Jip: His Story

Great story from a great author. Good insights on race issues back in that day. I only ever taught 3rd grade in my 41 years of public school teaching, but I think this would be a good read-aloud book for 5th grade and up.

One of the BEST books I have EVER read! seriously!!! would make an incredible movie. Would recommend to young or old readers.

A Book that will save tons of time when trying to blend the events of the life of the Savior

This book is written by Katherine Paterson and is a Historical Fiction book. The setting was a small farm in Vermont in the 1850s. The main character was a 12-year old boy named Jip. When he was little, he was thrown off a wagon-cart by his mother. Nice folks who lived in a farm took him in as their child. The farm hosted guests who were ill or had physical issues. One day, they found a "lunatic" called Putnam Nelson. Everyone believed that Putnam was raving mad, but Jip knew that he was actually a kindhearted gentleman. Some months later, he found out from a "stranger" that he was actually partially black. He also found out that he was the son of an escaped slave, and that his life was at high risk. Consequently Putnam and Jip escaped together on the Underground Railroad. When he was almost captured by the schoolhouse, the teacher found him and told him that she was his mother and her "friend", Luke, was his father. The book ended where Luke, Jip, Putnam, and the teacher escaped to a faraway city.I gave this book a 4 out of 5 star rating. It shows how some people aren’t as “lunatic” as other people think. It also gives an example of how we can show kindness toward people with mental problems. I didn’t give it a 5 because the ending wasn’t very exciting.

This book is great as a stand-alone, but it is helpful to know (for teachers who read or assign this book to students) that it is actually related to a prior book by Katherine Paterson entitled "Lyddie." Lyddie is about a young girl from Vermont who has to leave her farm home, travel to Lowell Massachusetts, and work in the textile mills. Spoiler alert - if you plan to read Lyddie before "Jip: His Story" and wish to learn on your own how the stories connect - stop reading here! ;^) About a third of the way through JIp: His Story, Jip meets "Teacher," a very important character in the book. She is kind, pretty, and first mentions to Jip that she had a friend who named himself "Ezekiel Freeman," (a character in the book Lyddie). Teacher is reading to her class the Dickens classic "Oliver Twist." Later, we find out that Teacher has a man in her life that is sweet on her - a Quaker gentleman by the name of Luke Stephens. In the prior book Lyddie, Lyddie Worthen learns to love books and teaches herself to read while working in the textile mills because her friend and boarding house roommate reads "Oliver Twist" to her at night after work and on Sundays. Luke Stephens is Lyddie's neighbor in Vermont to whom she returns at the end of the book, and Luke promises to wait for her as she goes off to college in Ohio. So, it is subtle, but very cool when reading Jip: His Story when we realize that "Teacher," is actually the adult Lyddie Worthen from the Book "Lyddie," who after leaving the Lowell mills attends college and becomes Jip's caring "Teacher."

Jip His Story Penguin Group, 1996, 180 pp., $5.99Katherine Paterson ISBN 0-H0386712 How would you feel if everybody told you that when you were a baby, you fell off the back of a wagon and nobody came back for you and the only person who knows the truth is a complete stranger who has been following your every move? That's what happened to Jip, the protagonist of Katherine Paterson's Jip His Story. When he tries to find out answers, his whole world is turned upside down. Jip is a thirteen year-old boy who lives on a barn with Mr. and Ms. Lyman, neither of which are his real parents. Supposedly, Jip fell off the back off of a wagon and no one came back for him or even cared. Mr. Lyman found Jip on the side of the road and took him back to his barn. As soon as Jip was old enough to work, Mr. Lyman put him to work in the barn; they made hi feed the animals clean the house. Jip had to do all the dirty work. Jip hates working in the barn.One day a truck pulled up to the barn and in the back was a guy who everyone thought was a lunatic. At first Jip was frightened to talk to him, but when he got to know him, this lunatic became his best friend Put. Jip eventually decides that he wants to find his real parents and get as far away from the Lyman's and the barn as possible. Jip doesn't know exactly where he needs to go, but he knows he needs to get away. Jip and Put are on a quest to leave the town, but bad things start to happen when a mysterious stranger starts following Jip, telling him he knows his real dad. This is a really excellent book about friendship and trust. I recommend this book to anyone who likes books in the genre of realistic fiction. This book has a lot of adventure in it too. I really got into this book and I couldn't put it down. This is not the first Katherine Paterson book I have read and enjoyed, but it is one of my favorites. Katherine Paterson is a fabulous writer children's author who hooks you into her writing. She makes you feel like you're the story.This book is a lot like the book Stuart Little, in Stuart Little, a little boy didn't think he could be friends with a mouse, just like Jip didn't think he would be able to be friends with a lunatic. If you are looking for a good book to read, I suggest that you go get Jip His Story right now. It's a great book to read for enjoyment and I think that everybody should read it. There is not a certain age group who should read this book. It's a book that almost anybody can read and enjoy.~Jordan Sawyers, Grade 8, Patrick Lyndon Pilot School, Boston, Massachusetts~Teacher: Lisa Portadin