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The Listeners (Tales of Young Americans) Hardcover – Picture Book, September 8, 2009

by Gloria Whelan (Author), Mike Benny (Illustrator)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 49 ratings
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Ella May lives on a plantation but she doesn't live in the great house. She is a slave. It's dark in the morning when Ella May heads to the fields to pick cotton. And it's sunset when she comes home. But her day isn't done, not yet. Ella May still has important work to do. She's got to listen. Each night Ella May and her friends secretly listen outside the windows of their master's house. The children listen in the hopes of gleaning information about their fates and those of their loved ones. Who will be sold? Who will stay? The lives of slaves depended on the inclinations of their owners. They had no control over their daily lives or futures. But they could dream. And when the promise of freedom appears on the horizon, the children are the first to hear it. Gloria Whelan's other titles in the Tales of Young Americans series include Friend on Freedom River (Jefferson Cup honor book) and Mackinac Bridge: The Story of the Five-Mile Poem (2007 Michigan Notable Book). Ms. Whelan lives in Michigan. Mike Benny's illustrations have appeared in Time, GQ, and The New Yorker magazines. His awards include three gold and two silver medals from the Society of Illustrators. He also illustrated America's White Table. Mike lives in Austin, Texas.
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  1. Reading age
    6 - 9 years
  2. Part of series
    Tales of Young Americans
  3. Print length
    40 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Grade level
    1 - 4
  6. Lexile measure
    630L
  7. Dimensions
    11 x 1 x 9 inches
  8. Publisher
    Sleeping Bear Press
  9. Publication date
    September 8, 2009
  10. ISBN-10
    1585364193
  11. ISBN-13
    978-1585364190
  12. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gloria Whelan is a poet and the award-winning author of many children's books including Homeless Bird, for which she received the National Book Award. The Listeners is her third title in the Tales of Young Americans series. Her other picture books with Sleeping Bear Press include Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers (2008 Society of Illustrators Gold Medal winner); Yatandou (a Junior Library Guild selection); and Friend on Freedom River (a Jefferson Cup honor book). Ms. Whelan lives near Lake St. Clair in Michigan where you can often find her out walking.



Mike Benny's illustrations have appeared in Time, GQ, The New Yorker, and Sports Illustrated magazines. His awards include three gold and two silver medals from the Society of Illustrators. Mike lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Mary Ann, and children, Adele and Hank. The Listeners is his second book with Sleeping Bear Press. He also illustrated America's White Table, written by Margot Theis Raven, and Oh, Brother, written by Nikki Grimes and published by HarperCollins.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sleeping Bear Press; Illustrated edition (September 8, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 40 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1585364193
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1585364190
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 6 - 9 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 630L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 1 - 4
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 11 x 1 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 49 ratings

About the author

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Gloria Whelan

Gloria Whelan

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Gloria Whelan is the bestselling author of many novels for young readers, including Homeless Bird, winner of the National Book Award; Fruitlands: Louisa May Alcott Made Perfect; Angel on the Square; Burying the Sun; Once on This Island, winner of the Great Lakes Book Award; and Return to the Island. She lives in the woods of northern Michigan.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
49 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

zak
5.0 out of 5 stars Student Review!!
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2023
Verified Purchase
I teach 8th Grade English and I asked my students to review picture books related to slavery in the US as part of our unit on “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave.” The following review was written by some of my students.

5/5 Stars
The Listeners, by Gloria Whelan, is from the point of view of a young enslaved African American girl attempting to help her family. The narrator and her friends spend their sleepless nights outside of their masters window listening in on their conversations to report back to their families. It can be dangerous for them to sneak around the master’s property and they don’t always hear information they wish to hear, but they do it for their families. They hear news about losing their parents and a new boss as well as president Abraham Lincoln being elected. There are many ups and downs, but they never lose hope.
This book has the ability to reach many different audiences including young kids, teens, and adults. Enslavement can be a concept that is hard to grasp, but The Listeners is simplistic and easy to understand. The vivid images show the hardships and inside view of the life of an enslaved family. It was a fictional narrative with educational information about slavery that made it interesting to read even as young teens. We were engaged in reading the whole time and constantly wondering what was going to happen next. There was suspense, informative dialogue, and a clear message sent throughout the book. Overall, The Listeners gave valuable information and told a captivating story.
2 people found this helpful
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Brea B.
5.0 out of 5 stars This was a wonderful & gentle eye opener for my children
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2014
Verified Purchase
This story gave a hint of a sadness to my children they never knew. It opened their eyes but did it in a gentle way they could learn from. The point came across without all the horrors of that time. They also related better coming from a kids point of view. I recommend this for parents to teach from. It's our job to teach them to know better, to do better.
3 people found this helpful
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Daniela Bianchetti
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2016
Verified Purchase
Very good book. I love the story about slavery. My daughter learned about this part of history through kids eyes.
One person found this helpful
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Brittany Vellinga
4.0 out of 5 stars so sweet....
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2009
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I got this book for many reasons, but when I read it to my 5 children they too learned to appreciate the freedoms that we have now, and how important it is to just be still and listen......
2 people found this helpful
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Jane O
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story!
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2014
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I have used this book in my classroom. The kids loved it. This is a great kickoff to the Civil War!
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Anntoinette Angrum
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2013
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Adults need to read this book as well as children! This should be in every school classroom, grade 2 through 12th!
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Kathleen B.
5.0 out of 5 stars and they enjoyed it very much
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2014
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I read this book to my aging parents after dinner, and they enjoyed it very much.
2 people found this helpful
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JenniferB
5.0 out of 5 stars Strikingly beautiful
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2009
147 years ago today (September 22nd), the first Emancipation Proclamation was issued by American President Abraham Lincoln. This major, initial step towards ending slavery in America brought freedom to thousands of slaves the day it went into effect. The latest release in Sleeping Bear Press' Tales of Young American Series takes young readers back to a time when little girls and boys slaved all day long picking cotton, facing uncertain futures over which they and their parents held no control.

Written by the celebrated author of historical fiction for children Gloria Whelan, The Listeners relates the story of Ella May, a young slave girl. Told in the first person, Whelan's writing is careful and measured. Objectively and matter-of-factly relating the events of her life, Ella May speaks to us from Whelan's pen in cadences influenced by the speech of southern slaves. She calmly relates her daily routine and that of her family, days of hard work, poverty, and segregation that are followed by long evenings spent listening beneath the windows at the great house.

With no control over their future, and no access to outside news, or upcoming plans of the Master, Ella May and her young friends' listening trips are the community's sole access to vital information concerning their lives. Mike Benny's rich watercolour paintings are particularly evocative during the scenes of listening. The gap between the lives of the children in the great house and Ella May is strikingly exposed through Benny's artwork against Whelan's understated text.

Allowing children to draw their own conclusions, Whelan carefully creates scenes of segregation, lack of property, benevolent neglect, harsh taskmasters, forced familial separation, and other hallmarks of slavery. Still, her writing is appropriate for young children. Graphic depictions of violence are absent from the text and illustrations, as children are led into an experience of the injustices of slavery while avoiding the worst of its brutalities.

Particularly heart-rending is the segregated worship service, followed by a jubilant outdoor time of praise in the forest. Clinging to God's deliverance of the Israelites in the book of Exodus, they wait in anticipation of their own delivery from slavery. They wait for their own Moses.

By the book's end I was swept away in tears of hopeful sorrow. The joy exhibited by these people at the first glimpse of freedom at the beginning of a long road to their complete deliverance from bondage rendered me incapable of answering my children's questions as I sobbed. It is a rare occurrence for a picture book to move me so deeply, to dig into the caches of shared human experiences and longings that we all hold in common.

The Listeners succinctly captures a vital moment, a turning point, the first glimpse of dawn after a long, dark night. Made personal and accessible through Ella May's observations, this title is an unforgettable introduction to a painful, but likewise unforgettable period in history

A free downloadable teaching guide from Sleeping Bear Press usesThe Listeners to further explore the themes of democracy, equality, and the Underground Railroad. Extension activities are provided for language arts, geography, and more.
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Top reviews from other countries

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スムージー
5.0 out of 5 stars Civil right
Reviewed in Japan on October 17, 2010
Verified Purchase
放題は「ぬすみ聞き」。子供たちが自らの仕事として窓辺に座って、夕刻ご主人様をぬすみ聞く。
嬉しいことも悲しいことも、一番に耳にする子供の心の変化が胸にグッときます。
英語のレベル、内容ともに高１くらいの力で理解できると思います。公民権運動を理解する1冊として、ぜひお勧めの1冊です。
歴史を単なる歴史で終わらせないために。
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