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Nightjohn

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 2,164 ratings · 305 reviews

"To know things, for us to know things, is bad for them. We get to wanting and when we get to wanting it's bad for them. They thinks we want what they got . . . . That's why they don't want us reading." --Nightjohn

"I didn't know what letters was, not what they meant, but I thought it might be something I wanted to know. To learn." -- Sarny

Sarny, a female slave at the Wall...more

Paperback, 112 pages

Published January 1st 1995 by Laurel Leaf (first published January 1st 1993)

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Mar 07, 2013 VJ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: slavery, historical-fiction, fiction

I'm reading my bookshelves in preparation of the purge. Thought I'd begin with something small and picked up Nightjohn.

It has been my regular reading experience to find the best reading in smaller texts. Ayn Rand was at her best in Anthem. Both Animal Farm and 1984 are brief, yet pack a punch.

Sarny lives in slavery and is, therefore, forbidden the knowledge of reading and writing. Nightjohn possesses this taboo knowledge, and insists that others in servitude should possess it as well, even thou...more

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Feb 25, 2009 Mr. Z rated it 4 of 5 stars

For such a short book, this story packs a powerful punch! Yes, in today's world, there is still racism and rampant unfairness as it relates to the color of one's skin. Many kids already know this based on their personal experiences and observations. While today's world still needs some fixing, this story will shock students into the even-uglier realities kids and adults of color faced during a time in which slavery was perfectly legal. This story tells one girl's nightmare of living on a slavery...more

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Jan 26, 2009 Irfan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: advisory

Night John is a very simple book which talks about the life of a slave Night John who affects the lives of others in the plantation that he is brought in. Specially the girl Sarny who starts reading and writing because of the affect that Night John has on her. This amazing is about the life of a slave Night John who is owned by Mr. Waller who is a very strict owner and beats his slaves for the most littlest things. This is told form the perspective of a young female slave who is just growing up...more

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May 16, 2013 Victor Guzman rated it 4 of 5 stars

I think "nightjohn" is a really good book. It starts of in a plantation where a young girl named Sarny who works in the plantation chewing tobacco to keep bugs away from growing plants. She is living in a place where she can’t and is not supposed to pray or know how to read and write. Who only gets fed a piece of pork fat. However, nothing stops them. Sarny's mom still prays with her head in a pot so no one can hear her. Then John comes along and changes everything. He starts teaching Sarny lett...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Arielle Banks rated it 4 of 5 stars

Genre: realistic fiction
Tags: history, slavery, african-american, troubled times,etc.

My review: I have read this book many times before and it has never gotten boring or old to me. Even though I enjoy it very much, I will give it 4.5 out 5 stars in ratings. I say this because it is a very powerful book and it explicitly tells me what my ancestors and others went through during slavery. I found it emotional and moving at certain periods. I think me watching the movie also influences my judgement...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Patrick Allen rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have no problem admitting that I have an extremely difficult time working with some literature. For those of you who have had the unfortunate experience of being in a classroom with me, you know it’s because I have a bad tendency to say very dumb things. Loudly. Because of this I both love and hate "Nightjohn." This is an amazing tool for teachers to use in the classroom, and one of the best explorations of power and fear that I have ever seen in young adult literature. It remains up to the te...more

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Mar 31, 2012 Jesse Beynon rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I felt like the characters were loyal to each other and helpful in a time of need. The reason I didn't give it more stars was because I wanted to see a greater character development with those that the book revolved around. I wanted to hear more about Night John and Waller. There are some scenes to be shy of if gore is hard for you to handle. This is about slavery in the south. Waller is a terrible slave owner that whips and punishes his slaves for no reason. He is so...more

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Mar 31, 2012 Shelisa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: english-420

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 30, 2011 Elizabeth Sciarra rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read this book when I was in middle school and did not really understand it until I just finished it as a college sophomore. At first the wording was a little tricky to understand, but as I got more in depth into the book and started picking up on how Gary Paulsen was trying to write it, it all began to click.

It only took me 45 minutes to read, but I enjoyed every second of it. When I first began reading the book I though the main character was a little boy, but as I continued, I found out it...more

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Aug 28, 2011 Nichole Petteruti rated it 4 of 5 stars

I think that the book Nightjohn is a great book for kids to read for two reasons- First, they get a very clear (and sometimes even a bit graphic) description of what life was like living as a slave. Secondly, they also gain an understanding of what a gift it is to be able to read and how important it is, and also what sacrifices some people would make to be able to read.
In the book the main character is a young girl named Sarny living on the plantation of the terrible master Clel Waller. She des...more

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Jul 18, 2011 Candice Torgerson rated it 3 of 5 stars

NightJohn by Gary Paulsen is about slavery before the Civil War. This story is told by Sarny who is a twelve year old brown girl who doesn’t know her birthing mother, but is raised by her mammy. Delie is the care taker of all the children in the Waller plantation and she is constantly taking care of those who get a slash of punishment from the master himself.
Whaler is a white inhuman master that is full of hatred and disgust. He works field workers to the bone and whips them to continue, he hang...more NightJohn by Gary Paulsen is about slavery before the Civil War. This story is told by Sarny who is a twelve year old brown girl who doesn’t know her birthing mother, but is raised by her mammy. Delie is the care taker of all the children in the Waller plantation and she is constantly taking care of those who get a slash of punishment from the master himself.
Whaler is a white inhuman master that is full of hatred and disgust. He works field workers to the bone and whips them to continue, he hangs blacks by chains by the spring house for lashings, or he stripped individuals of their clothes and put a leather collar on them to pull the horse carriage while his whip is breaking their skin on their backs.
When Whaler goes off to buy slaves, he returns home with John who is a tall black man with tons of whip scars that run from the top of his shoulders to the backs of his legs. When Whaler brings him into the plantation he is hooked to the horse carriage, naked, and just ran ten miles pulling his master. John then goes and works the rest of the day in the field. When the day work is completed all slaves return to the quarters where it is dark. They eat enough food to stay alive, but not enough to feel full.
In the middle of the night Sarny and John trade tobacco for learning to read and write. John teaches Sarny a few letters, enough to write the word bag. She began to write this word all over with excitement, until Whaler gets ahold of her. It is illegal for blacks to read, write, or even learn. Whaler gives the punishment to mammy by hanging her all day in chains then making her pull his carriage naked and punishment to John who confesses he is the teacher by chopping of his middle toes on each foot.
John and mammy take their punishment in stride. John gets prepared to run by making shoes and gathering lard with pepper to lead the human eating dogs astray. Most people in the quarters thought John would get very far until a few days go by and Whaler never catches him.
In the middle of the night, John comes back when the moon is covered by clouds and the stars are hidden and gets Sarny. He takes her far into the brush, brush so thick it covers the torching light. He takes her to where school is and where he meets other individuals. John becomes their teacher, to read, write, and learn.

This story was very hard to read at times yet kept my interest at all times. I would think this story is for older young children such as 9-12 year olds, due to the ideas and the brutal scene the author creates. It is amazing that a story can give such meaning to the word freedom.(less)

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Jul 12, 2011 Ricardo Bizarro rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ricardo Bizarro

Historical Fiction
Paulsen, Gary. NightJohn. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.
1993.
Pages 92

Awards: Indiana Young Hoosier Award; Texas Lone Star Reading List; Maine Student
Book Master List; ALA Best Books for Young Adults.

Summary:
NightJohn by Gary Paulsen is about a a young girls experience with a black slave named
Nightjohn. The setting is in the antebellum south, Nightjohn teaches a small slave girl
named Sarny to read and write. This new knowledge gets her and...more

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Mar 25, 2011 Tido rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sarny is born into slavery and separated from her mother at an early age. She's raised by Dealey who promises early on that nuthin too bad will happen to her young charge. Clel Waller who owns the plantation, is a cruel man, who sees the slaves only in terms of their monetary value. Life on the plantation changes when Clel buys Nightjohn a hulk of a man, with scars across his back from the whip. Branded as a troublemaker, Nightjohn has trouble earning the trust of the other slaves.

I recommend th...more

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Mar 23, 2011 Joy H. marked it as watched-film-only

Shelves: slavery

_Nightjohn_ by Gary Paulsen (1993)

Below is a copy of my post about this book at my group:
--------------------------------------------
Sometimes I see a movie and learn later that it was adapted from a book. For example, last night I streamed the movie, "Nightjohn" (1996), from Netflix and now I see that is was adapted from Gary Paulsen's young adult book, Nightjohn.

At the book's Amazon page, Publishers Weekly says:
======================================================
"Among the most powerful of P...more

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Feb 01, 2011 Zackery Busse rated it 5 of 5 stars

NightJohn is a very powerful, and very inciteful chapter book for children. It is not a positive, happy story with a fairy tale ending but rather the telling of a true story form a young slave girl's perspective during the slave age. The book is very graphic and very descriptive in its nature, but this is understandable when considering the topic at hand. It is difficult for me to even imaigine a time where people could be prosecuted and tortured for the simple "crimes" of learning how to read a...more

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Jan 23, 2011 Jennifer Anderberg rated it 3 of 5 stars

When I began this book, it was the first time I ever read a book that I had zero knowledge of. I had no idea what it was about as I began to read it so it was all a complete surprise. This book was one I picked at random from a list of books for the childrens' lit class I am taking.

This book was at times difficult for me to read, because of the wording used, it is written from the viewpoint of a poorly educated slave child and uses a lot of words that I am culturally unfamiliar with. When readi...more

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Nov 11, 2010 Jenna rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is not typical Gary Paulsen. However, that might not be fair since he has written hundreds of books and I have only read a handful. But, if you are expecting the typical boy-thrown-in-the-wilderness-survival-story-high-adventure, this is not it. This was a very short, but VERY powerful novel. Paulsen read countless slave narratives and combined the stories and experiences into this story of a young slave girl who falls in love with letters before she even knows what they are. One day a new...more

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Jul 11, 2010 Marie Neuner rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: race, young-adult

Snapshot: Sarny is a curious, 12-year old slave bound to Waller plantation. John is new to the plantation; he arrives naked, beaten and, like a horse, harnessed to a buggy. Sarny befriends John when he promises reading lessons in exchange for tobacco. He has experienced freedom in the North, but risks his life to come back to the South to start a night school and teach his people how to read and write.

“Hook”: This book is straightforward and easy to read. It’s also only 92 pages and full of gri...more Snapshot: Sarny is a curious, 12-year old slave bound to Waller plantation. John is new to the plantation; he arrives naked, beaten and, like a horse, harnessed to a buggy. Sarny befriends John when he promises reading lessons in exchange for tobacco. He has experienced freedom in the North, but risks his life to come back to the South to start a night school and teach his people how to read and write.

“Hook”: This book is straightforward and easy to read. It’s also only 92 pages and full of gripping and graphic details.

Challenges: Some dialect may be difficult for students. Also, the graphic images of and allusions to oppression, slavery, beatings, dismemberment and rape are more than tough to stomach. Paulsen does not hold back and students will have a lot of questions. Discussion about Africa, slavery, the US government and the Underground Railroad will complement this book and deepen student’s comprehension and appreciation of the literature.

Student in mind: I’d recommend this book to struggling readers and readers who may benefit from the instant gratification of finishing a book. I’d read this as a whole-class text because it is easy to read and model aloud, focusing on reading strategies and making connections.

Conference notes: What’s a “birthing mammy”? What is Sarny referring to when she says “the trouble”? Why weren’t slaves aloud to pray? What does it mean to be free? How and why did slavery exist in the US? Where else in the world did/does slavery exist? What is happening to John when Sarny first sees him on the plantation? What do all of Nightohn’s scars indicate? Why do slave-owners not want to buy slaves who have lots of scars? How do the slaves eat? Why don’t the slave-owners want the slaves to be educated? Is “the white house” the same as “the White House”? Re-read the dedication at the beginning of the book. Why do you think Paulsen keeps referring to the Waller’s home as “the white house”? What happened to the two slaves who ran away from Waller? Why didn’t Alice cry out when mammy was sewing her wounds? Why does mammy object to Nightjohn teaching Sarny? Why does she later smile when she sees him teach her the letter “H”? If you were Sarny, would you risk your life to learn to read and write? What about if you were Nightjohn? Would you come back south?

Level: 7-8
(less)

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Jul 11, 2010 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Snapshot: Nightjohn is a story about a slave named John and a twelve year old girl named Sarny. Nightjohn is an unusual slave for he knows how to read and he knows that they are bound by the words the white masters write on paper. One day John arrives to a new plantation and his new master tries to subdue him with no avail. Sarny observes this beautiful black man and immediately realizes that he is different. For a bit of tabacco John teaches Sarny how to read.

Hook: Nightjohn will interest stud...more

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Jun 17, 2010 Michael Kemp rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sarny is twelve years old and is a slave on a plantation. She describes the horrors of living in her situation; however, she admits that she didn’t realize how terrible her situation really was. Sarny accepts her situation, and she accepts that the whites are their masters. They equate themselves with animals. She learns the meaning of freedom, but she doesn’t really care because she doesn’t understand what good it would do.

The master of the house purchases a new slave, and his name is John. Joh...more Sarny is twelve years old and is a slave on a plantation. She describes the horrors of living in her situation; however, she admits that she didn’t realize how terrible her situation really was. Sarny accepts her situation, and she accepts that the whites are their masters. They equate themselves with animals. She learns the meaning of freedom, but she doesn’t really care because she doesn’t understand what good it would do.

The master of the house purchases a new slave, and his name is John. John comes in “bad”, as Sarny puts it. Some new slaves come in obedient and docile, but John came in naked, being forced to walk the whole way. He had scars from where he’d been whipped all over his back. She thinks that this means that he wouldn’t work hard because normally the ones with the marks don’t work. But this is not the case. John works hard and comes into the slave house and asks if anyone had tobacco, which she did. She doesn’t admit immediately that she has it until John offers to trade for it. She asks what he would trade, and he replies, “Reading.” For her tobacco, he teaches her the letters A, B, and C.

Sarny continues to learn and feels empowered by her newfound world. She writes her first word, “BAG” all over in the ground and makes the mistake of letting the master see. She won’t reveal the source of her literacy, nor will anyone else. The master harnesses Sarny’s mother to the carriage and whips her and makes her pull it. Finally John speaks up and admits that he did it. The master cuts off some of John’s toes as punishment. That night he ran and got away.

A while later John comes to find Sarny in the middle of the night and tells her to come with him. She goes, and John has clandestinely started a school where he’s going to teach literacy to the slaves that lived nearby.

This book gives a very detailed description of slavery in that time and how withholding knowledge was used as a form of subjugation. It shows how limiting it was for them to not have it because they couldn’t know things. Ideas couldn’t spread. But when John came, he itnroduced new ideas, and Sarny found her individuality. I would recommend this book.(less)

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Mar 26, 2010 Emilee rated it 5 of 5 stars

I took this review from http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~elbond/...
It was a horrifying look at the mistreatment of slaves. It opened my eyes and broke my heart.

Nightjohn is a story that is set in the south during the time of slavery. Based on an actual incident, Gary Paulsen tells about a young slave girl, Sarny, who it taught to read by another slave, Nightjohn. The book is very well written, complete with dialect that makes the book even more interesting to read. Nightjohn has escaped to the Nor...more I took this review from http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~elbond/...
It was a horrifying look at the mistreatment of slaves. It opened my eyes and broke my heart.

Nightjohn is a story that is set in the south during the time of slavery. Based on an actual incident, Gary Paulsen tells about a young slave girl, Sarny, who it taught to read by another slave, Nightjohn. The book is very well written, complete with dialect that makes the book even more interesting to read. Nightjohn has escaped to the North where he was taught to read, but he keeps coming back to the south to further educate the slaves of the plantations. Nightjohn meets Sarny and convinces her that she should learn to read. Knowing the consequences, each night after the others are asleep. Nightjohn teaches Sarny one letter. Nightjohn makes Sarny promise that she will never say or write the letters that he is teaching her. He tells Sarny, “To know things, for us to know things, is bad for them. We get to wanting and when we get to wanting it's bad for them. They thinks we want what they got. . . That's why they don't want us reading.”
Things turn bad when Sarny is caught by the master, Waller, writing letters in the dirt. After seeing Sarny writing letters in the dirt he questions Mammy, the lady that has taken care of Sarny. After denying that she knows how Sarny learned the letters he brutally punishes her. In this detailed scene of cruelty Nightjohn comes forward and confesses that he was the one that had taught Sarny the letters. Nightjohn's punishment is severe, having two of his toes chopped off. In the end Nightjohn does escape, but there is more, for the reader finds out that Nightjohn is truly a brave man that shows us that he is more concerned with the education of others that his own life.
The Kirkus Reviews said the Nightjohn was “a searing picture of slavery.” The School Library Journal added that, “Nightjohn should be required reading (and discussing) for all middle grade and high school students.” This book is highly recommended reading for everyone who wants some real life insight on slavery.

-- Jodi Stevens (less)

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Jan 25, 2010 Terri rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a reread for me. I was looking for something I could use in my booktalks with students that would demonstrate the importance of reading - it brings us knowledge, and knowledge is POWER! This book is a testament to the transformative power of reading and how others have gone before us (women, people of color, the poor) to secure for us the right to an education.

In "Nightjohn," twelve year old Sarny, a slave on the Waller plantation, tells of learning to read and its consequences. At this...more

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Dec 10, 2009 Charla Aranda rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 17, 2009 Emily Townsley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: english-420

Historical fiction/narrative based on a true story/

Nightjohn is about a 12 year-old girl, Sarny, who is a Slave on a plantation in the South. She has no blood family and lives among other slaves on the Waller plantation. One day a new slave, John, is brought in. While John appears to have nothing he comes to the plantation with the ability to read and write. Sarny has a powerful desire to learn and John begins to teach her. Paulsen isn't shy about showcasing the hard and often painful life of sl...more

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Jun 14, 2010 Jessica Leatham rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: english-420

This tells a powerfully simply story about a young slave girl who meets John, another slave who risks his life to teach others how to read. As she begins to learn the letters from him, her whole world is turned upside down. She starts to feel a hope that she might be able to transcend the awful things she sees each day through this education. This education, however, is challenged by many. Their master is a very cruel man who refuses to allow any of his slaves to learn how to read or write. When...more

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Dec 08, 2010 Danielle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: eng-420-elective

Genre: Fiction, Slavery, Freedom

Though Nightjohn is short, it has a very powerful message. The story is told from the perspective of a 12-year old slave girl named Sarny who sees a lot but is rather quiet. One of her greatest desires is to learn how to read and write, but her Mammy warns her that the master will cut off her thumbs if she does. When the Master brings home a new slave named John, Sarny befriends him and he begins to teach her the alphabet, which he once learned as a free man in th...more

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Apr 15, 2013 Jennifer Kozuch rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nightjohn... A bold and courageous hero! This book is definitely full of honor, hate and triumph. Nightjohn is told through the eyes of a young black girl who is a slave on a plantation. Her wits get her in trouble when she meets Nightjohn and ambitiously wants to learn to read despite the rules set by the white folks that run the plantation. I would use this book in a classroom, most certainly! I could see myself reading this book out loud (and enjoying it!) due to the harsh grammar portrayal o...more

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Apr 08, 2009 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, ya

I have heard about Nightjohn from many of my students who read it in middle school. Most of them really loved the book, and recommended it to me. I finally came across it in I Read It, but I Don't Get It, which I'm currently reading, so I thought it would be a good idea to read it before my book club meeting. This short, simply told novel is a powerful view of the horrors or slavery and the importance of education as a key to freedom. Yet, the main problem I have is that it seems as if Gary Paul...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Gale rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: black-history-ya

A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE IS A VERY DANGEROUS THING...

Set in the slave-owning 1850's this grimly concise novel narrates the impact of the arrival of John, a new slave on a modest plantation. He had actually escaped to the North to Freedom, but he chose to return surreptitiously--in order to teach other slaves how to benefit from the white man's secret weapon: How to Read! This skill was for whites only and jealouslsy guarded--absolutely forbidden among the slaves, and viciously punished. His first pup...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Candice rated it 4 of 5 stars

1. Genre: Historical Fiction Junior Book

2. Summary: This is during the time of slavery, about a young slave girl who meets a black slave man called, NightJohn, who teaches her to read letters. This story tells about this young girl's experience in the time of slavery.

3. Critique:
a) The greatest part of this book is the style that the author uses.

b) The language in the book matches the mood, characters, and time period in the book. The word usage in the book is appropriate with the historical...more

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About Gary Paulsen

Although he was never a dedicated student, Paulsen developed a passion for reading at an early age. After a librarian gave him a book to read--along with his own library card--he was hooked. He began spending hours alone in the basement of his apartment building, reading one book after another.

Running away from home at the age of 14 and traveling with a carnival, Paulsen acquired a taste for adve...more

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Quotes from Nightjohn

“To know things, for us to know things, is bad for them. We get to wanting and when we get to wanting it's bad for them. They thinks we want what they got . . . . That's why they don't want us reading.” — 0 people liked it

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