Rascal

Rascal is the name Sterling North gives his tiny new pet raccoon he found one afternoon when out in the woods with his friend.  The book, Rascal, is North’s recollection of a few years of his childhood when Rascal was his constant companion.

North is a delightful author, remembering funny stories of how Rascal would climb the table and get a sugar cube out of the sugar bowl, and wander in and out of the house at night (he had figured out how to open the door).

Boys will love this story!  North wanders all over town and countryside outside his Wisconsin home.  His father allows him lots of freedom, and his mother died several years earlier.  He has a brother fighting in World War I, and two sisters – one at the University of Chicago, and one married.  So, North is pretty much left to his own devices – which included lots of different pets, including Rascal, a bike to roam everywhere, and the canoe he was building in the living room.  (I guess that’s allowed when you have no mother and your older sisters have moved out of the house.)

North has to contend with neighbors who hate Rascal, a father who doesn’t pay much attention to him, and the loss of his mother.  But none of these topics dampen the adventures he finds himself enjoying, nor will it dampen your enjoyment of this book.

Recommended for ages 8 and up.