This was book #2 of the Logan series written by Ms Taylor. Although this book was more for children versus the first book "The Land" was it was still almost just as good. And although she didn't write in the beginning of this one this is what she wrote in the first pages of "The Land" and it applies to this book as well... "...Although there are those who wish to ban my books because I have used language that is painful, I have chosen to use the language that was spoken during the period, for I refuse to whitewash history. The language was painful and life was painful for many Africian Americans, including my family." So if your teenage child is reading this it may allow you to open up discussion to things (s)he may never have had to encounter in our society today (as far as the language). But she writes true to her words, if she had changed the language then the book wouldn't have been as Historically OR family accurate to be as good as it was!This is such a wonderful true story. Ms Taylor takes the stories she has grown up listening to from her grandparents and uncles-aunts and takes the story of her great grandpa AND her great grandma and combine them for this story! Knowing that made it even more wonderful. This is book 2 of this series of books. There are 8 books in this 'Logan' series which many people don't realize since book #4 apparently was Ms Taylor's first book she wrote for this series. Since it won awards and she had so much more history to write she took off with it and make it into a series. Some of the books are 'novels' and others (like this one) are smaller 90 page 'children's' books (looks like labeled for ages 7-11 according to Amazon) but as an adult I loved this book and am looking forward to continuing reading this series. Now with that being said... I am white and I nor any of my family have ever had to deal with what 'freed' slaves or a child from a mixed family has had to deal with. In reading this within the first few chapters my heart went out because the same emotions that was written within this book the first few years after the Civil War is the same emotions that one of my friends is dealing with with her mixed race granddaughter in today's society. I couldn't believe that these emotions are still the same today! In this book the Logan's a black family have the only usable well during a bad drought, they allow anyone to get the water because they believe it never belonged to anyone and the Good Lord gave it to them all. So black or white, didn't matter they shared with all. A white family who didn't have as much land or animals etc didn't like the fact they had to get water from them and their pre teen sons really wanted to have it out with two of the Logan children. This story is about them and what they went through during that summer simply because they were black children in a world where they should have been equal but wasn't. But the 'bad white boys' did get what was coming to them in the end. WONDERFUL story!
This was book #2 of the Logan series written by Ms Taylor. Although this book was more for children versus the first book "The Land" was it was still almost just as good. And although she didn't write in the beginning of this one this is what she wrote in the first pages of "The Land" and it applies to this book as well... "...Although there are those who wish to ban my books because I have used language that is painful, I have chosen to use the language that was spoken during the period, for I refuse to whitewash history. The language was painful and life was painful for many Africian Americans, including my family." So if your teenage child is reading this it may allow you to open up discussion to things (s)he may never have had to encounter in our society today (as far as the language). But she writes true to her words, if she had changed the language then the book wouldn't have been as Historically OR family accurate to be as good as it was!This is such a wonderful true story. Ms Taylor takes the stories she has grown up listening to from her grandparents and uncles-aunts and takes the story of her great grandpa AND her great grandma and combine them for this story! Knowing that made it even more wonderful. This is book 2 of this series of books. There are 8 books in this 'Logan' series which many people don't realize since book #4 apparently was Ms Taylor's first book she wrote for this series. Since it won awards and she had so much more history to write she took off with it and make it into a series. Some of the books are 'novels' and others (like this one) are smaller 90 page 'children's' books (looks like labeled for ages 7-11 according to Amazon) but as an adult I loved this book and am looking forward to continuing reading this series. Now with that being said... I am white and I nor any of my family have ever had to deal with what 'freed' slaves or a child from a mixed family has had to deal with. In reading this within the first few chapters my heart went out because the same emotions that was written within this book the first few years after the Civil War is the same emotions that one of my friends is dealing with with her mixed race granddaughter in today's society. I couldn't believe that these emotions are still the same today! In this book the Logan's a black family have the only usable well during a bad drought, they allow anyone to get the water because they believe it never belonged to anyone and the Good Lord gave it to them all. So black or white, didn't matter they shared with all. A white family who didn't have as much land or animals etc didn't like the fact they had to get water from them and their pre teen sons really wanted to have it out with two of the Logan children. This story is about them and what they went through during that summer simply because they were black children in a world where they should have been equal but wasn't. But the 'bad white boys' did get what was coming to them in the end. WONDERFUL story!
COOL WATER--HOT PREJUDICE!This slender volume provides an excellent introduction to Black History--short, dramatic, empassioned. Tensions mount as two black brothers repeatedly suffer at the hands of whites. The well itself, located on Logan property, becomes the only source of water for miles around during a heatwave. But the fact that the family generously shares with all its neighbors--regardless of skin color, with no thought for personal profit--does not endear them to the trashy progeny of Old Man Simms, a vicious brute who encourages his sons to arrogance and violence against Blacks. THE WELL is an excellent prequel to ROLL OF THUNDER, for young David Logan grows up to become Cassie's father. Land ownership is a prized family value, but the next generation continues to suffer social and legal atrocities from the Simmses. This is one suspenseful piece of historical fiction which focuses on the Black Experience in the American South. (February 2. 2012. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)
—Gale
My daughter's teacher planned to use this book as a tie-in to a multidiscinplinary unit on water, but ended up not using it because some parents objected to the presence of the n-word in the book. Naturally this type of censorship made me trot right out to the library to check it out, and I finished it quickly and will be reading it with my daughter next.Thought-provoking. Would help open up conversations about racism in America during early part of 20th century, and also about resource inequalities here and elsewhere in history and today.....
—Giedra
When I finished reading this book, I thought it was so realistic and depressing because it's sad to think that white people discriminated black peope even after they were free just like in the book when a white family called the Simses tells a black family called the Logans what to do just because they are black and the Simses are jealous at the fact that the Logans are the only ones with water so the kids from the Simses family poisoned the water with dead skunk, possum, and racoon just because they wanted to be the only people with the fresh sweet water because they thought they were better than the Logans because they are white.I learned that you shouldn't discriminate blacks and you shouldn't think that you should have better things and a better life because you are white.I learned that you should treat everyone equally because everyone is free.
—Nathalie Pena
