Forty Acres And Maybe A Mule

Front Cover
Simon and Schuster, Nov 1, 1998 - Juvenile Fiction - 132 pages
2 Reviews
Could it be true? Pascal's runaway brother was back saying they were free! The slaves had been freed by President Lincoln! And besides, Gideon said, they could have forty acres of land and maybe a mule just for the asking. Gideon said land meant freedom.

That night Pascal, twelve, and his friend Nelly, eight, ran away with Gideon. They were going to get a farm. They had to hide lest they be taken back into slavery. Also, land didn't seem as easy to find as Gideon had thought. What did it mean if you had to run and hide, if you were crippled and couldn't do what others did?

Joined by other former slaves, Pascal, Gideon, and Nelly did find a farm. They even found a school that Pascal and Nelly could attend. They learned about dignity and the Freedmen's Bureau and the Union League and the Republicans. But they also discovered it was not easy for former slaves to stay free and to keep their land.

Based on the author's research about events in the South in 1865, this is the story of what might have happened to one small group of African Americans.


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LibraryThing Review

User Review - LibraryThing

Pasacal, a slave boy who's about twelve years old, was born with a withered hand and leg, so he never did heavy work. Now that the Civil War is over, Pascal and his older brother, Gideon, and nine year old Nelly, a slave from their plantation, decide to claim the forty acres and a mule being offered to former slaves. They don't get the mule, but they do get the forty acres, and Pascal is determined to help out in building their new home. Can Pascal, his brother, and little Nelly, who's like a sister to him, build a life outside slavery? This is a good book to talk about what the slaves faced outside of slavery. 

LibraryThing Review

User Review - LibraryThing

"40 Acres and No Mule" is the non-fiction complement to Giles' novel "The Enduring Hills." It is the true story of Janice Holt Giles' move from the big city -- Louisville -- to live with her husband and his family in rural Appalachia. Her account of their life on a hard-scrabble, but ultimately successful, farm is evocative and highly entertaining. The descriptions of how to cut tobacco, strip and grade the leaves, and hang them to dry makes your back and hands ache -- and your heart sing with as much satisfaction as if you'd done the work yourself. Highly recommended for everyone who would like a break from urban life, without actually having to give up the comforts and convenience we take for granted. 

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About the author (1998)




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