GRASSHOPPER SUMMER

by Ann Turner ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1989

Turner re-creates a quintessential American experience--a pioneer trek to the Dakota Territory and the tragic loss of a harvest--through the eyes of characters so well drawn that the reader shares their perceptions as if for the first time. It's a wrench leaving Grandma and Grandpa in Kentucky, but Pa--embittered by the Civil War and weary of depending on his in-laws--is drawn west by hope. Cheerful Billy (11), an independent thinker who has secretly taught ex-slave Harold to read, is the first to delight in the prairie's beauty; narrator Sam (12)--sensitive, a traditionalist--is more apprehensive. From the parting, when Sam wants to weep ""thinking of Grandma in the kitchen with her fresh pies and us not there to eat them,"" Turner uses wonderfully telling, homely details to reveal character and emotion. Sam is often jealous of charming Billy, who threatens to outgrow him, yet many carefully wrought incidents draw them closer: sharing grief when a colt is lost in the Mississippi crossing; Sam rescuing Billy when he's left behind; building the soddy together. Ma, too, grows, making democratic friendships on the trail, quietly insisting on helping with ""man's"" work. By the time the grasshoppers come, the whole family has learned to cope, stand together, and survive; moreover, the crop's destruction--a disaster beyond their control--has given Sam new insight into what slavery meant to Harold. Not Wilder, not MacLachlan, but a beautifully written book, worthy to stand beside them.

Pub Date: May 1, 1989

ISBN: 0689835221

Page Count: 166

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1989

Categories: CHILDREN'S