the book will spark discussion about how such a thing can happen even now. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
What Copeland created with music, and Hopper created with paint, Hesse deftly and unerringly creates with words... -- Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2001 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
"Hesse weaves together 11 distinct narrative voices to create a moving account of the Ku Klux Klan's encroachment on a small Vermont town in 1924."
-- Publishers Weekly (Publisher's Weekly ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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