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The format of the book made it easy to read,  as did the descriptive language. There was a lot of imagery and strong emotion throughout the whole story.

A few parts of the book struck us as particularly powerful or significant. Listed below are some of the highlights

Several times throughout the book, slave owners and other white people discount the idea that slaves have emotions. Characters say things like, "Their emotions are not as refined as ours. Things that hurt a white man or woman don't affect them" (19). This recurring concept can offer a thought-provoking discussion.

Mr Henry asks two characters the same question, and their answers are exactly opposite. When asks if he ever thinks about being free, Sampson answers no. He elaborates by saying that his Mistress takes care of him, and he doesn't have to worry about food or shelter, that freedom is too hard for black people. When Joe is asked the same question, he doesn't speak, but he thinks, very enthusiastically, "Mr. Henry, get me across that river right now!" (116). The contrast between these two characters' attitudes creates an interesting conflict.

Mr Henry shows Joe what the letter A looks like using pieces of wood on the floor. He asks Joe to look at some writing on a sack and see if he can find a letter A. When he finds it, he says "I ain't never had a grin on my face like I had at that minute. I could read. Leastaways, I could make out one letter" (118). Joe is so excited by something that seems so basic and uneventful for us: knowing the first letter of the alphabet. This reinforces the distinction created between the slaves and the white people during the time period.

Fanny Kemble's reflection at the end of the book provides insight to her character, while also giving closure to the whole story. She was not an active character throughout the book, but she is very influential to the main character, Emma. She affects Emma's life while she is on the plantation, and when she is in the North. At the end, she says, "I had not given a thought to what a difference it can make when you treat another person with simple respect and dignity, the same respect and dignity you want for yourself' (165). This is such a powerful, timeless message.
-Corrin Christopher

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Day of Tears has 4 major plot points for the reader to engage with:

1. Emma’s life and love for Sarah and her service on Master Butler’s plantation

2. Emma’s sale to Mistress Henfield and the emotional response or lack thereof from Emma, Frances and Sarah

3. Emma and Joe’s escape from Mistress Henfield plantation and the tension associated with the brave move to freedom

4. Emma and Joe’s life post slavery and their encounter with Fanny Kemble leading to their move to Canada

-Kacey Campbell

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One of the most emotional scenes that I identified with in Day of Tears unexpected and heartbreaking sale of Emma. As she slowly realized what had happened, the feelings of Sarah and Emma are palpable. I appreciate the innocent love that Sarah shows to Emma, unswayed by her father's hard heart.
-Kacey Campbell

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1. What role does weather play throughout the story?

2. What did you think about the format of the book? (dialogue,
interludes)

3. Comment on the dialogue of the white people talking about the
emotions of the slaves. Why do you think the white people didn't
think the slaves had feelings?

4. Describe how Sarah and Frances are similar and different.

5. Comment on the auctioneer's marketing tactics while auctioning off the slaves. (What he said, how he said it)

6. Mr Henry did several risky things to help the slaves. Compare
Sampson's and Joe's reactions to the same question, "Do you ever
think about being free?"

7. a. How does Sampson's experience running away shape his
feeling about being a slave?
b. How do you feel about Sampson's character in general?

8. How do you feel about Master Butler's character?

9. In what ways does Fanny Kemble "have a good heart?"

10. What was your "favorite" part? What part was significant to you?

-Corrin Christopher

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Chattel: a personal possession; an item of property

Abolitionist: a person who favored and worked for the abolishment of slavery

Sorghum: a popularly cultivated cereal used for grain or feed for livestock

Procreators: purpose to conceive offspring; to reproduce

Quarters: living area for slaves

Elated: make (someone) ecstatically happy
-Olivia Howe

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-In previous classes and history courses, I have learned continuously about the brutality slaves faced on a daily basis. Being treated as though they are cattle, like the slave seller's quote "This is a prime woman, gentleman, no children, but you can look at those hips and see she's built for birth" (72). That was my initial thought, "wow this sounds like a cattle auction" and my stomach turned at it's despicableness.
-Probably the most prevalent concept of this book is that of being torn away from your family. Reading Day of Tears, I was immediately reminded of the book Twelve Years a Slave, a memoir by Solomon Northup. The book focuses on Solomon, who was born a free man in New York, but was kidnapped and sold into slavery for twelve years until his release. Not only are both books historically based on true events, they both address the ruthless and vile actions by slave-owners who tear families apart with no acknowledgment for it's consequences. They both are very difficult to read and give heart-breaking accounts of the slave markets in the south.

-Olivia Howe

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Julius Lester took a true, historical event, with real a few people from history and created a fictional novel.  Day of Tears would be a great example to show students the value of the historical fiction genre.  This also gives the novel different social studies connections and may relate to what they have covered in that subject.

The black and white characters speak very differently.  The black characters have words spelled how one who speaks African American Vernacular English would pronounce them.  (Examples: “yes suh”, “whupped”, “He gon’ do what?”)  These could serve as a way for students to examine the linguistics behind the different voices in the book.  Students could analyze and learn about different dialects, and what makes Black English different than Standard English while comparing the varieties of English to the way they speak.

Having the book composed of dialogue made it very similar to a play script.  It would be a great option for reading out loud as a class, or assigned to a reading group.  Each student could be assigned a different character.

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Day of Tears is written in dialogue and first person view from multiple perspectives in America during the late 1850’s on the brink of the Civil War.  Pierce Butler, owner of a large plantation in Georgia, has a massive gambling debt.  Emma, one of Butler’s slaves and the primary viewpoint of the novel, is tasked with caring for his two daughters, one who opposes slavery and one who approves it.  Pierce must pay his debts and decides to hold an auction for his slaves.

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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1569.html

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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2918.html

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Lester, Julius. Day of Tears. New York: Hyperion for Children, 2005. Print.

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Pierce Butler

A plantation owner who lost approximately $700,000 from gambling.  In order to pay his debts he sold most of his slaves in the Weeping Time auction.

Fanny Kemble

A British actress, writer, and Butler’s ex-wife. She opposed slavery and did not know when she and Butler married that he was a slave owner.  It was one of the reasons for their divorce

Sarah and Frances Butler

Butler and Kemble’s daughters.  Like their mother, Sarah was opposed to slavery. However, Frances did not and would one day inherit the Butler plantation.  Frances eventually wrote Ten Years on a Georgia Plantation Since the War, a journal that defended slavery and the “Southern way of life.”

-Clay Neal

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The Weeping Time auction was the largest slave auction in American history.

The names of slaves and the prices for which they were sold for are included in the novel.

Pierce Butler made $303,850 of profit from the auction.

-Clay Neal

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"This ain't rain.  This is God's tears."

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On March 2nd and 3rd, 1859, 429-436 slaves were sold at an auction in Savannah, Georgia.  When the auction started, a heavy rain began and continued for the duration of the sale.  Soon after the auction ended, the rain stopped and the sun began to shine.  The auction is known as the “Weeping Time”.