Rascal (PMC) (Puffin Modern Classics)
by Sterling North
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Book Summary Information
Author: Sterling NorthBrand: Penguin Group USA
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-09-23
ISBN: 0142402524
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Puffin
Book Reviews of Rascal (PMC) (Puffin Modern Classics)
Book Review: A Great Kids Story
Summary: 5 Stars
Rascal is a very good book written by Sterling North, which is about his life when he was eleven and twelve and his time with his pet raccoon named Rascal. The story is entertaining and heart-warming for all ages, especially for fifth to eighth graders. I especially enjoyed that the story was based on the author's encounters and memories of his pet raccoon, Rascal. Rascal has humor and a serious and sad ending. The book is worth reading because of the humor and the interesting life experiences. For example, I laughed when Rascal helps Sterling with a pie eating contest. I was sad when Sterling lets Rascal go free in the woods. This was the right thing to do because Rascal was really a wild animal, not a pet.
The diction, tone, sentence variety and points of view in the book help to support the overall story of how Sterling felt about Rascal and how he and Rascal grew during the time they were together. Rascal's style is casual and conversational which makes the story easy to understand and to enjoy. The diction or word choice is not complicated. The most complicated words are words like "scampering" and "extremity." This creates a readable story which can be quickly and easily read and appreciated. The tone, which is the attitude an author conveys in his writing, is happy when North writes about Rascal and his adventures. For example, when Sterling catches a fish he writes, "He (the fish) broke water once, all silver and blue, his great forked tail thrashing. Rascal awoke at this point and trundled over to join in the excitement." Then the tone changes when North sets Rascal free at the end of the book. The author just states the facts, but the reader knows how difficult it was for him to let Rascal go. " Do as you want my little raccoon. It's your life,'' I told him. He (Rascal) hesitated for a full minute, turned once to look back at me, then took the plunge and swam to the near shore. He had chosen to join the entrancing female somewhere in the shadows. I caught only one glimpse of them in a moonlit glade before they disappeared to begin their new life together. I left the pecans on a stump near the waterline, hoping Rascal would find them. And I paddle swiftly and desperately away from the place where we had parted." The point of view in Rascal is first person. However, the story switches from Sterling talking as a child to Sterling as an adult remembering his time with Rascal. Using the first person allows the reader to really get to know Sterling and identifies with him and how much he loves and enjoys being with Rascal. The sentence variety in Rascal ranges from simple and compound to complex sentences. When Sterling writes in the first person as a kid, he uses simple and compound sentences. For example, "Rascal went slightly berserk" is a simple sentence. When Sterling writes as an adult describing experiences he has had, he uses complex sentences. For example, "The wax beans were golden and smooth, with the texture of satin, and they hung in such thick clusters beneath their leaves that it did not take long for me to fill a basket." is a complex sentence. This helps the reader know whether Sterling the young boy is talking or Sterling the adult is talking.
The main characters in Rascal are Rascal, the raccoon, Sterling, the author when he was eleven to twelve years old, and Sterling's father, David Willard North. The characters are completely realistic because Sterling North is writing about his childhood and his pet raccoon. Rascal change from being a baby raccoon that could fit in Sterling's cap to an adult raccoon that could fight for himself and live on his own. When the reader first meets Sterling he is the youngest child who is the only child living with his widowed father. Sterling changes from a boy who takes a baby raccoon from its mother because he wants a pet to a young man that can let Rascal go so that Rascal can live the rest of his life happily. Sterling's father stays about the same. He is very busy with his work on the history of Indians and his business. He is very sad about the death of his wife and doesn't spend much time with Sterling. Rascal and Sterling experience the greatest changes. Although Sterling North is telling a story from 1918, I can understand that he is lonely and that his pets become his family and friends, especially Rascal. I related to Sterling because I like being with other people. Sterling doesn't have many people he can be with so Rascal became his best friend.
Rascal was a very effective story because the reader really comes to like and enjoy Rascal, the raccoon. The author uses a casual and conversational style so that you laugh and are sad when Sterling decides to let Rascal go. Sterling's stories about Rascal make him come alive to the reader. Rascal is very clever, tough and funny. For example, Rascal is able to get out of the cage Sterling builds for him and get through a screen door so that he can sleep with Sterling. When a kid in Sterling's science class shoots a rubber band in Rascal's face, the raccoon attacks the boy. This shows that Rascal is tough and that he really is a wild animal, not really a pet. My favorite part of the book is when Sterling competes in a pie eating contest and Rascal joins him. Sterling is disqualified from the contest, but he and Rascal had so much fun, it didn't matter.
In conclusion, the style of Sterling North's Rascal is very effective because the diction, tone, sentence variety and point of view all work together to an enjoyable book. This is supported by the tone of the book which switches from happy to sad as Rascal grows up and becomes more wild. The sentence variety changes from simple when he was a boy to more complex as an adult. The point of view is first person which makes the book very easy to understand and personal. I would recommend this book for third graders to eighth graders because it is funny, but also has serious elements about a boy who grows up and makes hard decisions.
(Written by my 13 year old)
Summary of Rascal (PMC) (Puffin Modern Classics)
Rascal is only a baby when young Sterling brings him home. He and the mischievous raccoon are best friends for a perfect year of adventure?until the spring day when everything suddenly changes.
A Newbery Honor Book
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