Sounder facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Sounder

First edition
Author	William H. Armstrong
Illustrator	James Barkley
Country	Canada
Language	English
Publisher	Harper & Row
Publication date	1969
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages	116
ISBN	0-06-440020-4
OCLC	9631903
LC Class	PZ7.A73394 So
Followed by	Sour Land

Sounder is a powerful story written by William H. Armstrong. It was published in 1969. This book tells about an African-American boy and his family. They live as sharecroppers, working on land owned by someone else. The family faces many tough times. Their problems grow when the father is sent to jail for taking food. Even with these challenges, the boy really wants to get an education.

The only character with a name in the book is Sounder, the family's dog. The author calls other characters by their roles, like "the boy" or "the mother." The story's exact location is also a bit of a mystery. The author mentions prisoners being moved in "mule-drawn wagons." He also talks about "chain gangs," which were groups of prisoners forced to do hard labor. This practice ended in 1955, giving us a hint about the time period. The boy hears his father might be in places like Bartow or Gilmer counties. But the book never says exactly where the boy lives.

Sounder won the famous Newbery Award in 1970. It was also made into a popular movie in 1972.

What Happens in Sounder

The family in the story is very poor and often hungry. The father and his dog, Sounder, go hunting every night. But they rarely catch enough food. The family mostly eats simple meals like fried corn mush and biscuits. One morning, they wake up to the smell of cooking ham. They enjoy this rare feast for three days. Then, the sheriff and his helpers suddenly come to their home. They arrest the father for taking the ham. Sounder chases after them, and one of the helpers shoots the dog.

The Boy Searches for Sounder

The boy goes out to find Sounder but cannot. He returns to where the dog was shot and finds a piece of Sounder's ear. His mother tells him not to "be all hope," meaning not to expect too much. Still, the boy searches for Sounder every day for weeks. With his father gone, the family lives on the money the mother earns by selling cracked walnuts. The boy helps care for his three younger siblings. He feels very lonely in their small cabin.

A Visit to Jail

For Christmas, the boy's mother bakes a special cake for him to take to his father in jail. When he arrives, the guard is very unkind. Finally, the boy is allowed in. The guard breaks the cake into pieces, saying he thinks it might hide something to help the father escape. The boy still gives the broken cake to his father. He tells his father that Sounder might still be alive. Their talk is difficult. The father tells the boy not to come back to the jail. The boy then goes home.

Sounder Returns Home

About two months after his father's arrest, the boy wakes up to a soft whining sound. He goes outside and finds Sounder standing there. The dog can only use three legs. He has only one ear and one eye. And he no longer barks. The boy and his mother are so happy to welcome Sounder home.

The Boy's Journey and Learning

The family learns that the father was found guilty. He was sentenced to do hard labor. The boy decides to search for his father. For several years, during the late fall and winter, he travels to different counties. He looks for groups of working prisoners, hoping to find his father. He also tries to teach himself to read signs and newspapers. He has some success.

One day, he is watching prisoners at a road camp. He tries to see if his father is among them. A guard hits the boy's fingers with a piece of iron and tells him to leave. As the boy walks away, he sees someone throw a book into a trashcan. It is a large book by a writer named Montaigne. The boy picks it up. He finds a school where he tries to wash the blood off his hands. While at the pump, he meets an old teacher. The teacher cleans his wounds and asks what happened. The boy tells the teacher about Sounder and his father. Seeing the book, the teacher offers the boy a place to live and learn to read. The boy's mother tells him to go. He stays with the teacher during the winter and works in the fields in summer.

The Father's Return

One August day, the boy is at home helping with chores. They see his father walking toward them. One side of his father's body is injured from an accident in a quarry. Sounder had sensed the man's return for days. The dog runs out to meet him and barks joyfully.

Weeks later, the man and his dog go hunting for the first time since the father came home. The man had waited to invite his son. But now he sees that the boy is tired from fieldwork. The man also feels that hunting might not interest the boy anymore. At dawn, Sounder comes back without his master. The boy follows Sounder to the man and finds him dead. Before going back to school, the boy tells his mother that Sounder will likely die before he returns for the holiday. Two weeks before Christmas, Sounder crawls under the porch and dies. Even with these sad deaths, the family feels a sense of peace. Especially the boy, who has achieved what he wanted most: to learn to read.

Sounder on Film

In 1972, Sounder was made into a movie. It starred famous actors like Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, and Kevin Hooks. The movie was written by Lonne Elder III and directed by Martin Ritt.

Later, in 2003, a new movie version aired on ABC's Wonderful World of Disney. This new film brought back two actors from the first movie. Kevin Hooks directed it, and Paul Winfield played the teacher. In the original movie, Winfield and Hooks had played father and son.

See also

In Spanish: Sounder para niños