Author:William H Armstrong
SOUNDER by William H. Armstrong is set in the 19th-century American South. It is the story a poor African-American sharecropping family, their faithful dog, Sounder, and the eldest boy's efforts to learn how to read and help his mother to support the family after his father is arrested for stealing a ham. When Sounder chases after the Sheriff's deputies he is shot and he crawls away, seemingly to die. For weeks the boy thinks that he has lost both his father and his dog, but then Sounder comes back, lame and missing an ear. The boy continues to search for his father, until a few years later the father returns home, disabled from a quarry accident. Reunited at last, the father and Sounder go on one final hunting trip together...
Like Robin Hood, Alice or Winnie the Pooh, Baum's inventions - the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Woodman, the Wizard and the Wicked Witch of the West, as well as Dorothy and her dog Toto - have become the mythological furniture of our children's minds, and of our own and our parents... Funny and inventive
—— Marina Warner , GuardianThe tales of Aesop and other fabulists...will never pass entirely away, but a welcome place remains and will easily be found for such stories as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
—— New York TimesBaum created a truly extraordinary world, a real world…and filled it with amazing things
—— Dinitia Smith[It] has worked its way into the national psyche as a fable of eternal hope in which things are not always as fearsome as they seem
—— New York TimesBaum dared to offer delight without instruction
—— Michael Patrick HearnA fun and thought-provoking story of self-discovery, and the humour and gentleness with which Boyne delivers his message make it both unforgettable and delightful
—— Publishers WeeklySweepingly romantic, this book is a living, breathing memory of the whirlwind of emotions that go hand in hand with falling in love.
—— SugarscapeOne of the best storytellers
—— Mr Ripley's Enchanted BooksMulligan certainly delivers in this extraordinary examination of grief....highly original, emotionally-charged black comedy / thriller. A worthy successor to Mulligan’s excellent Trash.
—— Daily Mail[A] poignant, imaginative take on adolescence
—— The Times, Saturday ReviewAddictive
—— BooktrustI really enjoyed this funny, sad and truthful fable...Mulligan makes a great deal of friendship and the huge source of strength and support it can be.
—— The Book BagA poignant and heart-warming story about life and all the hardships and troubles that this can bring...A fascinating and brilliant read...Another blinding story from Andy Mulligan, which delivers the unexpected with superb imaginative qualities.
—— Mr Ripley's Enchanted BooksA complex and absorbing novel with vivid characters
—— BooktrustGripping dark comedy . . . [A] clever portrayal of a boy on the cusp of adolescence struggling to reconcile opposing impulses within himself
—— Children's Books Ireland