The Yearling

I have until Valentine's Day to finish this book.  That's the morning of our February Book Breakfast and it's going to be a hard deadline to make.  Not only has this Pulitzer Prize winning novel been hiding in the book storage closet for 8 years, it's been checked out time and again by "boys who hunt" and then returned quickly because it was "too hard".  I'm on chapter 7 after one week of dedicated reading and I understand completely!  

Here are the reasons why this novel makes for a slow read for even a fast reader:
1.  The setting is 1938, shrub of Florida.  The flora and fauna are quite different than what we have in Kentucky.  Terms like "ti ti", "sand bugger" and "cooter" cause for much confusion.  Especially when two of those items will be served for supper in chapter 2!  
2. The regional dialect is typical for 1930s Florida.  Words like "git" and "fer" are easy enough to translate, but words like "draw up" and "quare" cause even me to stumble and muddle through.  
3.  The father's nickname is "Penny" and used throughout the book instead of his given name, "Ezra".  This can be confusing to students.  Penny is typically a female character's name in today's literature.
4.  The plot is slow...many details of the landscape drag the plot down and bore middle school readers.  Although the author is praised for her descriptions of the Florida shrub country, she was writing for a very different reader in 1938.  As you know, the attention span of our students is short.  They can handle lots of action in just a few paragraphs or chapters.  I'm on chapter 7 and the most action I've seen so far is a bear fight and a visit to the neighbors.  :-/

But I'm hanging in there and pushing through because I know the value in finishing a book.  Plus, I have 6 students who have finished it already and have promised me that it gets better.  I owe it to them to give this book 100%.  

Happy Reading!
RC