A DIFFICULT BOY
by M.P. Barker


Trade Binding | 272 pages | 5 1/2 X 8 1/4 | US$ 16.95 | ISBN: 9780823420865

Grade: FIFTH | Age: 10 up

Themes: Historical Fiction, 19th Century, Friendship, Racism & Prejudice, Courage & Honor
Recommendations: A, K, PW, SLJ, V

About the Book
It is 1839, and nine-year-old Ethan finds himself an indentured servant working for Mr. Lyman, a mean-spirited shopkeeper in Massachusetts. When Ethan and another young servant suffer blows by Mr. Lyman, the two boys find out what it takes to be a friend.

Ethan Root is only nine years old in the summer of 1839 when his father sends him to be an indentured servant for Mr. George Lyman, a wealthy merchant and landowner. It’s very hard for Ethan to leave his family; but it’s even tougher for him to make friends with Daniel, the other indentured servant. Daniel, called Paddy by Mr. Lyman, is a teenage Irish orphan. He is considered a difficult boy, and suffers physical blows from Mr. Lyman. For this reason, he sticks to himself and develops special ways of coping. When Ethan learns that Mr. Lyman is a liar and a cheat, he shares his knowledge with Daniel and Silas, Mr. Lyman’s son, who also suffers from his father’s wrath. With Silas’s help, Ethan and Daniel muster up the courage to face off with their harsh master. What transpires is a life-changing experience.

Excerpt from A Difficult Boy. Copyright © 2008 by M.P. Barker. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
For nearly ten years, M. P. Barker worked as a costumed historical interpreter at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. She got a firsthand taste of 19th-century New England rural life by milking cows, mucking out barns, and doing other tasks that helped her bring realism and immediacy to the setting and characters of A Difficult Boy. A Difficult Boy, M. P. Barker’s first novel, is a PEN New England Children’s Book Caucus Discovery Award winner. As an archivist at the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum, Barker visits a different time and place with every diary, letter, and photograph she catalogs. Find out more at www.mpbarker.net.

Educators' Guide
A DIFFICULT BOY
Pre-Reading Activity, Discussion of Themes, Curriculum Connections, and About the Author