The Yearling

I've read this book a number of times but my favorite is when my son and I read it out loud together. It was great fun doing the backwoods, "hillbilly" accent and using old-timey terms like varmints and vittles and rations. When we got to the very end of the book I could no longer read and my son had to take over because I was so choked up and emotional. This is a great book for anyone who has had a beloved pet or who has a beloved child. Life can break your heart you better believe it. But it's beautiful nonetheless.

What ages would I recommend it too? – Twelve and up.

Length? – Several days read.

Characters? – Memorable, several characters.

Setting? – Florida early 1900's?

Written approximately? – 1938.

Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? – Yes. There were a few inconsistencies.

Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? Yes. As people move further from the time this novel is written about, several words don't make sense, and many children readers today would not understand how he could not have to go to school, or a few of the other unique things in this story.

Notes for the reader: It was really odd, reading a story in which both males are called by female names. Penny and Jody as male, just pulls you right out of the story. And the one main female was a bit cardboard, hardly developed at all. She was not friendly either.

The character Jody is said to be 12. He acts more like an 8 year old of that time.