MADreads

Underneath

August 28th, 2009 Liz C. - Alicia Ashman

National Book Award finalist The Underneath by Kathi Appelt tells the story of a pregnant cat who is abandoned by her family in a wild wooded area of the bayou. Not knowing which way to turn but knowing she has to find shelter, she follows the sound of a hound’s baying to a rough clearing and an even rougher house. Against the odds, the hound welcomes her but warns her about the occupier of the house who is a very cruel and mean man. Always she must stay, if she wishes to be safe, underneath the house where the hound is chained. And so mostly she does, rearing her two kittens; leaving only to hunt when the man is gone. But kittens are bound to explore despite warnings and with drastic results.

Intertwined with this story is that of Grandmother, an extremely large and ancient cottonmouth moccasin snake. Grandmother is not merely a snake, she is also a magical creature who at one time assumed human form and loved a man. Betrayed, she returned to snake form from whence she nurses her anger and longs for revenge.  The two stories make this, in some ways, a very dark book, dealing as it does so much with betrayal and death. But it is also filled with the power of friendship, hope, promises, and love all beautifully illustrated by David Small.

Entry Filed under: Young Adult