A Part of the Sky

by Robert Newton Peck

Overview

In celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of Robert Newton Peck's bestselling classic, A Day No Pigs Would Die, here is the eagerly anticipated sequel. This must for schools, libraries, and summer reading lists is now available for the first time in paperback. Times are difficult during the Great Depression, and thirteen-year-old Rob Peck must struggle to keep his family together after the death of his father. Disaster after disaster strikes and the family is forced to sell their farm. Relying solely on their strong Shaker faith and close family ties, the Pecks finally prevail and young Rob learns that true wealth extends beyond money and that real values are priceless.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780307574367
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	08/31/2011
Series:	A Day No Pigs Would Die
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	862,062
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Robert Newton Peck comes from generations of Yankee farmers. Like the Vermont folk he writes about in his novel, A Part of the Sky, he was raised as a boy in the Shaker Way, which endured even after the sect itself had died out. Its view of life is embodied in the character of his young protagonist's father, who believed that a faith is more blessed when put to use than when put to word: "A man's worship counts for naught, unless his dog and cat are the better for it." Peck has written over fifty novels, six nonfiction works, numerous songs, and over one hundred poems. His most famous works are Soup and A Day No Pig Would Die. 

Editorial Reviews

Published on the 25th anniversary of A Day No Pigs Would Die, this sequel returns to the Depression era and a Shaker way of life on a Vermont farm. With his father dead, Robert is now in charge and may have to sell the farm in order to survive. Ages 10-up. (July)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This poignant sequel to A Day No Pigs Would Die (LJ 11/15/72) will touch readers of all ages, for who could not fall in love with the young Rob Peck, a 13-year-old Shaker who takes on heavy burdens after the death of his father? Now responsible for Mama and Aunt Carrie, the family farm, and the Peck animals, Rob bravely faces death, bankruptcy, and subsequent foreclosure during the hard times of the early Depression. Disheartened by ongoing problems-his ox dies, the cow's milk dries up, drought stunts the harvest-Rob cannot meet the family's $12 monthly mortgage payments, and the Pecks lose their home. Ultimately, Rob learns that wealth extends beyond money and that real values are priceless. Recommended for public libraries..-Ellen R. Cohen, Rockville, Md.

Library Journal

Peck's stirring autobiographical novel, "A Day No Pigs Would Die" (1976), is a classic story of the bond between a Shaker boy and his father during hard times in Vermont. Unfortunately, this sequel reads like a sermon. Now that Rob's father is dead, the 13-year-old boy must take on the working of the small farm and the protection of his mother and elderly aunt. He must become "a man," as he often says. Lots of people agree ("To grow up is to stand up. Manly"). His kindly neighbors tell him that "manhood is doing what has to be done"; so do his wise teacher, his friend, and his saucy sweetheart. The Shaker idiom, so restrained in the first book, is self-consciously indulged here, more sentimental than strong. Everything is reverential and uplifting. Every character is noble, except for the villainous banker, of course, who's the opposite. Avi's "The Barn" is a far stronger historical novel about an uncertain farm boy thrust into early adulthood. However, Peck does create some fine poetic moments when the universals are rooted in the particulars of daily work. The book ends with a plainspoken account of how the mortgage is foreclosed and Rob and his family must leave the place they have worked and loved.

Hazel Rochman