Ella May lives on a plantation but she doesn'tlive in the great house. She is a slave. It's dark in the morning when Ella May heads to the fieldsto pick cotton. And it's sunset when she comes home. Buther day isn't done, not yet. Ella May still has important work to do. She's got to listen. Each night Ella May and her friends secretly listen outsidethe windows of their master's house. The children listenin the hopes of gleaning information about their fates andthose of their loved ones. Who will be sold? Who will stay?The lives of slaves depended on the inclinations of theirowners. They had no control over their daily lives orfutures. But they could dream. And when the promise of freedom appears on the horizon, the children are the first to hear it. Gloria Whelan's other titles in the Tales of Young Americans series includeFriend on Freedom River (Jefferson Cup honor book) and MackinacBridge: The Story of the Five-Mile Poem (2007 Michigan Notable Book).Ms. Whelan lives in Michigan. Mike Benny's illustrations have appeared in Time, GQ, and The NewYorker magazines. His awards include three gold and two silver medalsfrom the Society of Illustrators. He also illustrated America's White Table. Mike lives in Austin, Texas. | The Listeners by Gloria Whelan, Picture Books | Indigo Chapters