num_pages: 192
description: On March 2 and 3, 1859, the largest auction of slaves in American history took place in Savannah, Georgia. More than 400 slaves were sold. On the first day of the auction, the skies darkened and torrential rain began falling. The rain continued throughout the two days, stopping only when the auction had ended. The simultaneity of the rain storm with the auction led to these two days being called "the weeping time." Master storyteller Julius Lester has taken this footnote of history and created the crowning achievement of his literary career.Julius Lester tells the story of several characters including Emma, a slave owned by Pierce Butler and caretaker of his two daughters, and Pierce, a man with a mounting gambling debt and household to protect. Emma wants to teach his daughters-one who opposes slavery and one who supports it-to have kind hearts. Meanwhile, in a desperate bid to survive, Pierce decides to cash in his "assets" and host the largest slave auction in American history. And on that day, the skies open up and weep endlessly on the proceedings below.Using the multiple voices of enslaved Africans and their owners, Julius Lester has taken a little-known, all-true event in American history and transformed it into a heartbreaking and powerfully dramatic epic on slavery, and the struggle to affirm humanity in the midst of it.
language: English
title: Day of Tears
titlecomplete: Day of Tears (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Title)
genres: Fiction, African American, Teen, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Childrens, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Cultural
ratings_count: 4033
places: Savannah, Georgia, Georgia
awards: awardedAt: 1167638400000
name: Vermont Golden Dome Book Award, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Coretta Scott King Book Award
category: Author, awardedAt: 1199174400000
name: California Young Readers Medal
category: Middle School/Junior High
publisher: Hyperion Book CH