Brandon Redenbaugh

Across Five Aprils

By: Irene Hunt

Number of pages: 160

Published: 1993

This book takes place on a beautiful farm in southern illinois in 1861.

There is civil war that broke out between north and the south. The main
characters in this story are Jethro, Ellen and Matt. Ellen has 2 young boys Eb
and Tom, which work on the farm by milking cows to plowing the fields and
also they help harvest the crops. Because civil war has broken out, Ellen is
worried and sad, but the younger boys, Eb and Tom, are overly eager and
confident. Eb and Tom will do anything to help the soldiers in the war any
way they can. They are very eager to learn about the war and what had
happened, so Shad the local school teacher who is in love with Jenny goes to
newtown to get the latest news from the paper then conforms the family
about the latest news on the confederate army. The news was, the
confederate army fired on Fort Sumter.

In the late summer, Tom and Eb leave the house so they can fight the
war, which brings news of another northern defeat. In 1862, there is a
northern victory in Tennessee, and Ulyssess S. Grant makes himself famous
by those who have read the newspapers.