The Land

Overview

The son of a prosperous landowner and a former slave, Paul-Edward Logan is unlike any other boy he knows. His white father has acknowledged him and raised him openly-something unusual in post-Civil War Georgia. But as he grows into a man he learns that life for someone like him is not easy. Black people distrust him because he looks white. White people discriminate against him when they learn of his black heritage. Even within his own family he faces betrayal and degradation. So at the age of fourteen, he sets out toward the only dream he has ever had: to find land every bit as good as his father's, and make it his own. Once again inspired by her own history, Ms. Taylor brings truth and power to the newest addition to the award-winning Logan family stories.

Editorial Reviews

Taylor's gift for combining history and storytelling are as evident here as in her other stories about the Logan family. This prequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry focuses on Cassies's grandfather, Paul-Edward Logan, and explains how the seeds were planted for feuds between the Logans and other families, as well as certain loyalties. Here, the author deftly explores double standards in the South during the years following the Civil War. She lays the groundwork for these issues to be examined through two key relationships in the childhood of Paul-Edward, a boy of mixed race: the strong bond he shares with Robert, his white half-brother, and a tenuous friendship with Mitchell, whose parents were born into slavery and whose father works for Paul-Edward's father. Through them, the hero becomes painfully aware of the indelible line dividing black and white society. Though it is acceptable that his father, plantation-owner Edward, keeps an African-American mistress and helps rear her children, Paul-Edward and his sister, Cassie, are not allowed the same privileges as their half-brothers. An incident of family betrayal and a broken promise prompts Paul-Edward to run away from home and pursue his dream to farm his own piece of land. After arriving in Mississippi and setting his sights on the acreage he wants to buy, he soon discovers that becoming a landowner of color is more complicated and dangerous than expected. Like any good historian, Taylor extracts truth from past events without sugarcoating issues. Although her depiction of the 19th-century South is anything but pretty, her tone is more uplifting than bitter. Rather than dismissing hypocrisies, she digs beneath the surface of Paul-Edward's friends and foes, showing how their values have been shaped by social norms. Here, villains are as much victims as heroes, but only those as courageous as the protagonist challenge the traditions that promote inequality. Even during the book's most wrenching scenes, the determination, wisdom and resiliency-which become the legacy of the Logan family-will be strongly felt. Taylor fans should hasten to read this latest contribution to the Logan family history, and newcomers will eagerly lap this up and plunge into the author's other titles. Ages 12-up. (Step.) Taylor's gift for combining history and storytelling are as evident here as in her other stories about the Logan family. This prequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry focuses on Cassies's grandfather, Paul-Edward Logan, and explains how the seeds were planted for feuds between the Logans and other families, as well as certain loyalties. Here, the author deftly explores double standards in the South during the years following the Civil War. She lays the groundwork for these issues to be examined through two key relationships in the childhood of Paul-Edward, a boy of mixed race: the strong bond he shares with Robert, his white half-brother, and a tenuous friendship with Mitchell, whose parents were born into slavery and whose father works for Paul-Edward's father. Through them, the hero becomes painfully aware of the indelible line dividing black and white society. Though it is acceptable that his father, plantation-owner Edward, keeps an African-American mistress and helps rear her children, Paul-Edward and his sister, Cassie, are not allowed the same privileges as their half-brothers. An incident of family betrayal and a broken promise prompts Paul-Edward to run away from home and pursue his dream to farm his own piece of land. After arriving in Mississippi and setting his sights on the acreage he wants to buy, he soon discovers that becoming a landowner of color is more complicated and dangerous than expected. Like any good historian, Taylor extracts truth from past events without sugarcoating issues. Although her depiction of the 19th-century South is anything but pretty, her tone is more uplifting than bitter. Rather than dismissing hypocrisies, she digs beneath the surface of Paul-Edward's friends and foes, showing how their values have been shaped by social norms. Here, villains are as much victims as heroes, but only those as courageous as the protagonist challenge the traditions that promote inequality. Even during the book's most wrenching scenes, the determination, wisdom and resiliency-which become the legacy of the Logan family-will be strongly felt. Taylor fans should hasten to read this latest contribution to the Logan family history, and newcomers will eagerly lap this up and plunge into the author's other titles. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Author Information

Bio of Mildred D. Taylor

Mildred D. Taylor was born in Jackson, Mississippi on September 13, 1943 and grew up in Toledo, Ohio. She received a Bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Toledo in 1965 and then spent two years in the Peace Corp teaching English and History in Ethiopia. She received a Master's degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado. During this time, she joined the Black Student Alliance and assisted in creating the black studies program at the university. After graduation and before becoming a full-time author, she worked for the Black Education Program as a study skills director. Using her personal experiences and family stories she heard while growing up, Taylor has created several historical fiction books that offer realistic portraits of African-American families in the mid-1900s. Her novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry won the Newbery Award in 1977 and was made into a television movie in 1978. The Well: David's Story received the 1997 Jason Award. She has also received the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Jane Addams Book Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, and the Christopher Award multiple times. She currently lives in Colorado. 030

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Additional Info

Imprint

Dial

Filesize

1.53 MB

Number of Pages

373

eBook ISBN

9781440617171

Awards

• ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Awards
• American Library Association Notable Books for Children
• Bluegrass Award
• Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award
• Coretta Scott King Awards
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award
• Georgia Children's Book Award
• Los Angeles Times Book Prizes
• PEN Center USA West Literary Awards
• Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books
• Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award
• Sequoyah Book Award
• Volunteer State Book Award
• William Allen White Children's Book Award