The Well: David's Story [Hardcover]

Mildred D. Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

From Newbery Medal-winner Mildred Taylor comes an unforgettable story about the Logan family, set a generation earlier than Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. David and Hammer are young boys in the early 1900s when all the wells go dry except theirs. During that long, dry summer the Logan boys learn that being men has more to do with using their brains than their fists.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Taylor's compact novella revisits the long-suffering Logan family, this time focusing on the boyhood of David (father of Cassie Logan from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry) In the early 1900s, all the wells in their part of Mississippi have run dry-all except for the Logans'. White neighbors come from miles around to collect water, but despite the Logans' generosity, they treat David and his family with enormous disrespect. When young Charlie Simms's taunting of the Logan boys turns physical, David's older brother Hammer chooses to retaliate-a move that causes him and his family pain from all sides. Taylor, obviously in tune with these fully-developed characters, creates for them an intense and compelling situation and skillfully delivers powerful messages about racism and moral fortitude. This insightful read stands on its own, but will have a special resonance for fans of the series. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6?Another contribution to the Logan family saga, this is Father's account of an incident from his boyhood. During a drought in 1910, 10-year-old David Logan's family has the only working well in their part of Mississippi. They share their water willingly with both black and white neighbors, but white teenager Charlie Simms tests their generosity, goading David's older brother Hammer into a fight requiring restitution in the form of labor on the Simms's farm. Charlie and his brother get even for the disgrace of Hammer's beating by secretly contaminating the Logans' well with dead animals, only to be exposed and punished when a neighbor reveals their act. While David narrates, this is really Hammer's story; his pride and steely determination not to be put down are the source of the novel's action and power. Readers will feel the Logans' fear and righteous anger at the injustice and humiliation they suffer because they are black. As in The Friendship (Dial, 1987), Taylor has used her gift for storytelling and skillful characterization to craft a brief but compelling novel about prejudice and the saving power of human dignity.?Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Dial; 1st edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803718020
• ISBN-13: 978-0803718029
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,124,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the reading!, June 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Well: David's Story (Hardcover)

This book is great! I would love to teach this book during my internship this fall. I have always been fascinated with history. Mildred Taylor has such a smooth way in which she writes her books. Not only are they sad and depressing, but they are motivating and enlightening. Her many books illustrate how evil and selfish our country was and in some ways still is today. I really appreciate the positive, strong image that is portrayed with the Logan family. Nothing makes me happier.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Review : The Well, March 30, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Well : David's Story (Paperback)

The Well is a very compelling and resonant book by Mildred D. Taylor, the Newberry Award winner for Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. You will experience many emotions while reading this book, which are not limited to anger and sadness .The Well is set in the south during the mid 1910s, a time in which deep-rooted racism is practiced and where whites can do and say anything they please with abandon to blacks.
David Logan tells a poignant story of his boyhood in Smallsville, Mississippi when blacks could be hanged for considering themselves as equals to whites. The Logan family, the main characters in the book, are among few black families to own land. During an awful drought, they have the only well of sweet water in the whole town of Smallsville. The author eloquently describes how the Logans believe that the water is not theirs to hoard but gods gift to share with black and white folks alike. Everyone is grateful to the Logans except the white Simms family who hate being obliged to blacks. Davids family lives by his fathers words, use your head not your fists but his insubordinate hotheaded brother Hammer is sick of the constant degrading of Charlie Simses and when Charlie pushes his handicapped brother with bitter rancor to the ground, Hammer reacts and does the unthinkable.
The characters are quickly and clearly brought into life, the setting is vividly drawn despite the frequent but historical use of the N word. The large cast of characters is masterfully individualized with opinions, beliefs, personalities and ways of life. I personally gained tremendous admiration for Mildred D. Taylor as an author for making such a luring plot seem so stupendous in a small book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prequel to ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY, February 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Well: David's Story (Hardcover)

This slender volume provides an excellent introduction to BlackHistory; short, dramatic, empassioned. Tensions mount as two blackbrothers 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 sons of Old Man Simms, a vicious brute who encourages his sons to arrogance and violence. THE WELL is an excellent prequel to ROLL OF THUNDER, for young David 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 featuring the Black experience. END