A couple of nights ago we finished reading Rascal, Sterling North's memoir of the year he had a pet raccoon. He was 12 years old and his brother was away fighting in WWI, his mother had died several years before, and his sisters were all grown up. Sterling and his father lived in a true bachelor pad, complete with a canoe-under-construction in the living room and an enormous Saint Bernard rambling through the house. It's a wonderful read-aloud: hilarious, tender, beautifully-written, informative, elegant, wistful, and evocative. I fell completely in love with and so did Finn.
I found his dry erase marker rendering of a raccoon family today. And he's already started reading it again to himself.
This is the perfect book to read aloud. I am particular about the books I read aloud to my children; they have to be so well-written that I'm not constantly editing in my mind. (It happens, unfortunately.) North's book is masterful. I never wanted to edit it; I believe it is just right.
Read this book while the leaves fall and the soup is cooking on the stove--it's perfect for autumn!
