Using Jip: His Story As a Novel Study
Jip: His Story was a book I stumbled upon in a Scholastic book order several years ago. It was on sale, so I ordered a set to do a novel group (I break my kids into groups of 4-6 kids per novel) and was looking for some fresh material. I had been using Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia , so I thought I'd give Jip a try, beings that it was written by a well-known and well-written author. This book exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed Bridge to Terabithia and enjoyed using it in my novel groups, but Jip, in my opinion, is a better-written book. Set in 1855, Jip is an orphan boy that lives on a poor farm in rural Vermont. His life isn't easy and he has to work hard to earn his keep. He befriends a "lunatic" that is mistreated by the residents of the poor farm and is surrounded by a large cast of characters. He later has to come to terms with his own identity as he discovers why he was orphaned and what it means for his future. This is a more challengin