History

Like A River: A Civil War Novel

Title: Like a River: A Civil War Novel
Author:  Kathy Cannon Wiechman
Publisher: Calkins Creek (April 2015)

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With the country at war with itself, Kathy Weichman creates a story that gives us a glimpse of life during the Civil War in this coming of age story about 15-year-old teens Leander, from Ohio, and Polly, from West Virginia. Leander enlists in the army to prove to others he is a man, and a motherless Polly does too because she refuses to be left behind by her father when he joins the Army to help keep the Union whole. Through a twist of fate, their lives cross while they navigate death, loyalty, friendship and survival. Through the author’s historical research and authentic voice, readers experience life in Civil War Army camps, a makeshift hospital, the misery of imprisonment in one of the largest Confederate military prisons, Camp Sumter at Andersonville, and the devastation brought by the Sultana explosion two weeks after the war ended. A great story to introduce one of the most difficult periods in American history to tween and teen students.
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ResourcesEducator’s Guide for Like a River: A Civil War Novel

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