One child out of a hundred will love this book above all others. The other 99 won't make it through the first chapter. Although I already knew an awful lot about the Civil War, I learned a little from this book. More importantly, the way the main character was written gave me a new perspective on what I already knew. I was also glad that Keith didn't wimp out on the action, and described it with realism. I think he had me after first mention of lice.This is very well written. In fact, it's probably the first Newbery winner that's written professionally enough for an adult audience, and not just well enough for the kids. The most conspicuous aspect of the book is the impeccable research that went into it and the way that historical and geographical details are seamlessly woven in to strengthen the narrative. The book is action-packed, and Keith's characters feel like real people.Any Newbery winner before 1970 requires a diversity inspection. Rifles for Watie holds up remarkably well on this front. Although the first Cherokee character speaks with some stereotypical Tonto grammar, that impression is quickly erased by the variety of carefully drawn Creek, Cherokee, and Choctaw characters. Howard Keith spent considerable time interviewing Cherokees for this book, and it pays off with depictions of realistic people living on many different levels of Cherokee society. In fact, the Tonto grammar is probably based on the speech of someone he interviewed.The portrayal of African Americans is more mixed. Although there are a number of these characters, and they present a variety of personalities and attitudes, they all speak with servile "Yassuh, yassuh," slave jargon. I have no doubt that most Southern blacks spoke this way in the 1800s, and that some still spoke this way when this novel was written. Although Keith makes an effort to describe the slave/master social system, he doesn't do it with nearly the thoroughness that he applies to Cherokee society. The result does not fully explain why African Americans spoke that way in the first place. I also wish that Keith's physical descriptions didn't focus quite so much on rolling, bugged-out eyes.As a side note, the "n" word gets used a few times in ways that I would describe as historically accurate and appropriate to the sophistication of the rest of the book. A reader who understands the rest of the book will understand that this word is a reflection on the character using it, and not on the author's personal vocabulary.I enjoyed this book so much that I want to find someone to share it with. I think the right audience for this would be a young man in at least 5th grade who loves action and history and is not intimidated by a 300+ page book.
There are few reasons why I wanted to read this book. One, it was highly recommended to me by my sister. Two, is historical fiction (about the civil war). And three, it is based in the mid-west which is mostly ignored during the civil war, except when they mention "Bloody Kansas" for one paragraph in the textbooks. It was a bit long and it took me a while to read but it was well worth it. Hoping to prove himself and defend his home Jeff leaves to enlist as a soldier in the Union Army. He has this idea that going into battle is an adventure. Basically the plot is Jeff finding out what war is really about but still perseveres. Throughout the book Jeff becomes part of the infantry, cavalry, he's a scout and I'd say more but that might gave something away. It's surprising how long and short the book felt at times. I can feel how much work was put into this book. The amount of research must of been tremendous; like details from the terrible confederate coffee to the military jargon. The weather is described, the uniforms, even the terrain. However, I didn't feel it was an overload of detail as some authors do. What really makes the book though is Jeff. Is there a guy like that out there anymore? I kind of doubt it-unless we include the Amish...maybe. He grows up so much during the war, but unlike some other books I've read with war he still tries. Yes, he learns that war is not an adventure and it isn't all it's cracked up to be but he still keeps true to what he knows is right. Jeff does become more somber but not altogether hopeless. As easy as it may be, he isn't extremely bitter though he knows not everyone is fighting for the things he is. Jeff is just so so so...good. I know that a lot of people like the bad boy type but I think good guys are more appealing.
Do You like book Rifles For Watie (1987)?
This was quite a bit better than I thought it would be. I wasn't enthusiastic about beginning it, but do want to read all or most of the Newberrys.One reason that I enjoyed this book so much is that most of the action takes place at or near where I grew up. And to think that the fantastic schools never mentioned this in 12 years of schooling. Unbelievable. This is a whole new aspect of the Civil War that I was completely unaware of. When I think of the field trips, the real, hands-on "history happened here" events that we could have received, it just about makes me mad. Ok, I'm over it.This book covers a lot of history and a lot of battles without ever seeming like it's teaching. And the characters are round,and to top it off, our main character, Jefferson Davis Bussey, a 16 year old Kansas boy who joins the Union, actually grows to know that there is more than one side to a story regarding the war.We get a whole lot about the Indians involved in the war, which again, I was totally ignorant of, and understand why they involved themselves in the conflict.
—Michiel
Jefferson Davis Bussey joins the army, and when he spies on the South, is a) pulled into the struggles of the Civil War, b) goes through three dogs in four years, and c) falls in love - with a rebel. This was a good passage:Jeff craned his neck around, anxiously watching the hound behind him. "Noah, don't let 'em lose my new dog. He wouldn't dare go back to Texas now. They'd stand him up before a firing squad and shoot him full of holes. Is he coming?" Noah looked back over his shoulder. "He shore is. Like the heel flies was after him. Runs easy, too. Looks like he could go all day without a drink. He seems to think he's yore dog all right. Ugly as galvanized sin, ain't he? Where'd you take up with something as raunchy-lookin' as that? Jeff grinned. "It's a long story," he said.
—Nisha
Five stars for this Civil War historical fiction winner set in Kansas and Missouri, both states part of the western front of the war. Jefferson Davis Bussey, a Union private (despite his name), enters the war after Missouri Bushwackers torment his family in his beloved Kansas. Jeff’s story is believable, from his ignorance of military vocabulary when he joins the Federals to his falling in love with Lucy Washburne, a Rebel Cherokee young lady, as well as from countless details in between. This reality comes not only from Harold Keith’s careful research and frequent battlefield visits, but also from memories of Civil War soldiers themselves, from the author’s interviews with aging Civil War veterans as he completed his master’s thesis in the 1920’s. The book is credited with “an authenticity rare” for children’s literature before 1958.Full of memorable characters who grow (or not) throughout the book, “Rifles” shows sympathy and criticism for both the North and the South. We witness moral dilemmas, numbing fear, both deep and glancing pain, and also simple and complex joys through Jeff’s eyes and heart. Noah, Heifer, Lucy, Jimmy, the despicable Captain Clardy, and Stand Watie himself are people from both sides of the war who help Jeff mature nobly as he strives to serve to the best of his ability wherever the tragedy of the Civil War takes him. Jeff makes some decisions foolishly, but the most difficult ones with wisdom and goodness that we wish for those we love. I have read most of the 93 Newberys; "Rifles for Watie" is in my top-ten-most-deserving category. For middle school students and older, it makes both history and human nature shine.
—Kathi
