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Witness

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Read by a full-cast
Approx.2 hours
2 cassettes
Leanora Sutter, Esther Hirsh, Merlin Van Tornhout and Johnny Reeves are among the unforgettable cast inhabiting a small Vermont town in 1924. A town that turns against its own when the Ku Klux Klan moves in. No one is safe, especially the two youngest, twelve-year old Leanora, an African-American girl, and six-year old Esther, who is Jewish.
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  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Newbery Medalist Karen Hess (OUT OF THE DUST) is an author who likes trying new things. She has written WITNESS as a drama, with a cast of characters that perfectly populate a small town in Vermont in 1924, just after the Ku Klux Klan has arrived. While the story is little hard to get into at first, this performance by a cast of 11 picks up speed after we begin to be able to identify the characters' voices (a problem the written book doesn't have). Pivotal character Esther Hirsh, a 6-year-old Jewish girl transplanted from NYC to Vermont, is given a sometimes irritating voice that sounds more mentally impaired than young. Still,the overall effect overcomes the drawbacks to pull listeners into the lively action, which includes a Klan shooting,a close call with a train, and the humorous exchanges between shopkeeper Harvey Pettibone and his droll wife, Viola. This listening experience is definitely worth having. M.C. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from October 15, 2001
      Hesse's (Out of the Dust) powerful, history-inspired novel about the Ku Klux Klan's encroachment on a small town in 1924 Vermont becomes a riveting audiobook as performed by a stellar cast. The story—told in poetry, in the voices of 11 characters—is surprisingly easy to follow; listeners are introduced to each distinctive character voice at the outset and are soon caught up in the strong narrative rhythm, able to discern who's who. Fine showings from Heather Alicia Simms (When Kambia Elaine Came Down from Neptune) as Leonora Sutter, a 12-year-old African-American girl, and Jenna Lamia in the role of six-year-old Esther Hirsh, a Jewish immigrant child, anchor the proceedings and give this production its heart. Colorful supporting characters, some with evocative New England accents, subtly and effectively draw listeners into Hesse's thought-provoking themes. At program's end, listeners are treated to bonus material: a meaty interview with Hesse conducted by author and children's book historian Leonard S. Marcus. Hesse reveals, among other things, her inspiration for the book and her research methods. Ages 12-up. Simultaneous release with the Scholastic hardcover, reviewed in Children's Forecasts, Aug. 20.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from February 10, 2003
      PW
      wrote in our Best Books citation, "Hesse weaves together 11 distinct narrative voices to create a moving account of the Ku Klux Klan's encroachment on a small Vermont town in 1924. Told completely in verse, her quietly powerful novel addresses the inevitable loss of innocence that accompanies the fight for social justice." Ages 9-12.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from August 20, 2001
      The author of Out of the Dust
      again turns language into music in her second quietly moving novel written entirely in verse. Here, 11 narrative voices chronicle actual events occurring in a sleepy Vermont town after the arrival of the Ku Klux Klan in 1924. Those victimized by the Klan include the families of Leanora Sutter, a 12-year-old African-American girl, and Esther Hirsh, the six-year-old daughter of a Jewish shoe salesman. Rounding out the portrait of the town are community leaders (an enlightened physician, a newspaper editor who moves from neutral to anti-Klan) as well as less prominent folk—shopkeepers, a Protestant minister—who are swayed into joining the white supremacist group. Their chorus of hatred rings loudly at first, but is tempered by their dawning realization of the severity of the Klan's punishment to their targets as well as the more rational, compassionate strains of the Klan's opponents. Hesse offers glimpses of the world at large through references to Prohibition, the Leopold and Loeb case and a letter Leanora pens to Helen Keller. The author distinguishes the characters (whose pictures appear in the front of the book) not only by their varying opinions but also by their tone of speech. The simpler, candid language of the two youngest cast members, Leanora and Esther, effectively crystallizes their gradual loss of innocence. Easily read in one sitting, this lyrical novel powerfully records waves of change and offers insightful glimpses into the hearts of victims, their friends and their enemies. Ages 9-12.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:5
  • Lexile® Measure:0
  • Interest Level:K-3(LG)

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