Rascal (1963)

A coming of age memoir about a boy how brings home a wild raccoon baby for a pet. The motherless Sterling whose father is often away for business has his menagerie of pets, now including Rascal, to keep him coming. Set during the latter part of WWI this book shows Sterling growing up as his raccoon goes from a baby to a grown raccoon who needs to go back to the wild.

Genre: children's novel

If this isn't considered a classic, it ought to be. A humane and gentle memoir of a boy who raises a pet raccoon in the World War I era. The tale is charming, with a bittersweet undercurrent of anxiety (Sterling's brother is off in the War, there is an outbreak of Spanish Influenza). Sterling's life is every boy's dream: he builds a canoe in the living room, romps near and far with Rascal, and spends lazy days fishing and dreaming. He is also called upon to be a caretaker and protector of something he holds dear.

My 7 year old has a mania for raccoons (most days, he actually wears a raccoon tail!), which prompted us to pick this book up in the first place. He listened every evening, entranced, and learned, along with Sterling, the gentle lessons of responsibility. Be warned! Unless you are made of stone, or jaded beyond all hope, the last pages will get the tears flowing.

Anyone looking for real magic in a children's book ought to seek this one out.

The book " Rascal" by Sterling North is about 2 boys, who find some baby raccoons, and only save one. One of the boys take it and take care of it . After a while the baby raccoon got really smart. Read the book to see how it ends. ( )

This coming-of-age tale is the story of the author’s own adventures as a young boy who adopts a mischievous raccoon, appropriately named Rascal. A Newbery Honor book, Rascal is a great adventure for young readers interested in wildlife and the outdoors. Sterling is doing his best to keep the baby raccoon in check, but Rascal seems determined to live up to his name, and it soon becomes apparent that the living arrangement cannot last. Originally published in 1963, Rascal is timeless for its lessons on friendship, growing up, and letting go. Set during the years of World War I, the memoir is also a moving account of a much different time in American history. North’s superb writing style and the authenticity of the story ensure that Rascal will continue to be a hit for generations of young readers. Includes illustrations. For ages 9-12. Highly recommended. ( )

Things are pretty quiet in rural Wisconsin in 1917, unless, that is, you are eleven-year-old Sterling North. An avid naturalist, Sterling raises a variety of unusual pets: Poe, the crow, two skunks, a drooling St. Bernard named Wowzer, and assorted cats. His inseparable best friend, though, is Rascal, a young raccoon. Sterling relates the tales of his and Rascal's misadventures over the course of a year. From the unfinished canoe in the living room to the fenced off Christmas tree, life in the North household is unconventional, but warm and radiating that sense of childhood innocence in nature that often feels absent in today's less rural world.

I listened to the audio of this book with my eight-year-old daughter, and she immediately began trying to tame a crow (raccoons being verboten near our chickens). Jim Weiss has a rich, warm voice and narrates the story beautifully. I think I actually preferred listening to this one rather than reading it, although it's been many years since I first read it. My only reservation with the book is the manner in which Sterling acquires Rascal; but the ending compensates. Well-deserving of the Newbery Honor. ( )