Bull Run

by Paul Fleischman

Book Overview

Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction * ALA Best Book for Young Adults * ALA Notable Children's Book

In this brilliant fictional tour de force, which the New York Times called a deft, poignant novel, Newbery Medal-winning author Paul Fleischman re-creates the first great battle of the Civil War from the points of view of sixteen participants.

Northern and Southern, male and female, white and black...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0064405885
• ISBN13: 9780064405881
• Release Date: March 1995
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.4" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

JC's Review of Bull Run

When I first started reading this book I thought that it was boring and I felt like I could fall asleep, but then it started turning out to be really interesting and enjoyable. In this novel, war hasn't started yet but it soon does, after. This book has many different characters but the subject is all the same. Some of the characters were sometimes convincing, but sometimes the story got boring because at times they just talked aboutwhat there children did or what the characters were worrying about, like war. I really liked the way that Lily Malloy would describe things such as, mother wailed or other type of describing words she used. The book was really interesting here and there. Northerners and Southerners were talked a lot about in this book. Pretty much all the characters were either from some state in the South or from some state in the North. The theme to this book was war. This book really isn't my kind of reading because I like books that have a little bit of love or romance in them, but I sort of liked this novel. I can relate to this book with my friend Ann, because in this book Shem Suggs loves horses and so does my friend Ann. I don't like books that talk about historical facts or anything like that. I guess in school that's what you would read, books like that. Bull Run was a Newbery Award-winning book, which the author wrote. I feel that if your are an adventurish person you'll enjoy this book. This book, kind of left me hanging, becuase of the end . I'm not going to ruin the end of the book for you though! Read the book and then you'll find out how I felt. Very touched and agervated at times. It made me feel like I was hanging on to the edge of my chair.

Mondo monologues sans monotony

You can accuse Paul Fleischman of a lot of things. Laziness is not one of them. When I told the kids in the bookclub I run that we were going to be reading something called "Bull Run" by a Mr. Paul Fleischman, they were quick to inform me that they were already familiar with him. "He's the guy who wrote, 'Joyful Noise'!", cried one delightedly. I agreed that this was indeed his best-known work but that, "Bull Run" was probably going to prove to be a little different from a poetry book of insect noises. This turned out to be a particularly foresighted statement when some concerned parents informed me that they were not comfortable with the violence of this book and would rather that their children not read it. I was caught a little unawares. I shouldn't have been. If you are one of those concerned parents, allow me to tell you that yes, there is violence in "Bull Run". Heck, you're not going to have a whole book about a single exceedingly bloody battle without some blood actually making it into the text. However, the battle violence is brief and the story a compelling one. If you've a kid just hankering for the glories of combat, this should snap them out of THAT little fantasy right quick. The story follows the narratives of sixteen people. Some are black. Some are white. Some are men fighting against the South and some are women fighting against the North. Each voice is distinguished from its fellows and tells its own very particular tale. Sometimes these voices repeat within the book. Other times, they speak thrice and then vanish without a trace. People die, others survive, and some just linger on the sidelines. Most stories, however, end up at the Battle of Bull Run. Fleischman deftly weaves together historical facts with fictional characters to provide an honestly interesting view of the entirety of the Civil War encapsulated in a single book. There are many similarities between this title and "Soldier's Heart" by Gary Paulson. Of the two, however, "Bull Run" is the more interesting book. "Soldier's Heart" just follows a single soldier. It's more a kind of "Red Badge of Courage" than a multi-person point-of-view. This is where Fleischman has the advantage. At the end of this book, he includes the page numbers of each character. If readers would like to perform this book as a kind of Readers' Theater, this is how they can do so. Likewise, if you've a child that needs to deliver a monologue, I can think of no better resource than this book for them. That's all "Bull Run" is anyway. Monologue after monologue after monologue. There's no monotony, though. Fleischman expertly picks out the most interesting aspects and characters of the war (that are appropriate for child readers to meet) and displays them before our eyes. I was much attached to the livery cab driver Edmund Upwing, who brings rich residents out to the hills above Washington D.C. to watch the battle like a football game. Ditto photographer Natha

I couldn't put this book down.

Paul Fleischmen does it again in The Great Battle of Bull Run. This novel received many awards and starred reviews such as the 1994 Scott O'Dell Award, The Best Book for Young Adults, A Notable Children's Book, and Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 1993. It's based on the battle of Bull Run. Even though the characters are fictional, the factual background is true. Bull Run, which was the first battle in the Civil War, is a story told from 16 different points view. Women or men, black or white, they were all involved in the great Battle of Bull Run. All of the characters are facing the same problems but describe the events from a different perspective. They are either whirled into flowers of joy, or kicked into a mass of frightening knots. Each character describes his or her experience during the Great Battle of Bull Run. The writing style is unique because it varies with each person speaking. For example, Gideon Adams, who is African American, feels lost in a world full of whites. His language is uneducated and you can tell. Lilly Malloy has much more educated speech and can definitely be putrid to other people, while Gideon Adams couldn't criticize anyone if he tried. This book is definitely worth your time and money because the events are true, the individuals are real, and the battle was the first and bloodiest conflict in the Civil War. The story does not try to make you feel happy, which makes you feel like you're really there.

BULL RUN

This book in my opinion was a very good. It has many characters that have different prespectives of the war. Toby Boyce is a young boy who would do anything to get to kill a Yankee. Gideon Adams is an African American man who makes himself look caucasian to fight in the Civil War. The book takes place in Bull Run,Virginia thats full of Southerners who hate the North. They are always talking about how they will show no mercy to them Yanks. The Yankees also talk about how the Southerners have no class or respect. This book has drama, heartache, action and very well done story lines for the many characters. I would only recommend this book to adults and junior high students because the book has many sophisticated words. Overall I give the book Five stars.

A very outstanding book. A TOTAL WINNER!

Told in an award-winning style, people from both sides explain their roles in one of the first battles of the Civil War. Soldiers, slaves, mothers, and sisters describe the glory and the horror of the Battle of Bull Run.