Sterling North’s Rascal

Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era, by Sterling North

Ages 6 & up

This is a beautiful story, compelling and moving, one that makes you ache in just the right way. I remember my mother reading this book to me as a child, so I recently read it to my younger children. I was able to read it to them using the copy my mother read to me, which was a copy my father received and read when he was a boy (in the photos)

The story chronicles a year in North’s boyhood (1918-19) in Wisconsin when he raises a wild raccoon as his pet. As I read the book I found myself saying that it made me long for a simpler, better time. Only later did I discover the subtitle which I had overlooked, “A Memoir of a Better Era.” That aptly describes the story in which boys can roam free in the woods without worry, father and son can camp along a roadside, and generally no busybodies hyperventilate about some adventure and mishap.

We thoroughly enjoyed the story with the antics of Rascal, the adventures of North and his friends and the great outdoors. It made me long for more time outdoors myself. There were also poignant moments when the specter of the War (World War I) loomed and Sterling hoped for the safe return of his older brother. I loved the initiative, spunk, and hard work seen in North, the main character. He persevered wit building his own canoe, found odd jobs to pay for supplies, raised his own garden, cared for his various pets (raccoon, skunks, crow, dog and others), built an enclosure for Rascal and many other things. Even though his mother has died and his father is sometimes away, there is a strong family connection as well.

We heartily commend Rascal to you!

Outside Activity Books

How to Build Treehouses, Huts, & Forts, David Stiles (The Lyons Press, 2003), pb. 96 pp.

Backyard Ballistics: Build cannons, paper match rockets, Cincinnati fire kites, tennis ball mortars, and more dynamite devices, William Gurstelle (Chicago Review Press, 2001), pb., 169 pp.

The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman onagers, English trebuchets, and more ancient artillery, William Gurstelle (Chicago Review Press, 2004), pb., 171 pp.

My oldest son bought these three books with some of his birthday money a couple of years ago- much to my delight! We have actually spent more time reading and looking at these books than building anything in them; but, we are finally in the midst of building a treehouse using the Stiles book. We have had a lot of fun looking through the book deciding which design would work best for us and roaming the yard looking for the best site for the treehouse. The plans given in this book are well done and easy to follow. They are even written to the boy rather than to the parent (a good touch). We are having a good time working on the project even though it is taking a while to get it done due largely to my needing to learn on the go- which is another benefit to me.

Another project we hope to take on this summer is to build a tennis ball mortar. We have been planning this since Christmas playing with an idea from a friend as well as the plans given in Backyard Ballistics. We may also attempt a sort of mini-catapult for water balloons! The Gurstelle books are great for explaining the science behind things as well as giving historical accounts where these contraptions were used.

These have been a lot of fun for us and we commend them to you.