Rascal - Book Review

For many years, I've had Rascal by Sterling North on my list of books to read. It's a Newbery Honor Book and typically you can't go wrong with one with one of these books. This was the case with Rascal - it was an engaging, well-written book that I enjoyed reading and would recommend to anyone who likes autobiographies, wildlife, and history.

The book is set in 1918 when children freely played outside and explored the natural world. Sterling had an interest in the natural world and wildlife, and brought in wild animals to care for during this childhood.

During this time period of his life, he and friend went into the woods with a dog who discovered a den with a mother raccoon and her babies. Unfortunately, the den was disturbed and the mother and babies separated for a brief period of time. The mother and all but one of the babies were able to get away. The remaining one, later named Rascal, was cared for by Sterling in his home.

During Rascal's early life, he was easy to care for and wanted to spend all his time next to Sterling. They were inseparable and went on many adventures together. Rascal was free to come in and out of the family's home.

As Rascal grew older, he became more inquisitive and got into trouble with some of the neighbors - mostly with eating food they were growing in their gardens. At this point, the neighbors said that in order to keep Rascal he would have to be on a leash and contained in cage.

Sterling reluctantly built a very large outdoor cage, but it was not the life he wanted for Rascal. There needed to be a time when Rascal was released back to the wild since no wild animal should be captive. The right time came for this transition.

The book has a bittersweet ending - there's the loss of friendship and companionship, yet it is mixed with freedom to live one's life and freedom from captivity.
Rascal is a relatively short book - 189 pages - and is worth reading...especially on a cold winter day when it is better to  be inside where it is warm.