A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

A Day No Pigs Would Die, Robert Newton Peck

A beautiful, tender, rough and haunting tale - this American classic is the story of a 13 year old Shaker boy growing up on a Vermont farm.
The seasons pass, life and death are part of the cycle.
Even though he's Shaker and, according to his father "it's not the Shaker Way to take frills for being neighborly. All that Robert done was what any farmer would do for another" - Rob accepts a small pig from a neighbor as a thank you for saving his cow's life.


He keeps the pig, names her, and gives her his devotion. He wrestles with grammar in the schoolhouse. He hears rumors of sin. He is taken -- at last -- to the Rutland Fair. He broadens his heart to make room, even for Baptists. And when his father, who can neither read nor write but whose wisdom and skill of country things is part of his bones, entrusts Rob with his final secret, the boy makes the sacrifice that completes his passage into manhood.

"All is told with quiet humor and simplicity. Here are lives lived by earthy reason -- in a novel that, like a hoedown country fiddler's tune, rings at the same time with both poignancy and cheer."

Study guide: http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/Day_No_Pigs_Would_Die/Day_No_Pigs_Would_Die01.html

Teachers guide:
http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780679853060&view=tg

The Corn Grows Ripe by Dorothy Rhoads

The Corn Grows Ripe by Dorothy Rhoads (Viking)

 In 1957, when Old Yeller won the Newbery Medal, this small book was awarded an honor title. I had bought a copy of some used book sale and had it on my shelf, unread, for years. When I traveled to Mexico to help with the opening of a small, newly built library in a Mayan village, I grabbed this book of the shelf thinking I would leave it behind once I read it.

I was amazed to discovered that this lovely story takes place in a Mayan village in Mexico. It taught me so much of the history and way of life, the beliefs and customs of the people I was about to meet.

When his father is badly injured in an accident, a young Mayan boy called Tigre wonders who will plant and harvest the corn that they need to survive--and to please the Mayan gods. Twelve-year-old Tigre has never done a man's work before. Now he will have to take his father's place.

The story's setting and premise are rare. If you like to read books to children aloud, this is a perfect choice. I did leave the book behind in the Mayan library, even though the story is in English, but I ordered myself a new copy (at www.bookdepository.com) because I wanted to own this little gem. Happy reading!