The Yearling
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 13+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
Jody lives on a small farm in the Florida woods long ago. He takes in a baby deer named Flag and loves him very much. When Flag grows up he eats the family's crops, and Jody has to make a very hard choice. It is a sad and beautiful story, and it is best for kids about twelve and up. This Pulitzer Prize novel is a true picture of a boy becoming a man through loss. Jody's father is one of the best fathers in American fiction, gentle and honest and worn out by work. The Cardinal Newman Society lists it for grades 5 to 8. It was written for adults, though, and it shows. There is swearing, a racial slur, whiskey, a crude scene with the neighbors, and an ending that breaks young hearts. Read it with your child, not ahead of him.
For parents
Read aloud from about eleven, and a parent can skip the rough words. Independent reading from thirteen or fourteen. The Cardinal Newman Society places it in grades 5 to 8, while Christian reader reviews we fetched say fourteen and up. It is long, at over 400 pages. Tell your child before starting that the fawn dies. Ask: why does Flag have to be shot? Was Jody's father cruel or was he caring for his family? Why does Jody come home? This is the place to teach that love sometimes asks for sacrifice and that duty to family comes before our wishes. Penny's prayer at Fodder-wing's grave is worth reading twice. Talk about death and the hope of heaven. Say plainly that we do not use the racial slur in the book, and that every person is made in the image of God. Name the swearing and the misuse of God's name as wrong. Note the drinking, the fistfight, the father's sly dog trade, and the scene where the Forrester men are unclothed.