Hard Times For Jake Smith
A Novel of the Depression Era
by Aileen Kilgore Henderson
It’s 1935 and the hard times of the Depression era are becoming more
and more real. Each day, coming home from school, something else is
gone. First the sow pig, then the cow, then the truck. On one wrenching
day the beloved hunting dog is sold. Finally the whole family packs up
in the car and leaves—the children wonder where, but their parents are
silent. Suddenly, the car stops at the edge of the road and Mother
leans into the back seat, giving Mary Jake a handkerchief with
something tied inside and the instructions to walk down the path into
the forest, take the left fork into town, and present the handkerchief
at the rock house.
So begins the adventure of a girl who chooses
her own in path (neither left fork nor right), dyes herself in a stump
full of walnut-colored water and becomes a boy for purposes of
disguise. Jake Smith soon meets Miz Bennett and hires on to help with
her garden and animals.
Acclaimed novelist Aileen Kilgore Henderson blends a driving
narrative with a gallery of memorable characters—among them the
traveling evangelist Miss Celestine and Confederate widow Miz
Bennett—for this rags-to-riches story of a strong young girl who meets
abandonment with courage and resilience.
Aileen Kilgore Henderson
Author's Bio:Aileen Kilgore Henderson grew up in Alabama and resides in Brookwood,
Alabama. She served in the Women's Army Corps in World War II as an
airplane engine mechanic and a photo lab technician. Her first book for
young readers, The Summer of the Bonepile Monster,
won the Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature and the Alabama
Library Association Award. Her second book for young readers, The Monkey Thief, was selected for the New York Public Library’s list of 1998 Books for the Teen Age. She is also the author of The Treasure of Panther Peak, which was placed on the Sunshine State Young Readers’ List.
Quotes:"This is a surprisingly moving, gentle story of redemption in hard
times. . . . Henderson eschews the caricatures of Appalachian poverty,
instead creating characters . . . who work to take care of their land
and to use what gifts and resources they have to realize dreams of
renewal for themselves and others. An author's note references general
circumstances and the author's personal experiences during the
Depression” —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
“Beautifully written by a child of the depression, this is a
splendid presentation of the challenged but often resilient human
spirit in that era. It also teaches the reader about medicinal plants,
meteorites, xeroderma pigmentosum, animal husbandry and more.”—Kliatt
“Children's
books have been getting progressively smarter recently. . . . Alabama
novelist and former Stillwater teacher Henderson doesn't dumb things
down, writing about violence and abandonment in moving and
straightforward prose. Her fourth book for local publisher Milkweed
Editions is an absorbing story.”—The Rake
“Brave,
resourceful, kind, and often funny, MaryJake is a character who grows
on you. You want her to succeed, to find peace within herself. . . . In MaryJake's story we find a message of hope. Even in
the worst of times there are moments of fun, of friendship, and
instances when good people end up finding happiness.”—Through The
Looking Glass Children's Book Review
“A good supplement to a unit of study on the Great Depression.” —VOYA
You may also be interested in this/these product(s):
Hard Times For Jake Smith
It's 1935, and the hard times of the Great Depression, it seems, are
here to stay. This engrossing novel tells the story of an abandoned
girl who chooses her own path. more...
$ 16.95
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Price:
$ 6.95
Binding: Paper
Availability In Stock: 160
immediately
Publisher: Milkweed Editions
Published: 2004
Size: 5.25 x 8
Genre: Intermediate Fiction/Intermediate Fiction/Intermediate Fiction
Pages: 216
ISBN: 9781571316493
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