Sounder

Sounder is the 1970 Newberry Medal winner. Sounder is the loyal dog of a young boy, who because of his fathers actions, the boy is now having to work even harder to help support his family. The family is very poor and the boy's father is a sharecropper, who can't support his family. Sounder accompanies the boys father each night as they go hunting, but always come out empty handed. Tired of their circumstances the father steals a hog and when arrested the boy is left to support his family. In the ordeal Sounder is shot and runs away. The boy visits his father one day, but the visit did not go well. His father asks him never to return. The father is then moved to work around the country with the prison system and the boy frantically searches for his father. Sounder returns one day, but never the same. The boy's life changes when a teacher takes him under his wing. In exchange for teaching the boy to read, the boy works for the teacher. His mother understands that the Lord has a plan for him. In the end his father returns because he is hurt from an explosion, and although the family is happy to have him home things are never the same. The father and Sounder die in the end, but the boy's future seems to be better for the family. The author give no names of the family members, only the dog Sounder. I thought that was unique in the story. It's a bit of a sad story but I felt that there was hope for the family through the boys future.

Armstrong, William H. (1969). Sounder. New York: Harper Collins.