Sounder: not a book about the dog, but it is about a boy

My three oldest children had to do a book report with an adult for a summer read. Instead of me reading 3 books, we had our own book club and we all read Sounder by William Armstrong. The book was 110 pages (short) and my 10 year old could read it, plus my 12 and 13 years old sons didn’t think it was a “kid” book. I found it to have lots of underlying messages but wondered if my children would have got more than just the story if I had not pointed the messages out. The picture cover and the name of the book may suggest the story is about a dog, but it is more about a young boys life and how he grew from loss.

The Story itself

Sounder is the story a poor black sharecropper family living in the Deep South. The main character, a young boy, is simply referred to in the story as “boy.” He lives with his mother, father, siblings, and his beloved coon dog, Sounder. To feed his family, the father is driven to stealing food in order to put a meal on the table. The father is eventually caught by the authorities and is imprisoned for his crime, sentenced to years of hard labor. Throughout this ordeal the family finds way to survive. The mother acquires a saint-like patience in waiting for the return of her husband, while the boy goes on endless quests, to locate the whereabouts of his father. The mother often refers to stories from the Bible and these stories are comfort to the boy. As the boy makes his journey through life, he comes across a teacher that takes the time to teach him to read. Literacy does change the boy’s attitude about life. The boy quits trying to locate his father and matures. The boy’s father does return changed also.

Who should read the book

The book is easy to read, but may be confusing to a young readers. Any children ages 11 and up could read this book as well as adults. There are no names in the story of the characters except the dog. This may be confusing to some readers, but the author gives great descriptions of the characters. This would be a great book for a teacher to teach in literature class. There are messages of hope, endurance, loneliness and prejudice.

What about the dog?

The role the dog plays in the story seemed smaller than the story itself. The dog is shot by the deputies that take the boys father away. Sounder run off and returns injured. He is part of the boy’s life, but does not take up the story.

Final thoughts

The story of Sounder was a great story. The read was easy for me. All of the my children finished it quickly. The said it wasn’t the best book they ever read, but it was good. I think some could love the book and not interest others because of the content. There is a small bit of violence in the book that may bother some children. The part of the book where the father is taken away and Sounder is shot is one. The other is the boy’s encounter with a prejudice jailor. I think the book gives messages of endurance and how literacy can be part of a solution in loneliness.

Side note:
There is a movie that is taken from the book. After we read the book, we saw the movie. There were several differences in the two. So don't watch the movie instead of reading the book.