Recommended for: Intermediate Years (4th-8th)

• Rascal Book Study with weekly lesson plans, recipes, and more
• Rascal Book Report Template
• Rascal Extension Book List
• Multimedia Reference Materials links
• Book Club Meet-up Guide

Overview of Rascal

Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North is a semi-autobiographical children’s book by Sterling North about his childhood in Wisconsin during the last year of World War I. The story chronicles the days of 11-year-old Sterling North, who captures and befriends a baby raccoon he names Rascal. Sterling and Rascal adventure together while the world around them is changing with industrialization on the horizon and World War I drawing to a close.

Rascal is a coming of age story intertwined with loss — loss of innocence, family, and friends. Sterling is forced to make many of life’s difficult choices alone as he grows into a young man. The book compares Sterling’s relationships with animals to the adults around him. Rascal was a 1964 Newbery Honor book, won the 1964 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and won the 1966 Sequoyah Book Award.

Themes covered in this study

• Raccoons
• Canoes
• Wisconsin Native American tribes
• The Black Hawk war
• Wisconsin native birds - whippoorwills
• Flora and fauna of Wisconsin/Lake Superior
• End of World War I and Armistice Day
• Lake Superior rocks and minerals - agates

Book Disclaimer

This book includes some instances of parental neglect and an instance of mild profanity.We encourage parents to review all literature selections in advance to ensure they align with your family’s values and age levels.