Intermediate

Vignettes about life in a small Vermont town in 1924. Everyone struggles against the KKK, especially 12yo Leonora and 6yo Esther. Leonora is a young African American girl; Esther is Jewish.

The reader gets to see life through the eyes of many characters so that we can understand what they experience.

Leonora is struggling with establishing who she is but is constantly reminded that she is black. Some people won't associate with her but Esther seems to be blind to the fact that there is prejudice. She is "buried in all the whiteness" (27). Yet she seems to realize there is injustice in the world (story about the white, rich boy getting kidnapped, held for ransom but killed...it didn't matter that he was what he was, he still was killed - 35).

Esther is originally from NYC. She and her father move into a house with Sara Chickering, a 42yo farmer.

Johnny Reeves is a clergyman but seems to struggle with joining the KKK believing it might actually be the right thing to do.

Viola never married and the reader wonders why but on page 30, we find that she realized that her mother lived a loveless marriage. Her father worked, got served and went to bed. Her mother did all the housework and never got a rest. Viola is a renaissance woman of the 1920s.

Harry & Viola Pettibone are married. Harry thinks it's great that the KKK has arrived; Viola has other thoughts. The struggle tears them apart. ( )

Richie's Picks: Witness by Karen Hesse, Scholastic Press, September 2001

"lenora sutter

willie pettibone handed me an article in school
torn from the town paper.
it said:

...any person to whom an evening of hearty laughter is poison
had better keep away from the community club minstrel show
Friday evening at the town hall. all others will be admitted
for a night of fun brought to you by 22 genuine
black-faced "coons."

felt like skidding on ice as i read,
felt like twisting steel.

why can't folks just leave me alone?

daddy says:
how alone do you want to be, leanora?
you're already nothing but a wild brown island."

***
"harvey and viola pettibone

harvey says:
the ku klux are here, vi.
there's not a thing to stop them. we might as well join them.
why not?
they're not low-down, like some folks say.
they're good men,
100 percent american men.
and they might bring us some business..."

WITNESS, written in the same poetry style as Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal-winning OUT OF THE DUST, is a riveting and disturbing story whose ending inspires hope for the future. It is based on a true story in which a small Vermont town was infiltrated by the Ku Klux Klan in 1924. Told through the voices of eleven characters it is sure to garner acclaim for Hesse's beautiful writing as well as attention for its powerful subject matter and important message.

It is essential for young adults to realize that towns in the North, as well as the South, have their dirty little secrets. In my case, growing up on suburban Long Island in the '60s, the only crosses I saw burning were on the evening news. But with undisguised mortgage redlining taking place there well into that decade, I recall a nearly-finished home in my newly-constructed neighborhood burning to the ground in 1964. It had to be totally rebuilt, thus delaying its occupation by a family of color (the second and last in the neighborhood) for six additional months. Was it just a coincidence that that particular house burned?

But don't misunderstand me. WITNESS is far from being a dispiriting story. It turns out there are more "good guys" than "bad" here. And while, as we know, prejudice wasn't stomped out, we see reason, redemption, and community triumph throughout this uplifting tale. An 18-year-old we utterly despise is given a second chance, which completely impacts the course of events. The character with the greatest vision is a nearly-blind Civil War veteran. And, on top of that, readers are treated to the delightful wisdom of a transplanted six-year-old Jewish girl (whose speech is reminiscent of Opal Whiteley):

"esther hirsh

bossie did stray from the pasture
into mr. hobarts' garden where she had eatings of all the good green stuffs

and she did have goings up and down the garden rows.
when mr. hobart did have wakings up,
he did see our bossie
in his garden,
and he did take his gun and fire at
bossie.

bossie is a smart cow
and right away she had runnings home to us.
the animal doctor did make a good promise that
bossie does not have the living coming out of her.
and i am having big glads to hear this
because i do like it better to play with
bossie with the living in her."

Richie Partington
Richie's Picks
BudNotBuddy@aol.com ( )

Good book. I really liked how I was able to read from different peoples perspectives.

A series of poems edpress the views of carious people in a small Vermont town, including a young black girl and a young Jewish girl, during the early 1920s when the Ku Klux Klan is trying to infiltrate the town.

This novel-in-verse is narrated by a case of characters all living in a small Vermont town in 1924. One family is black, one family is Jewish, some people have just joined the KKK, one woman sells illegal alcohol, and all are affected by the social turmoil and changes happening in their small town.

While the narrative style is certainly unique and sometimes compelling, the author's verse is not strong enough to sustain both the complexity of the plot or the different voices of such a wide cast of characters. Also, the author abandons capitalization and punctuation in her verse for no apparent reason. It is difficult to keep track of all of the characters, their relationships to one another, and their attitudes toward the political and social tragedies that are occurring in their town.

As far as the plot is concerned, while Hesse attempts to develop rising action and a climax, both lack tension due to the weakness of the verse. The sparse verse does not produce the desired effect and as a result, the plot falls short.

Not recommended for school libraries. ( )

Very helpful photo id of main characters in the front of the book. ( )

Karen Hesse has a talent for taking the historical fiction into free verse. She did this for the depression era in the dust bowl through the heartbreaking story of a 14 year old girl. This time, Witness is the story of a town in Vermont during the prohibition era. The book doesn't explain if the events in the story are based on actual events in history or not. Although I can't be sure on whether or not this was based on a true story, it does provide a glimps into what life in a small town might have been like when the Ku Klux Klan begins organizing there. The Ku Klux Klan decide to start up a chapter in the town, and the story is told through several town members who have a variety of perspectives on the Klan. This was at times hard to follow with all the different characters, but all the different narrations provided for so many points of view for the same events. It was ultimately an effective way to understand how many different people felt. Ms. Hesse weaves the narratives together and they come to a somewhat haunting climax. Ultimately, there was enough substance in the story here to be very compelling.

This is a story that is useful in starting discussions with young readers, not only about discrimination and racisim and its history in the U.S., but also about gangs and groups that seem very horrible. It is important here to ask why would anyone want to join such groups. This story points out how the klan offered to protect its members. One grocer thought it would benefit him to join because all the of the Klan member would shop at his store, not at the other store in town.

Witness is a narrative of the KKK’s infiltration of a small Vermont town in 1924. It is written in free verse through the voices of eleven different residents. The verse is largely without capitalization or punctuation, using line breaks instead to separate thoughts. Through the largely first-person accounts, the character of each of the residents is revealed.

Esther, a six-year-old Jewish girl, and Leonora, a twelve-year-old African American girl tell much of the story. The voice of Leonora, an obvious target of the Klan is compelling. The reader senses her fear as she hides in a closet but finds no escape from the specter of a cross-burning. The speech patterns of Esther may be difficult for some readers to comprehend. Her unusual speech may be mistaken for simple-mindedness; however, it is more likely representative of a recent immigrant’s dialect, and is symbolic of her innocence. The voices of Harvey and Viola Pettibone, however, are the most intriguing. The Pettibone’s are middle-aged shop owners. Theirs is the only verse that contains back-and-forth dialogue as they debate the Klan’s value, effect, influence, and activities in the intimate dialogue of husband and wife.

Although Horn Book dismissed the protagonists as stereotypes (Hepperman 2001), the use of stereotypes is necessary to illustrate the myriad of opinions as the Klan’s influence extends throughout the town. Streaming, free-form verse unfolds the innermost thoughts of the characters, revealing the influences of fear, peer pressure, guilt, conviction, and uncertainty on their behavior.

Witness begins with a Carl Sandburg quote, followed by a Cast of Characters list, and the five acts of the book. Until the characters (including the doctor, preacher, newspaper editor, rumrunner, and others) are established, the Cast of Characters is a welcome reference. Aged photographic renderings of the fictional characters help the reader to distinguish them further.

Vermont is not the usual setting for tales of the KKK and the ugliness of racism and bigotry. Witness tells an ugly chapter of history from an unusual perspective that will intrigue readers. The tale is both disturbing and hopeful. Readers will find it believable and memorable.
Connections:
Readers who enjoy this book will also enjoy Hesse's Newbery Award winning title Out of the Dust.

The short verse entries and multiple voices, make Witness and excellent choice for reader's theater. Readers should be encouraged to delve into the characters and find the motivation for their behaviors. ( )

Using several disparate voices to people her story, Hesse tells of the inroads made by the Ku Klux Klan into Vermont in the 1920s. Each character has a unique perspective on the issues, from six-year-old Esther Hirsh, a Jewish child from New York City who misses her dead mother and cannot understand why someone would shoot her father, to sixty-year-old Fitzgerald Flitt, the town doctor who recognizes the danger of all the hatred riding in on the coattails of the Klan, to eighteen-year-old Merlin Van Tornhout, whose bullying nature finds a home with these masked night riders. Hesse's witnesses are testifying in the court of public opinion about an event that nearly destroyed their lives. As the months go by and the ugliness escalates, the testimonies offer subtle changes in the thinking of the characters, first in the Klan's determination to root out all that thegroup perceives to be bad for the community and then in the resolve of some members as they begin to see the real harm being done. Using poetic form with no capitalization allows Hesse to crystallize the voices of her eleven characters. Each speaks from his or her personal experiences of fears and prejudices. This lyric work is another fine achievement from one of young adult literature's best authors. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P M J (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2001, Scholastic, 176p, $16.95. Ages 11 to 15. (Leslie Carter, VOYA, October 2001)

Won White Raven Award 2002

The Ku Klux Klan comes and invads a small Virgina town. They wanted to get all the jews and negros out of town but it didn't happen. So they left town. ( )

It’s Vermont, 1924 and the Ku Klux Klan comes to a small town in Vermont and recruits. Written in verse and told in the voices of different people in the town, Witness tells the story of how the Klan affected a small Vermont town; an aimless 18 yr. old Melvin joins the KKK to feel he is a part of something bigger than himself; 12 yr. old Leonora Sutter, the only African American girl in town, watches as life slowly gets more frightening; Sara Chickering who cares for and loves 6 yr. old Ester Hirsch, a motherless Jewish girl, and has no use for the Klan at all. As the KKK begins to assert more power over the town, things begin to get dangerous for Esther and Leanora. After the Sutters are threatened and someone shoots at Mr. Hirsch, many people in the town come out against the Klan. This is a quiet story with a very positive message. I enjoyed it and found the telling of the tale from the points of view of different townsfolk to be very effective. 11/06 ( )

Sharon Salluzzo (Children's Literature)
In 1924 the Ku Klux Klan arrived in a small town in Vermont. Through the voices of eleven of its citizens, we learn of the divisive and increasingly sinister acts that are carried out in secret over that year. Seemingly good acts, such as helping those less fortunate, soon give rise to ideas such as poisoning the well of the only African-American family and shooting Ira Hirsh. This variety of voices includes the reactions of a sweet six-year-old, a twelve-year-old African-American girl, the storeowner and his wife, as well as the preacher and the newspaper editor. Discussion of the trial of Leopold and Loeb as well as the presidential election helps establish the time setting of this novel. Told in poetic format, the reader will need to have some prior knowledge of American history to fully understand this work. Hesse has created memorable and distinct characters. Actual photographs are used to represent these fictional characters. 2001, Scholastic, $16.95. Ages 12 up.
ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Award Winner 2002 Young Adult Readers United States
American Booksellers Book Sense Book of the Year (ABBY) Award Finalist 2002 Children's Literature United States
Christopher Awards Winner 2002 Young Adult United States
White Ravens Award Winner 2002 United States United States