Sounder

Sounder. An African-American sharecropper in the19th-century South is struggling to feed his family. Every night his son and great coon dog, Sounder return to the cabin empty-handed. One morning, almost like a miracle, a sweet-smelling ham is cooking in the kitchen. That night, a sheriff comes to arrest the father for stealing a hog. During the arrest, Sounder is shot and disappears. The sharecropper’s son is devastated and misses both his father and dog. The eventual return of an emaciated Sounder doesn't change the fact that the son must do a man's work to support the family. His transition to manhood involves convicts as he searches for his father, then finds peace. Newbery Award Winner