Enjoy Rascal Crafted By Sterling North Print

learned so much from this book, Things such as the habitat and uniqueness of the sitelinkwhippoorwill the importance of sitelinkhackles to fly fishing what does sitelinkcase weather have to do with tobacco leaves and of course, all about raccoons.
Did you know they were omnivores and in the same family of animals as bears That they are extremely clean, and their name comes from an Indian word which means, he who scratches

Rascal is a memoir about angoing onyearold boy, the author, Sterling North, growing up in Wisconsin during World War I, the youngest of four siblings.
He is the only one still at home with his widower father, a loving, but rather absentminded parent who leaves his son for long stretches to follow his own varied speculations.


It is the story of one year in Sterlings life which was entirely focused on the baby raccoon, Rascal, which he found, loved and raised to adulthood.
It is a precious glimpse back at a lost time and unique relationship, A story you will not want to miss,

I know that I read this many years ago when our daughters were growing up, but I dont remember it touching me so deeply then as it has now.
Maybe I was just so busy being a mom, or I read it quickly, superficially, or with a different purpose or view, But I do know that it left a strong impression on my one daughter, Her son, and our grandson's lovey is a stuffed raccoon named Rascal, Have you noticed that books written prior to the's are all set outside Everyone is outside all the time, Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Great Brain boys, Jack London of course, Even Jane Austen thinks it's no big deal to take a casual one mile stroll in a complicated dress that probably weighs about twenty pounds.


Well, the same goes here, A childhood outside with random animals and a father with a benign neglect type of parenting style, What could be better This book was an instant favorite five pages in,



The only thing that hampers this book is a PBS special about how this story was made into a cartoon during thes in Japan.
Raccoons, which were not a part of the Japanese landscape, were brought in as pets for the kids, Then when they got unruly, they let the raccoons go in the wild, Now the poor country is completely overrun with the creatures and they are destroying everything,

I'm sure Sterling North had no idea that would happen, But, back to the story, I love that that Sterling as a boy had so much freedom and independence and the space to roam around and discover life.
Ive loved this book for years, It is so fun to go back and listen again and find it just as wonderful as I remembered, A glimpse into the simple yet rich life of a young boy and his pet raccoon, Myandyr olds and their mom loved it,

We read induring the Coronavirus pandemic, This book is set during theflu epidemic and the author contracts the flu, The schools were closed and everyone was wearing masks, His community lost more people to the flu than in the war,

Read with Naomi and Julia at bedtime,

A memoir or autobiography Rascal is a perfectly crafted book, It's entertaining and simple enough to appeal to youngsters, yet has enough complexity and fine prose to enchant adult readers, I loved it when I first read it at age eleven, and I loved it even more this second time through, when I'm old enough to.
. . well, old enough

This is Sterling North's account of, the year he was eleven and added a baby raccoon to his already large and unwieldy menagerie.
He already had pet skunks, woodchucks, cats, a Saint Bernard dog named Wowser, and my favorite, PoetheCrow, Poe lived in the belfry of the church and called out "What fun! What fun!" to people arriving for church services,

As Sterling's constant companion and everybody's entertainer, Rascal is the star of the show, He's a showoff and a bit of a bandit, stealing shiny objects and pilfering sweet corn from neighborhood gardens, He loves to catch crayfish, ride on the merrygoround, and snuggle up in bed with his owner,

When I read this as a kid I was tuned in to all the animals, This time I found so much more depth to enjoy, I'd forgotten about how his father let him build anfoot canoe in the living room!
Rascal's charming antics aside, this is a story of how a motherless boy and his indulgent, goodnatured father made an enviable life for themselves in rural Wisconsin almostyears ago, despite the uncertainties of war and fears of the Spanish flu epidemic.
I vow to revisit this heartwarming book more often in the future, Reread this one. Just as good as reading it the first time, Still have my copy of this paperback, Nothing's surprising in the North household, not even Sterling's new pet raccoon, Rascal is only a baby when Sterling brings him home, but soon the two are best friends, doing everything togetheruntil the spring day when everything suddenly changes.


Rascal is a heartwarming boyhood memoir that continues to find its way into the hearts of readers fifty years later.
This special anniversary edition includes the Rascal's classic illustrations restored to their original splendor, as well as a letter from the author's daughter, and material from the illustrator's personal collection.


"Everyone should knock off work, sit beneath the nearest tree, and enjoy Rascal from cover to cover, "Chicago Tribune As much a memoir as an animal story, this is a relaxing read, Set inworld events touch but don't really enter the story of a boy and his pet raccoon, His brother is overseas in France, He has a war garden and sells the produce for a little cash, Spanish flu races through his town,
But the heart of the story is Rascal, And Rascal is all spoiled raccoon,
The information about raccoons is very interesting, Knowing something about how troublesome they can be, I could see some of the disasters coming,
The illustrations are nice,
Even more interesting are all the mentions of conditions in Wisconsin in, The lack of paved roads, The raising of tobacco. Lifestyles. People and attitudes. The wild country now under pavement and buildings, The description of Lake Superior,
Yes, this is a children's book, No, it's not just for children, It would be even more enjoyable for adults with a bit of historical background especially if a bit familiar with Wisconsin, "Rascal" is an American classic, telling the story of how the boy Sterling found a little raccoon in the spring of, and took him on as a pet.


While it took me a while to get into, due to the very old language style, and the fact that an adult was writing down memories of his childhood therefore not feeling very much like a child , I can see why this is the perfect book for reading in school.


Due to the setting in, and Sterling having a brother fighting in France, World War I and its consequences are described throughout, mentioning the loss suffered by the families and also the wartime economy, with even elevenyearold Sterling planting and selling his own vegetables.


The main part of this book however are descriptions of the American and especially Wisconsin flora and fauna, Sterling knows a lot himself, his Dad teaches him a lot, and then there's his passion for observing the world around him,
My favourite image was that of the osprey:


On top of all that come two bonus points:
The lovely raccoon art in the book, inspiring you to create your own.

Sterling's love for poetry, Nothing is better to teach a young kid how to love poetry than to show him another young kid doing just that,

I will probably read this a lot of time, maybe for the descriptions of the landscape and animals alone, In any case, Wisconsin could not ask for a better advertisement, and I'd love to visit it now,
Thus,shiny little that Rascal can steal if he wants :,


just starting to read this book, I have never read it before but I have seen the movie, the movie was good
this is also a true story Dad and kids both liked this beautiful book,

Warm, rich, kind, interesting, Historical, instructive, a timetraveling machine, Kept kids quiet. Kept Dad coming back for more, There were inequities and wickednesses happening in that America but there were beauties, too, beauties that only an untamed land with a population full of hope even during the Great War can give us.


Eightyearold girl: “It was funny and clever, I liked the part where the bully yells that thing about crazy raccoon!”

Fiveyearold boy: “Oh, well I didnt like this part very much but when his owner says he was carefully picking the cans, the shining things at the store.
”

Tenyearold boy: “I really loved Rascal, He was so funny. Then I liked how the writer wrote it, He wrote in a good way, ” Can I just say that I love raccoons!!! They're right up there in my favorite animals list next to ferrets! There are a lot of cute stories about Rascal that reeaaally make me want catch a raccoon and keep it as a pet even though my mom's family tried several times years and years ago.
Apparently it didn't work out very well, Anyways, this book is adorable, and the ending made me want to cry, There's one story where Rascal goes up to the sugar cube bowl, takes a sugar cube, goes straight to a bowl of water, and starts trying to wash it! Of course, he is rather confused when he stops washing and he isn't holding the sugar cube, but it ends happily and he learns not to wash his sugar before eating it! I love this book and Rascal and just EVERYTHING! Just a beautiful and wonderful book.
. . as a classic children's book, it's a book that adults can also enjoy, This story of a boy in Wisconsin raising a baby raccoon is a memoir, and, as such, transported me to a time and place long gone.
And you will never forget "Rascal, " So refreshing that it's still so readable, so respectful and reverent, Not as extreme as PETA, but certainly much more so than, say, Where the Red Fern Grows, which broke my heart well before the dogs died.


It's "autobiographical. " But written by the MC, so doesn't that mean memoir In any case, it's lovely, and historic, I don't know how much North let his nostalgia filter his memories and his reports, though, so I won't argue against shelving it as fiction.
In any case, published in thes, about the years, so historic even when new,

I believe I did read it as a child, I believe I didn't care for it because there weren't enough antics about the raccoon in it, Too much about the boy for me then,

I forgot to review this right away, I might have given it four at the time, but I remember almost nothing about it, so I really don't know, and certainly if it's not memorable it's not worth more than three! I can't believe I didn't read this when I was younger.
Perhaps, it was hidden with ths biographies in nonfiction Set almostyears ago in southeastern Wisconsin, this is the delightful story of an eleven yearold boy Sterling and the raccoon that he keeps as a pet for a year, from Mayto April.
Surprisingly charming!

Not usually the type of book I end up liking, but I did enjoy this one, There was something simple and sweet about it that made me happy,

Part of it might have been the audio narrator, He had a voice that reminded me of all the old movies I used to watch from thes ands, So pleasant and soothing.

I was happy to read that the book is autobiographical about the author, That also makes books like this more enjoyable,

Basically its just the stories of the author with his pet raccoon, Rascal, His dad was very lenient which gave him free rein to live an adventurous childhood, He even made a canoe in the living room! Rascal is so cute, Ive always loved raccoons and this book emphasized their more charming habits,

One of the better Newberry books!,