Scan barcode
hlparis's review
4.0
'The boy liked it when she told her stories. They took away night loneliness. Night loneliness was always bad when the younger children had gone to bed, or when the father was not in the cabin. "Night loneliness is part fearing," the mother had once said to him. But the boy was never afraid when the father was near.
Perhaps she too felt loneliness that came with the wind as it passed the cabin outside, and the closeness of a world whose farthest border in the night was the place where the lamp light ended, at the edge of the cabin walls.'
Page 41
"If you're inside you look out, and you're outside you look in, but what looks both ways?
Page 114
"Only the unwise think that what has changed is dead." He had asked the teacher what it meant, and the teacher had said that if a flower blooms once, it goes on for whoever has seen it blooming.
The window is the answer."
Perhaps she too felt loneliness that came with the wind as it passed the cabin outside, and the closeness of a world whose farthest border in the night was the place where the lamp light ended, at the edge of the cabin walls.'
Page 41
"If you're inside you look out, and you're outside you look in, but what looks both ways?
Page 114
"Only the unwise think that what has changed is dead." He had asked the teacher what it meant, and the teacher had said that if a flower blooms once, it goes on for whoever has seen it blooming.
The window is the answer."
k_lee_reads_it's review against another edition
4.0
This story is sad. It is also full of thematic truth about life and death, but mostly I found it sad.
amandagstevens's review against another edition
3.0
Wow. Devastating. Especially for young readers. The author's note that he is telling a true story is important I think, if I were teaching this book or offering it to its target audience.
Four stars if the characters had names. Might sound like a quibble, but "the boy" and "his father" doesn't merely get old quickly. It also keeps the reader at arms' length in a way I don't think the author intended. As another reviewer has said, this isn't a "universal" story. It's a capturing of specific history, a time and a place and a family. I would prefer the author's craft choices to bring me closer to that family.
Four stars if the characters had names. Might sound like a quibble, but "the boy" and "his father" doesn't merely get old quickly. It also keeps the reader at arms' length in a way I don't think the author intended. As another reviewer has said, this isn't a "universal" story. It's a capturing of specific history, a time and a place and a family. I would prefer the author's craft choices to bring me closer to that family.
sunny76's review against another edition
4.0
Sounder is the hunting dog that appeared at a sharecropper's cabin one day. The sharecropper, his wife, and their children live in the cabin. The book, in my opinion, is more about the oldest son and his relationships with Sounder and the family. - Newberry Medal winner.
bitterindigo's review
4.0
Oof. I'm of a few different minds about this. On the one hand, it's heart-wrenchingly, horrifyingly sad and enraging for a book aimed at middle-grade readers. On the other hand, I have tried not to shield my kids from these realities. On the one hand, it could be speculated that this was selected for the Newbery medal for having a conspicuously "worthy" subject matter. On the other hand, I thought it was done really, really well. The hardship and injustice is shown to be entirely routine for the characters. The storytelling voice is grave and quiet and effective. I feel like this one is going to stick with me for awhile.
eralon's review
4.0
This is not a book about a boy and his dog. It ripped my heart out. The writing is excellent. It feels too heavy and possibly subtle for children, but maybe for high schoolers.
iceangel9's review
4.0
The classic tale of a poor African-American family in the 19th century South. The boy's father is a sharecropper struggling to feed his family. When he steals a ham and is sent to prison the young son must take his place as provider. The fact that none of these characters, other than the dog, is ever named makes them even more realistic as they come to represent so many others who lived as they did during this period. A classic tale and a must read for persons wishing to be considered well read.
sandyd's review
3.0
The 1970 Newbery winner, and one of the most depressing winners that I've read. An interesting follow-up to "The Professor's Daughter", actually (for its portrayal of racism in the U.S., and doubtless why it won the Newbery), but good lord it was sad and depressing. Here's my Newbery Project review. Couldn't Armstrong have given readers a smidgeon or two of hope at the end?
The writing is beautiful and the story is fairly short.
The writing is beautiful and the story is fairly short.