The coming of the Civil War was a shock and reality check to Jethro Creighton and his family. Irene Hunt's Across Five Aprils is the story of a boy's life and his narrative growing up in Southern Illinois during the Civil War. Jethro is a nine-year-old boy when he is first recognized in the book. He is planting potatoes in the family crop with Ellen Creighton, his mother, when they begin a discussion where Ellen's thoughts stray to worrying about the war. Jethro tries his best to make his mother forget about her worries until his sister Jenny is to serve an uplifting dinner. Going back to the fields to continue the day's work, the Creighton family is given a splendid surprise, when Wilse Graham, Ellen's nephew, visits them. With Wilse's visit the family gains new thoughts, and a debate over the war and slavery breaks lose. As...