Taylor, Mildred.
THE WELL : DAVID'S STORY
New York : Puffin, 1998
IL 3-6, RL 4.7
ISBN 0140386424

(2 booktalks)

Family is one of the most important aspects of any human's life. The Logan family was one of the closest knit families in all of Mississippi. David, Hammer, Mama, and Grandma all stuck up for each other in every situation. But how far would one go for family? When all of the wells in Mississippi dry up and the Logan's is the only one left everyone must come to their well. The thing is, the Logan's were black and black and whites were not really known for getting along. The Simms family is one of the white families to use the Logans well, and neither family is very fond of each other. None of the boys get along  well with each other and David and Hammer must overcome many triumphs to realize that family is all they've got. Follow David and Hammer on their journey dealing with the Simms boys and see how they overcome big troubles.  (Carrie Caringella, cl-caringella@wiu.edu, college student)

Booktalk #2

What goes around comes around, is the perfect way to describe the events in the book The Well by Mildred D. Taylor. It is an adventurous fiction book held in a time where segregation and racism are extremely common. This book is about a drought that occurs and everyone is in great need for water. Only the Logan's, an African American family, have water in their well. The whole town travels to their property to use their water. While the Logan family is generous enough to share their water the Simmses, a powerful white family, is unappreciative. The Simmses are very disrespectful and ignorant towards the Logan's. Charlie Simms begins unnecessary trouble with the Logan brothers because he feels that he is above them since he is white. Hammer Logan gets very angry with the way Charlie treats his family and does something no African American would have done during this time period. When an African American in that day did wrong or talked back to a white person they were hung. Does Hammer get hung? Or does he find a way to escape the harsh punishment? David, Hammer's brother is fearful of what will become of their family because of Hammer's anger. The suspense throughout the story has the reader at the edge of their seat. This book is a great adventure with unpredictable events and a shocking ending that is much unexpected.  (Heather Longo, He-Longo@wiu.edu, college student)