The Thang That Ate My Grandaddy's Dog - Hardcover

Rainey, John Calvin

4

8 ratings by Goodreads

9781561641307: The Thang That Ate My Grandaddy's Dog

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1561641308 ISBN 13: 9781561641307

Publisher: Pineapple Press, 1997

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A young African American boy and his family move from New York to live with relatives in Florida, where he and his sisters learn hard lessons about life, self-respect, and the importance of family

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Review:

The publisher calls this a novel, but really it's a series of short stories that feature the same characters. Most of the stories are narrated by Johnny Woodside, a city boy who goes to live with his grandparents in rural Florida after his father is sentenced to prison. Some of the stories, like "The Mulberry Tree" where Johnny's girl cousins lure him into getting attacked by a mockingbird, are playful reminiscences of childhood. Others deal with more adult concerns, as in the ribald "A Conversation Among My Aunts" and "The Mamas and The Papas," in which young Paulus Keats learns that his tangled family history means he can marry the girl of his dreams after all. At their best, these are wistful stories, sometimes with the good humor of tall tales.

From Booklist:

One by one, for different reasons, the children of Gertrude and Troy Woodside have returned to the family hometown in Oklawaha County, Florida, with their families. Johnny Woodside is one of the children's children and the narrator of this enchanting book. The tales of growing up in Boggy, a community close to the Oklawaha Swamp, are funny, touching, and entertaining. Johnny and his many cousins grow up getting into trouble, causing mischief, and sticking together against enemies--human and otherwise. The novel takes readers from Boggy town memories, to the confessions of the mamas and the papas, to those great life lessons. As with any small community, the history of its inhabitants, those who left and those who remained, is full of secrets. Sometimes the secrets are dangerous, and sometimes they are revealing. No matter the type, everyone can be a victim of the thang that ate granddaddy's dog, if we don't listen and learn. Lillian Lewis

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