Sooner [Paperback]

Calvert (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

In her best-selling novel Bigger, Patricia Calvert followed young Tyler Bohanon on his moving and courageous trek to Texas in search of a father who never returned from the Civil War. Now, in this powerful sequel, we see Tyler and his new pup, Sooner, at home. Barely an adult himself, Tyler is forced to take on the duties of the man of the house. And in the postwar era, even the basic needs of farm life are in short supply. He and his family struggle to maintain their balance, building a new life without Papa, who, they learn from a surprise visitor, has died and will never return.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7AFans of historical fiction in general and readers of Bigger (S & S, 1994) in particular will appreciate this sequel named for that dog's offspring. As Sooner opens, the Civil War has ended, but Black Jack Bohannon has refused to accept defeat and has headed south of the border with a small band of rebels. His son, 13-year-old Tyler, tries to come to terms with his father's decision not to return home and to becoming the man of the family. They eventually learn via a letter that Bohannon has died in Brazil. By novel's end, Tyler and Isaac Peerce, a former slave, are "lighting out," with Sooner in tow, for the Western territories to make their own way in the world. In between, Tyler deals with scalawags, learns that the Emancipation Proclamation didn't necessarily change anybody's heart, and resists his widowed mother's interest in remarriage. On the one hand, Tyler is a well-drawn, likable protagonist, and the plot moves along at a nice clip. On the other, Calvert's narrative voice tends toward melodrama, and complicated problems are often resolved fairly easily. In between, the author creates a real sense of place and time through carefully selected period details.ACoop Renner, Coldwell Elementary-Intermediate School, El Paso, TX
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Having traveled all the way to Texas in a vain effort to persuade his father to come back to Missouri, Tyler, 13, discovers, resists, and ultimately embraces the inevitability of change in this strong, simple sequel to Bigger (1994). Driven by the hope that Black Jack Bohannon will come back on his own one day, Tyler, his mother, and brother work to keep the farm going. That hope is snuffed when ex-slave Isaac Peerce reappears, bearing proof that Black Jack is dead. Tyler had always expected to live and die on the farm, but loses his position as man of the house when his mother marries widower Elway Snepp. It's time to head west, andlike father, like sonTyler never looks back. Calvert peoples her story with a mix of likable characters both steady and hot-headed, not the least of which is the dog for whom this book is named. She recaps the earlier book in detail, sets the larger postCivil War scene with a historical foreword and an afterword, and gives Tyler's change of heart believable reasons and pacing. (Fiction. 10-12) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Troll Communications (September 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816763224
• ISBN-13: 978-0816763221
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #914,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Family Life > Stepfamilies

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Historical Fiction!, August 4, 2000

By 

JES - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sooner (Hardcover)

I always read children's literature to decide if and how I will use it in my classroom with my 4th/5th graders. I can see that Sooner will be a valuable addition to our bookshelf right next to Bigger. Patricia Calvert creates believable characters who exhibit real emotions when faced with hardships and difficult changes in their lives. Thirteen-year-old Tyler's mother, brother, and sister are left to survive on their own when the father does not return home after the Civil War. They continue to hope that Black Jack Bohanan will come home until a friend brings them a letter Black Jack wrote just before dying. Tyler had already started taking care of everyone and everything, being the head of the household in his father's absence, so he does not understand when his mother begins to ask for and take advice from a neighboring widower. When his mother decides to marry again, Tyler wrestles with a full range of emotions: sadness, anger, jealousy, and confusion. Patricia Calvert gives children the opportunity to identify with the family's problems presented in the book as they get an insightful look into the post-Civil War past.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sooner- A Reasonable Historical Fiction Book, January 31, 2001

By 

Bob (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sooner (Paperback)

The plot of Sooner is indeed not a ver normal one. There are two main problems that carry the book, one halfway, the other the rest. These problems, the mystery of Tyler's father and weeding of Tyler's mother and Elway Snepp are not very powerful to say the least. Basically Tyler lives and things happen to him on his quest to cope with the new times. Perhaps it isn't the most regular plot, but it will keep one reading to see what next act Tyler and his family commit. The word selection is reasonable in Sooner. No extraordinary vocabulary exists but Patricia Calvert relays her messages effectively with slight sparkles of brilliance and mystique scattered about the book. For an average young adult the vocabulary definitely shouldn't be too tough, perhaps one might even learn a word or two from Sooner. Since Sooner is historical fiction, historical accuracy is very important. The book's history is extremely accurate but before one reads it one should know that it isn't a history book that has been spiced up, it is a book that has facts and concepts poured into it. Sooner takes a few key concepts like Confederate soldiers not surrendering, hemp becoming a cash crop and blacks being liberated. The author then suffuses them with the plot to have many of the events to revolve around these facts. In this manner Sooner has a good deal of history packed into it, but then again, it isn't a history book to reiterate. It gives the basic concepts of what happened after the Civil War, that of which students could easily remember, an delivers them in an interesting manner. Sooner is the sequel to Bigger and has room for a sequel, with an extremely wide open ending. Patricia Calvert ends the book with Tyler venturing into the frontier, escaping from the perpetual ordeal he would have to endure if he stayed behind with Elway Snepp. Patricia Calvert writes many good books, this is one of them.