The Well: David's Story by Mildred D. Taylor

The Well: David's Story by Mildred D. Taylor was published in 1995, and it is a prequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. This 92 page book is the story of David Logan and his brother Hammer during a time of drought.

Their family has the only well in the area that hasn't dried up. All the people in their town are coming to use their water, but one family is racist and treats the Logan family badly.

As always, Taylor's writing is sublime. She puts the reader into the minds and shoes of her characters. I think this book holds up to current times as we have seen an increase in racist behavior in our country.

My only complaint with this story is that is isn't longer. This would be a perfect book to help a reluctant reader learn about the Jim Crow era and our nation's history of racism. If they like this book, they would be ready to read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and already be familiar with some of the characters. So, perhaps this little book is just the right length.

Michelle donated two Spanish books to our NICU book project.

Thank you, Michelle.

Read to a child today even if that child is you.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.