Product Description

Skunks, woodchucks, a crow named Poe, an absent-minded father, an eighteen foot, half-finished canoe in the living room—welcome to the North home! Nothing’s surprising at the North residence. Not even eleven-year-old Sterling’s new pet raccoon. Rascal is only a baby when young Sterling brings him home to join his unusual family. The mischievous raccoon and Sterling are partners and best friends for a perfect year of adventure—swimming, fishing, exploring the countryside together—until the spring day when everything suddenly changes and Sterling realizes he must let Rascal go. This heartwarming and delightful memoir of a boy’s friendship with a wild animal, and his growing awareness of the world around him, has become a treasured classic. Rascal has taken his place among literature’s most captivating and endearing animals.

A Newbery Honor Book

An ALA Notable Children’s Book

A NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33700 in Books
• Published on: 1990-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780140344455
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
Everyone should knock off work, sit beneath the nearest tree, and enjoy Rascal from cover to cover. -- Chicago Tribune

Review
Everyone should knock off work, sit beneath the nearest tree, and enjoy Rascal from cover to cover. (The Chicago Tribune)

From the Inside Flap
Read by Jim Weiss
4 hours, 41 minutes
3 cassettes

Who could resist living for a year with a raccoon who is just about your best friend?

In this delightful memoir, Sterling North recalls his year with Rascal--a very mischievous and resourceful raccoon. Sterling, a boy of 11, watches in amazement as this baby raccoon, barely the size of Sterling's hand, instinctively washes everything before eating it. Sterling knows that every night Rascal will sneak into the house by hooking his claws onto the back screen door and head straight for Sterling's bed! Virtually everywhere Sterling goes, Rascal is there, and life is filled with one adventure after another.

Customer Reviews

Rascal book review
Sterling North vividly depicts the adventures, both physically and emotionally, of a boy named Sterling and his pet raccoon. This is a perfectly written book, containing many themes that you can relate to. Read through this book and you will be able to imagine his house perfectly. A menagerie of dogs, crows, skunks, and of course Rascal. The living room with the unfinished canoe and the chicken wired Christmas tree.

Having lost his mother at the age of seven, Sterling is a very independent boy who one day finds a baby raccoon, and decides to call him Rascal. As they both grow, their bond becomes strong along with their numerous activities and adventures. No one couldn’t help but laughing when Rascal, who always washes his food before eating, discovers the sugar cubes. He tries to clean them but they just dissolve!

In this unforgettable book, Sterling North manages to capture you and take you to a timeless place of life. Rascal is an easy, although deep book, and I strongly recommend it to everyone.

A classic American tale, and a wonderful animal story.
I first read the story of Rascal as a child, and was fascinated with the thought of a raccoon as a pet. The adventures of Sterling and his unusual pet were absolutely captivating, and that is all that I remembered of the book.

I recently read this book again to my daughter, piece by piece, at bedtime. The tale of Rascal captured me again, but so much more became evident! As an adult, I am struck by the beauty of the land North describes, and fascinated by the historical and naturalistic detail in his narrative.

North's language is natural and readable, though not overly simple. It is as though the reader sits at the foot of a rocking chair as an aged, eminent natural philosopher tells the story of his boyhood. The words flow over and around the reader, and refresh our sense of wonder at the beauty of our natural world.

A trip into my childhood
I first read Rascal when I was a young boy (I'm 43 now). I re-read it just a few months ago and once again I was taken back to my youth. I was raised in a small country town (pop 600) in the mid-west (Michigan) and this book always brings back those carefree days of wandering through the woods. When I read this book I am once again young and at home. I feel truely sorry for anyone not touched by this book. They must have missed something very precious in their life.