This book tells the story of a family of cemetery keepers during 1862 in the mist of the battle between the Union and the Rebels. The story goes through the life and emotions of this family during this rough time as well as the aftermath. The story ends with president Lincoln dedicating a century and making his now famous Gettysburg address. Overall I found this book to be more boring than anything. Given the material and topic I expected more however it does a very good job at tell the given story. I think this would be a good to book to have students read. ( )

I thought this book was still a good book although it did not interest me. The pictures on each page helped with the storyline however I do not like cemeteries or anything spooky. This book also is very informative historically, which is also a subject that does not interest me. Students who do like learning history would definitely enjoy this book. The theme of this is to inform about the Civil War. ( )

There are a few particular reasons why I enjoyed reading this book. This book describes a family and what they had gone through during the time of the Civil War. The story is based on a true story told by the eldest son’s point of view. The first reason why I liked this book was that it was very descriptive. The mother’s sadness is described, “Mama’s mouth was a frown, while thick smoke darkened the sky from July-blue to a strange gray”. The author did an excellent job with portraying every emotion that a character was feeling. The second reason I enjoyed this book was because of the illustrations. I thought the illustrator, Laura Francesca Filipucci, brought the illustrations to life. Before the book even begins, there is a map of Gettysburg that shows different places around the area. That gives the reader background knowledge of the area before they begin reading, which I found very useful. The big idea of this book is to show what people could’ve gone through. It depicts a very important event in history while trying to push the reader into thinking what it must have been like for families during that time. ( )

This is a book about life living and working as a cemetery keeper during the Civil War. After a young boy's father has to go off to war, his mother becomes caretaker of the cemetery. Their town is raided by Confederates and he realizes the terrors and fears of war. He must help his mother piece back the cemetery after it's all over. ( )

Summary:
This was a great book about the Civil War and told about a few events that occured. The narrator is a young boy, Fred Thorn, with two younger brothers. His parents are cemetery keepers and live in a house right by the cemetery. His father had to go to war on the Union side, so Fred was left in charge of his brothers, pregnant mother, and the cemetery. His grandparents had to come and stay with them while his father was away and they helped with the cemetery as well. After awhile, the rebs came to the cemetery and begged Fred's mother to feed them, so she did. The rebs still did much damage to the town and cemetery even after she took care of them. Fred had to take his family into the cellar to protect them at one point, but they were forced to leave their house. When the war was over, they went back to the cemetery to find it completely destroyed with men and horses killed everywhere.
Personal Reflection:
I loved this book. It was very detailed and explained many events. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Classroom Extension:
1. This would be a great book to explain the Civil War to students.
2. This woulod also be a great book to show the students how much life has evolved and how much hard work Fred used. ( )