Hear the wind blow- Mary downing Hahn
Summary-
Haswell Magruder decides to help a wounded soldier. Yankee soldiers find out and burn their home to the ground. Haswell’s mother dies and he becomes the head of the family because his older brother s in the war and his father died. Haswell takes Rachel (his younger sister) across Virginia to live with other family members for her safety. Haswell continues his journey trying to find his brother back. He does not whether his brother is still alive or not. Haswell goes through many trying times while on his journey to protect and help his family.
Personal Reaction-
Mary Downing Hahn was my favorite author when I was in middle school. I think I have read nearly all of her books. This was in my list of favorites. I think this would be a great book for any middle school student to read.
Classroom extensions-
1. “Haswell’s shoes” Have the students write an essay about what they would have done if they were in Haswells position
.2. “Civil War” Ask the students to share what they already knew about the civil war. Have the student’s talk about whether this book changed there prospective on the war.

Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Imagine a young child of only 13 years old riding down a dark path with only the sound of horse hooves to accompany him. In the book Hear the Wind Blow by Mary Downing Hahn, Haswell’s journey to find his brother is described. This book was a wonderful take on the Civil War because it described the life for a boy living in that time period.
This book starts in Virginia but quickly changes settings as Haswell travels to find his brother in the South. The time period is the end of the Civil War, 1864-1865. Hear the Wind Blow is a story told by the main character Haswell. Also the story is very sad because it takes place in the Civil War and is told by an orphan.
In Hear the Wind Blow, Haswell’s family houses a wounded soldier. The soldier is southern and the northern soldiers are looking for him. In a twisted turn of events Haswell’s mother dies along with the soldier and Haswell and his sister are left to fend for themselves. They then start the long journey to his uncles, where Haswell drops off his sister and then leaves to find his brother, who is fighting in the civil war. “I have to find Avery as fast as I can so he can take care of us and the farm.” P.133 On the way he meets many new people and learns many new things. When he arrives, he finds out the war is over and there are many wounded and dead. “The war is over, at least in Virginia” P.184
I would give this book 10 out of 10. It was very easy to understand and it always kept me wanting to read more. I would recommend this book to middle school students who want to read an exciting story about the Civil War. One of my favorite parts was when the grandmother said “The war should never have been fought. Anyone who indulges in such nonsense is a fool whether he lives or dies.” P.200 It really made me feel that she is right and war really doesn’t have a good purpose ever. The way the author explained things was very moving and really gave me a new perspective on the war.
This book really taught me that the North side and the South side are both equally good and bad and that there really is no “bad guy”. Hear the Wind Blow was a great book and I would recommend it to all middle school students. ( )

Hear the Wind Blow Book Review
The civil war had a huge impact on everyone in the United States. Hear the Wind Blow by Mary Downing Hahn was an amazing book because it not only was informative about the Civil War, it also was a story that really put you in that time period.

This book’s setting starts off on a peaceful farm, but it changes continually throughout the book. The story is told by a 12 year old boy named Haswell Magruder. He is faced with many challenges including his mother’s death and the responsibility of his sister Rachael. Many other characters come along, like Captain Powell and Polly O’Brien.

Once Haswell’s mother dies, his farm has been destroyed. He is faced with many challenges that not many 12 year old boys have to deal with. He most certainly does not want the responsibility of rebuilding his house and farm, so he secretly goes off to find his brother who is in the war. Many Interesting things happen along the way…

I think that the author achieved her purpose of informing people about the war from the view of southerner, but still keeps us entertained with a story. She wrote this book very well and you can tell that she researched this topic before writing this book. I think that this book had no weaknesses, only strengths, like keeping the reader constantly entertained. I thought this was a very good and interesting book. I would definitely recommend this book to others because it has a little something for everyone in it. Out of 10 stars I would give this book a solid 9 stars.

The Civil war had a huge impact on everyone in the United States. Hear the Wind Blow really got you thinking how hard it must have been for everyone in the United States. The impression this book left me with was gratitude. I say that it left me with gratitude because I take advantage of things that most people had to look very hard for, such as food and shelter. “Get us something to eat, I’m perishing of cold and hunger,” said Rachael. “You know the house is gone,” said Mama. “I wanted food so bad, a warm place, people to talk to,” said Haswell. I would recommend this book to people ages 10 and up. Hear the Wind Blow by Mary Downing Hahn is a great book, especially if you want to see the war from someone else’s point of view. I most certainly recommend this book to anyone wanting to read something about the Civil War. ( )

What would you do if your world turned upside down and there was nothing you could do about it? The book Hear the Wind Blow by Mary Downing clarion books 2003 is 212 pages of historical fiction about this situation. The book Hear the Wind Blow was heart tugging because it shows how American spirit and family ties endured hard times.
Most of the book takes place in Virginia. That’s where Haswell’s and Rachel’s stories start. The people they meet along their journey were, grandma, aunts and uncles, other children trying to survive the war and soldiers from both confederate and union sides. Haswell is the one telling the story and he is mostly sad and miserable.
Haswell Magruder decides to help a wounded soldier. Yankee soldiers find out and burn their home to the ground. Haswell’s mother dies and he becomes the head of the family because his older brother is in the war and it’s just him and his sister left. Haswell takes Rachel across Virginia to live with other family members for her safety. Haswell continues his journey trying to find his brother who could be anywhere dead or alive.
I would recommend this book to other children my age because it is easy to read, the main characters were easy to relate to, and it’s one of those books that keep you interested. This book has many emotions to it; it made me cry, laugh, and smile. This book will keep you turning pages! ( )

Kayla Bean 5/23/12
Book review 2 Did you ever think about being completely alone at the age of thirteen? Hear The Wind Blow was a great book because it was full of details about how people lived in the 1800’s. People lost family in the civil war it changed them. Mary Downing Hahn is the author of Hear The Wind Blow. This book takes place in the southern of Virginia farm in Shenandoah. Haswell Colby, Magruder is the main character telling the story. Haswell is very young and brave. Haswell has to take his sister, Rachel, the other main character. In this book Hear The Wind Blow you fell what the sad things that the kids went through with loosing there mom. The book is about a thirteen year old boy trying to find his brother off in war. James Marshall a Yankees soldier needs some where to stay. He wounded he got shot and has a fever and he ends up dying. Haswell’s mom dies also after she lost almost everything. Later in the book Haswell gets put into jail after he has been at his grandmas house for a while. For stealing one of the head solider of the Yankees horse. One of the soldiers that killed James Marshall helps him break out of jail because he feels bad for killing James Marshall. Now he will try to find his brother, Avery.
The families lost a lot of stuff. They lost their houses, crops and family members along the way of the civil war. When you are reading this book you can really imagine what is going on. This book was really not about the battles. It just talks about how people live. This book is very interesting It went into a lot of details. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about the civil was and how it affected different families. When you read this book you can really imagine what is going on.
If I had to give this book stars I would give it 4 out of 5. It was an awesome book I just wish it would tell the reader about there lives when they returned home. This book leaves a great impression that things you love can leave you at a young age. I would want the reader to know that it does not matter how old you are, the war can affect anyone