The Underneath

By Kathi Appelt

Rating: 4 1/4 stars

Newbery Honor 2009

Deep in the swamps lives a twisted and hateful man who chains an old hound dog and never lets him go. Deep in the swamps lives an ancient snake, trapped in a jar underneath the roots of an old tree, waiting for her revenge. Deep in the swamps lives an alligator that is 100 feet long that no one has ever been able to kill and lives deep underneath the water. And into this swamp comes a cat, who befriends the hound dog and lives underneath the porch of the man's house. And that calico cat has two kittens, Sabine and Puck. One day the mother cat and Puck are captured and taken away by the man when Puck leaves the safety of the Underneath. And because of this separation, a chain of events will unwind that will eventually bring everyone together: the cats, the dog, the snake, the alligator and the man. There will be pain and darkness, but there is also light and love. Much more than just an animal story, readers will be drawn into the legendary feeling in this book. Good stuff.