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The Glory Field -
Walter Dean Myers.
New York : Scholastic, [1996], c1994.
375 p.
Annotations:
- Reprint. Originally published: 1994.
Follows a family's two-hundred-forty-one-year history, from the capture of an African boy in the 1750s through the lives of his descendants, as their dreams and circumstances lead them away from and back to the small plot of land in South Carolina that they call the Glory Field.
State and Provincial Reading Lists:
- Virginia State Young Readers' Award, 1997 ; Nominee; High School Level, Grades 10-12; Virginia
Reading Measurement Programs:
Lexile, MetaMetrics, Inc.
Lexile Measure 800
Reading Counts-Scholastic
Interest Level High School
Reading Level 6
Title Point Value 14
Lexile Measure 800
Reviews:
- Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)
This book is an astounding fictional study of the African-American Lewis family traced through two hundred and forty years. Myers wrote this novel to express the changes he saw in the texture of life from one generation to another. He succeeds brilliantly because of the authenticity of his characters; from Muhammad, brought in leg irons from Sierra Leone, Africa, to Curry Island, South Carolina, in 1753, to his descendant, urban-dweller Malcolm, who blends techniques to compose his own kind of music in 1994, and battles to bring his drug-addicted cousin to their family reunion. Myers never lectures; he only creates a stage for his heros and heroines to tell history. His characters expose differences of culture and sentiment by their actions and decisions, while struggling against the societal constraints of each period. They all show love for, and pride in, a family that builds a reputation of self-respect and determination through successive generations. 1994, Scholastic, $ 14.95 and $4.99. Ages 12 to 14.Kathleen Karr (Children's Literature)
In the tradition of Roots, Myers's novel follows one African-American family starting with its patriarch, Muhammad Bilal, who came to America in 1753 aboard a slave ship, to the present day Lewis family. Generation-skipping vignettes focus on the struggles of this family to maintain both their dignity and their precious land base, the Glory Field on Curry Island, South Carolina. Critical turning points in African-American history motivate each short glimpse into the Lewis psyche: emancipation during the Civil War; emigration North to the cities; and the birth of the Civil Rights Movement. While some of the incidents cry out for a book of their very own, Myers has managed to sketch a valid portrait of the subject through his microcosm family. 1994, Scholastic, $14.95 and $4.99. Ages 12 up. Subjects:
- Afro-Americans--Fiction
Family--Fiction
| Language | Call Number | LCCN | Dewey Decimal | ISBN/ISSN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English (eng) |
[Fic] |
0590458981 (pbk.) : $4.99 9780590458986 9780590458986 |