Silent Thunder

by Andrea Davis Pinkney

In 1862 eleven-year-old Summer and her thirteen-year-old brother Rosco take turns describing how life on the quiet Virginia plantation where they are slaves is affected by the Civil War.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Civil War, Fiction, Middle Grade, Historical, Young Adult, American History

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 1999

About the author

Andrea Davis Pinkney is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 books for children, including the Caldecott Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Honor Book Duke Ellington, illustrated by Brian Pinkney; Let it Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book and winner of the Carter G. Woodson Award; and Alvin Ailey, a Parenting Publication Gold medal winner.

Pinkney's newest books include Meet the Obamas and Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride, which has garnered three starred reviews and has been named one of the "Best Books of 2009" by School Library Journal. In 2010, Andrea's book entitled Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down, was published on the 50th anniversary of the Greensboro, North Carolina, sit-ins of 1960.

Her mother is a teacher and her father is a great storyteller, so growing up surrounded by books and stories is what inspired Andrea Davis Pinkney to choose a career as an author. The first official story she remembers writing was in second grade — it was about her family. Pinkney was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Connecticut. She went to Syracuse University, where she majored in journalism. After college, she followed her dream and worked as an editor for Essence magazine, but after watching her husband, Caldecott Award-winning artist Brian Pinkney, illustrate children's books, she decided to switch jobs and became involved in book publishing.

Andrea Davis Pinkney currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/andrea-d...

Reviews

[Alyssa Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silent Thunder is about a brother and sister who work as slaves in the southern United States during the start of the Civil War. It’s told from each of their viewpoints, so it was nice to have two narrators for each viewpoint and helped me quickly transition to each one’s story when listening to the book. Both of these characters dream of bigger things for themselves.

A lot of the complexities of slavery and the issues surrounding the Civil War are a bit simplified to accommodate the younger audience of this book, but it still hits on important issues, like how slaves were treated, how slave owners fathered children with their slaves, and the sometimes brutality of slave owners. It also showed how situations completely depended on the temperament of the person in charge; a slave could have okay living conditions or live in hell based on who was in charge. For the most part, the characters Summer and Rosco lead lives that are the best they could be under slavery; their master isn’t overly harsh or demanding. However, Summer dreams of being able to have an education, especially to read. Rosco, on the other hand, dreams of going up north to fight in the Union armies to help free all the slaves.

Overall, I liked this book and think it’d be a great addition to a classroom library to help students learn more about slavery in the southern United States and give them a glimpse into issues about the Civil War. The narrators did a great job for this audiobook; the great narrators are ones you hardly notice any details about, because they just immerse you into the story and that’s exactly what I experienced while listening to this book.

Also posted on Purple People Readers.

[Samary Morales · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to have in the classrooms. It teach the students a bit about slavery and how it was while back. The book is about a 12-year-old slave, Summer, and her 13-year-old brother, Roscoe. They find out from a wise old slave named Thea, that everyone has a "silent thunder." Summer wants to learn how to read,which is forbidden, but Roscoe is still teaching her. Roscoe, along with his friend Clem, wants to run off to war. When their slave master becomes sick, they all have to come together to keep everything running. Then, when Missy Claire, the slave master's wife, has her brother come, Roscoe and Clem run away. The women are at a party, serving, and they don't find out until later.

[Rebecca Cordova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. The author got inspiration from civil war era photographs of unknown slave children. She wondered about who they were, what were their lives were like and she created the characters of Summer and Roscoe based on those unknown children.

The details of her writing enable you to be able picture the sights and sounds of the events and time period. It allows you to step back in time and relive a piece of American history.

[Charity · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't the best book about the South during the US Civil War that I've read, but it has some very poignant scenes and does a good job of showing how the lives of white people and the Black people they believed they owned were woven together. The edition I read was converted to ebook format poorly and had weird mistakes like double Ls turned to Ds, which was distracting.

Another title from Build Your Library curriculum level 6 booklist.

[Laurie D'ghent · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was just okay for me, probably because I've read better. It is a children's book, so I appreciate that it wasn't graphic or anything like that.

[Gabriela Montes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. Although the language wasn't that descriptive, the images put into my head were pretty vivid. Both of the voices of the narrators were very strong, and everything was generally well-written. But, it could have been better. The fact that Gideon Parnell was Summer and Rosco's dad was not surprising at all. That might be just me, because I read Jefferson's Sons, another book about mixed-race enslaved children. In general, everything was actually quite predictable, but I saw some places where it could've been unpredictable. For example, it was always clear that Rosco was going to run away with Clem, even when he was doubting it. Some red herrings could've been put there, things that could've prevented him from going. Overall, this book wasn't bad at all, but it could have been even better.

[TerynE · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read SILENT THUNDER by Andrea Pinkney I really enjoyed this book, because this book seemed realistic, and had some actual true things in it ab slavery. The meson characters of this story and the setting is Rosco and his little sister Summer on a plantation in Virginia. This story is about the struggle the slaves had with holding in what they really want their “silent thunder” which is what they really desire. This boy and girl will learn the hard way about slavery and life and find out some awful truths. This book was recommended to me by a friend and I suggest you read it too.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat gentle account of an enslaved family right around the time of the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. It felt a little young for the 6th grade level in which it was assigned as an independent reader (Build Your Library), and it didn’t really hold our interest. It had some poignant moments, though. I feel like I’ve read better stories focusing on southern enslavement but maybe not at this particular moment in history, so there’s that. I also really loved the portrayal of love between brother and sister, so sweet.

[Alex Le · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a somewhat good book, but it was very slow paced, it took some time to get into the more interesting bits of the story. Silent Thunder is about Summer, an eleven year old girl, and Rosco, her brother, but it seems their dreams are too far out of reach. They are slaves on a Virginian plantation, the year of 1862. Summer wants to read and write more than anything else, while Rosco wants to join the Union Army so he can fight for the cause to allow all people to be free.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book alternates chapters by two siblings, slaves in Virginia in the time period leading up to the Emancipation Proclamation.

Probably a good introduction without anything being too intense. It is interesting to see the differences between the two siblings, who even though only two years apart have a bigger difference in experience and maturity.

I like the variety between the various parents, all with flaws, but different ones and different levels of love.

[Linda Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book about how slaves might have felt during the Civil War for children. The end seemed a little rushed and I though the character of Summer seemed a bit babyish for how a true slave girl of her age would historically be.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Appreciated the inclusion of the truth of faith.

[Layna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good but I feel like the ending was rushed too much

[Elsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect homeschool read aloud

[Broca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about slavery during the Civil War, but this story takes place in a plantation near the edge of Virginia.I really like this book because I really felt like I was in this time zone of history. Also the book is really descriptive of how the slaves feel and what they're doing like chores for the owners of the plantation.

This book is about a slave family that has their fair share of ups and downs but when Summer is learning letters from her older brother named Rosco she has to keep a secret from her mother because she doesn't agree about learning how to read because something bad could happen to her if she lets the world hear her secret, but when Rosco hears about the emancipation proclamation he and his friend Clem have to gain there freedom.The theme of this book is that it doesn't matter if your skin tone or how you look is different everyone in this world is equal.

I would recommend this book to people who love history , and people who like learning about slavery during the Civil War, why because most of this story talks about the lives of slaves and what they do for the owners of the plantation.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful historical fiction story about a brother, Roscoe, and sister, Summer who are slaves on a plantation. I listened to this on CD with my 7 and 9 year old, and as they didn't know much about slavery, they had a lot of questions. Summer and Roscoe live with their mama and Roscoe is secretly teaching Summer to read. This is her silent thunder...something she feels passionate about but must keep hidden as it is illegal for slaves to read. I really liked the description of what silent thunder is...and felt deeply saddened that each slave had to keep his/her silent thunder hidden. Summer and Roscoe are fortunate to have a relatively gentle master, so the book was not too graphic for my children but still showed some of the evils and injustices of slavery. My daughters and I all enjoyed this book, and they learned quite a bit from it.

[Miss Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

gr 5-9 211 pgs

1862 Virginia. Told in alternating chapters by 11 year old Summer and 13 year old Rosco, brother and sister who are slaves on the Parnell Plantation. Although set during the Civil War, the events of the war seem far away from the daily life of the characters. Each character hides a secret desire, a "silent thunder". Summer wants to learn to read despite her mother's worries of what will happen if she gets caught. Rosco longs for freedom. The story follows the characters as they struggle to obtain their "silent thunder".

Great story with a lot of information about life on the plantation.

[Terrie Landsberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read was Silent Thunder. The author is Andrea Davis Pinkney. It was a historical fiction. It was a book about slaves. It was around the time that Abraham Lincoln Was president. The slaves where going threw some hard times. The main characters are Summer, Rosco, and Kit. I rated this book a 4 out of 5. I rated it that because The book was very interesting and exiting at times but at other times it was lazy and made me wont to fall asleep.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told in alternating viewpoints between a brother and his younger sister, we understand slavery through their eyes. The "silent thunder" (deep desire that each person has inside)was a wonderful motif. These siblings' experiences of slavery was not as harrowing as in other slavery-related novels, so might be a good start for a younger and/or more sensitive reader.

[Bish Denham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to give this book 3 and half or 4 stars because for the most part I liked it. I thought the alternating chapters between the Summer and her older brother Rosco was well done. The differences in their experiences, how they see things, is clearly told through their individual narratives.

And... I was very disappointed with the ending. It seemed rushed and unfinished to me.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich story.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how it wasn't too much civil warish. Has good characters and i like how it switches between 2 characters as a new chapter begins. it gives u a different angle and look at the story.

[10-11 hannah childers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Silent thunder was'nt a really good book. It was more of a diary and it switched back and forth to many times.

[Jasmine Roberson]

a great story about the civil war and african american- a little girl and boy. the girl wanting to read
great first chapter book and classread for history

[Boo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book.

[Andreia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories about slavery are always tough for me to read....but necessary. I don't believe in ignoring a reality that existed and in some places still exists

[Deborah Harris]

AR Quiz No. 36396 EN Fiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: MG - BL: 5.4 - AR Pts: 7.0
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP, VP

[Laura Hoyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another civil war era book that I enjoyed- was sad to have it end when it did.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like the ending because there weren't enough details on how they escaped.

[JellyBeansBro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books on this topic. this was such an extravagant book!