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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
Reminded me very much of the stories my father told of growing up in Tennessee.
4 stars. This is a charming memoir that chronicles a year in the life of the not yet 12 year old boy who would grow up to be the writer Sterling North. That it's also a year in the life of a racoon named Rascal is almost an afterthought. North's subtitle calls it a "Memoir of a Better Era" - you may agree or not. What is clear is that it describes a world very different from today (2020) and somewhat different from the world of the 1960s and 1970s that I grew up in. I think this book is pure nostalgia - North is looking at the end of the 1950s as he writes - but it is beautifully written. It takes place in 1918 in Wisconsin so it's roughly set in my maternal grandfather's childhood (in WV); he was 16 that year. I can recognize North's childhood in stories I remember my grandfather telling. One thing in particular rang true: my grandfather's childhood was free of whitetail deer too whereas today deer are so numerous that they've moved into the semi-rural neighborhoods of small town WV. This book won't be to every reader's taste, but I encourage those interesting in small town life before 1920 to read it. I read this for my 2020 Reading Challenge (Lit Life "biography or memoir") and my Newbery Challenge (Honor 1964).
This is the story of a boy named Sterling and his pet raccoon. Sterling lives with a variety of animals: dogs, crows, skunks, and of course Rascal. He has lost his mother at age seven and struggles with the loss and his independence. He decides to build a canoe in the living room! He finds and raises a baby raccoon, he calls Rascal. Their bond leads to many hilarious adventures. A wonderful read! Boys will love this story.
Set in southern Wisconsin during World War I, Sterling adopts a baby racoon and names it Rascal. This is the tale of their adventures.
Rascal is a raccoon who befriends a young Sterling North. Together with Sterling's indulgent father, the raccoon and boy traverse the wilds of Wisconsin, camp near lakes, and watch wild deer and mink. It's a small book that draws beautiful pictures of life in America during the latter part of World War I.
I Grew up watching the Disney movie and being obsessed with it so when nine year old me saw this at the library I almost died. I really loved this book then and I love it still, I do like the movie a bit better but that's because it is ingrained into my mind. Highly recommend!