The Story of Jonas [Hardcover]

Maurine F. Dahlberg (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Jonas has lived all of his thirteen years on a farm in Missouri, and even though he hears whispers about freedom, he thinks he’ll never try to escape. He knows what happens to slaves who attempt to run away. Besides, Master William has promised to make Jonas his personal manservant, and Jonas thinks fine suits and special privileges sound like a dream. But this dream is put on hold when, in 1859, Master William’s good-for-nothing son, Percy, decides to seek his fortune in the Kansas Territory gold fields, taking Jonas along as his cook and caretaker. Although Percy is a brutal master, Jonas is surprised to find that the other members of the wagon train don’t hold his views about slavery. Jonas even befriends a doctor’s daughter, who teaches him how to read. And with each word Jonas learns, he discovers that there are much bigger dreams a boy can have than being another man’s servant.
 
In this unforgettable novel, Maurine F. Dahlberg tells the story of a slave coming to understand his own worth.

 

The Story of Jonas is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–7—Thirteen-year-old Jonas, a slave on a Missouri farm, is sent to accompany Percy, his master's son, on an expedition to look for gold. When he returns after a year, Jonas will be trained by Ebenezer to become the manservant to Master William. Jonas is at once excited about his future and apprehensive about going with arrogant Master Percy. Dahlberg has written an unusual tale about slavery and the desire for freedom. The characters are interesting, although some have predictable traits. Percy, for example, is mean to Jonas and seems tough, but he actually lacks courage. As the group journeys west through the Kansas Territory, the teen discovers his own worth. Jeremiah Quincy, the leader, and Dr. Henry Yoder oppose slavery, but Dr. Yoder believes that helping slaves run away would be stealing. Mr. Quincy has no such reservations. Dr. Yoder's 11-year-old daughter teaches Jonas to read. When Jonas learns that Ebenezer was responsible for a friend's terrible fate after he tried to escape, he decides to run for his own freedom. This gripping tale, with its exciting twists and turns, is easily accessible and a fine companion to Shelley Pearsall's Trouble Don't Last (Knopf, 2002).—Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

A house slave on the Hoopers' Missouri farm in 1859, 13-year-old Jonas aspires to become his master's manservant when he grows big enough. Before that day comes, though, he is sent to accompany the Hoopers' ne'er-do-well son, Percy, to the goldfields in the Kansas Territory. Jonas proves his worth to their companions in the wagon train and, seeing new possibilities for his life, begins to dream of freedom. When Percy puts him in an unbearable situation, Jonas sets a new course for his future. Dahlberg paints a convincing picture of Jonas, who is surprised by what he finds in the broader world and increasingly hopeful that he can make his own way, given a chance. Though there are many stock characters, the attitudes and outlooks of the slaves in the opening scenes are sensitively portrayed. The ability to let readers feel the essential cruelty of slavery without scenes of excessive brutality makes this well-crafted, engaging novel appropriate for a middle-grade audience. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); First Edition edition (March 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374372640
• ISBN-13: 978-0374372644
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,404,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I don't remember a time when I didn't write! Even before I learned to write words, I drew picture stories. My sister and I read a lot and were always writing stories for each other. We also spent a lot of time playing make-believe--we were everything from horses to princesses--so I got plenty of experience "being" someone else and developing plots. When I was ten, I learned to play flute. Music, reading, and writing became my main activities outside of school.

I continued writing over the years, but I didn't sell any manuscripts until, after reading many World War II memoirs, I got the idea for Play to the Angel. I had never tried writing a book set in another time and place, and at first I was afraid to try. But as the story came together in my head, I knew I had to tell it. I loved researching and writing it. I found that writing a historical novel lets me "be" someone else in another time while still having my own life in today's world.

I was born in Fulton, Missouri, and went to college in Texas. I've lived a number of other places, including a village on a mountaintop in Germany. Now I live in Northern Virginia, with my husband, Randy, and our cat, Daphne, who's an Egyptian Mau. In addition to writing, I'm a full-time editor for a research corporation. Evenings and weekends, Randy and I are musicians. We play in a concert band and a German band, and often play in pit orchestras for local community theater groups.

Right now I'm working on an adult novel set in present-day Scotland. I have a lot more ideas for books I hope to write, both for adults and for young readers.