Bigger (Aladdin Historical Fiction) - Softcover

Calvert, Patricia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 068986003X ISBN 13: 9780689860034

Publisher: Aladdin, 2003

Synopsis

In the spring of 1865 the Civil War has finally ended. Men are coming home. Families are being reunited -- except for Tyler's. His father is going with a band of men to Mexico, where they will regroup, rearm, and continue the fight against the Yankees. Tyler is stunned. For four years he's dreamed of seeing his father again, and he can't let go of that dream. There's only one thing Tyler can do -- go get his father and bring him home.
Tyler starts his trek from Missouri to the Rio Grande alone, but he quickly gains a companion -- a strange dog made mean by cruelty but tamed by hunger and Tyler's desperately lonely need for him. Tyler names him Bigger.
The journey is long and hard but, with Bigger by his side, possible. Tyler might make it all the way to the Rio Grande. He might even find his father. But most importantly, Bigger helps Tyler realize that some dreams might not be worth holding on to.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-8-The Civil War is over and Tyler Bohannon, 12, begins a trek that will take him from his secure home in Sweet Creek, Missouri, to Eagle Pass, Texas. His goal is to find and bring back his father, who joined General Jo Shelby and the Confederates four years earlier. Soon after setting out, Bigger, a fierce, apparently abused dog, becomes Tyler's companion. Their odyssey is one of body, mind, and spirit. They face hunger, heat, and exhaustion; in a brief meeting with a scarred, orphaned black boy, Tyler confronts the brutality of slavery; and walking over Pea Ridge, he is horrified by the bones littering the battlefield. He finally finds his father, but the man is hardened in his resolve to settle his score with the Union, and refuses to go home. As the boy tries to understand this rejection, he must face further heartbreak when, on the way home, Bigger is killed. Through strong characters, flowing narrative, geographic description, and historical detail, Calvert draws readers into her hero's life and times. Although he endures a heavy dose of adversity, the boy is not extraordinary. His resilience stems from his realization that loyalty, love, and courage take many forms. Readers will relate to his friendship with Bigger, his emerging social consciousness, and his struggle to accept the loss of his dreams and the hard realities of the adult world.
Gerry Larson, Chewning Middle School, Durham, NC
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

The Civil War is over, but Tyler is still waiting for his father, Black Jack Bohannon, to return to their Missouri home. Hearing of Confederate soldiers who, rather than surrender, are moving into Mexico to gather their forces, Tyler decides Black Jack must be among them and begins a journey to the border, determined to locate him and dreaming of their happy reunion. Along the way he adopts an abused dog and becomes friends with an abused slave; but when he eventually returns home he's alone once more. His father has chosen to remain a soldier and the family may never see him again. Tyler's dawning maturity is sensitively handled. It may seem as if he grows up a lot in five months, but his cleansing journey reaches closure before he begins to rebuild his life, as the country must also rebuild. But while the story is infused with compassion for players in the historical tragedy, Calvert inspires less concern for characters involved in the plot. With a modern sensibility toward battle, she deromanticizes the War even while offering up an idealized boy with no faults or troubles beyond missing his pa; and though much is made of his bond with the dog, it's never really heartfelt. (Fiction. 9-12) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Aladdin
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 068986003X
• ISBN 13: 9780689860034
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144