Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule »

Wendell Minor is the award-winning illustrator of dozens of picture books, including his own Yankee Doodle America, Robert Burleigh's Into the Woods, and Reaching for the Moon, written by Buzz Aldrin. Mr. Minor's work can be found in the permanent collections of such institutions as the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and the Library of Congress. He lives with his wife, Florence, in Washington, Connecticut. Visit Wendell Minor at www.minorart.com.

Winner of the 1999 Scott O'Dell Award

A Notable Children's Book in the Field of Social Studies

Maybe nobody gave freedom, and nobody could take it away like they could take away a family farm. Maybe freedom was something you claimed for yourself.

Like other ex-slaves, Pascal and his older brother Gideon have been promised forty acres and maybe a mule. With the family of friends they have built along the way, they claim a place of their own. Green Gloryland is the most wonderful place on earth, their own family farm with a healthy cotton crop and plenty to eat. But the notorious night riders have plans to take it away, threatening to tear the beautiful freedom that the two boys are enjoying for the first time in their young lives. Coming alive in plain, vibrant language is this story of the Reconstruction, after the Civil War.

Black Issue Review - Klara Fontaine

Forty Acres and Maybe a Muleis the story of two young brothers who set out with other slaves for the Freedman's Bureau, to receive their forty acres. For Pascal, one of the book's main characters, having land also means getting respect from the white man. The author's unique descriptions of events will certainly appeal to a child's sense of adventure as they learn about unity, courage, patience and most importantly, about believing in them-selves.