Author: William H. Armstrong
Illustrator:
Readability Scores: Interest Level-6, Grade Level Equivalent-4.9, Lexile-900L, DRA-50, Guided Reading-T
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Subgenre: Animal stories
Theme: Adolescence, poverty
Primary and Secondary Characters: Sounder the dog, a boy and his father
Awards: Newbery Medal winner
Date of Publication: 1969
Publishing Company: Harper Trophy
ISBN Number: 9780064400206
Summary: This is the story of a poor black sharecropper and his dog Sounder. They coon hunt each night, but they are unsuccessful. The family is living on biscuits and gravy. The father brings home some meat, but the next morning he is arrested for stealing it and Sounder gets shot. The dog runs off. The boy finds his ear and keeps it hoping the dog will return. The boy searches for his father on inmate work groups and befriends a teacher who offers to take him in and teach him how to read. He accepts and learns to read. Later the father is released from jail, but he has been injured. He is reunited with Sounder because the dog did return and they go hunting together. The dog returns without the father and the boy finds him dead. The dog then dies under the front porch.
Applications for teaching: This is a wonderful story about growing up and enduring hardships. The boy learns to read and becomes a better stronger person. I would use this book during read aloud time with my class.
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