FANTASY

THE UNDERNEATH

written by Kathi Appelt

drawings by David Small

Atheneum Books for Young Readers

New York, New York

2008

ISBN-10: 1416950591

SUMMARY

Kathi Applet tells the story of a calico cat and her kittens (Sabine and Puck), a hound dog called Ranger, a disfigured boy/man called Gar Face, Grandmother (a very old snake), Night Song and Hawk Man (shapeshifters who took human form), and the Alligator King (a 100-foot alligator), following as their lives are carefully woven together until the masterpiece is complete when they finally come together.

Applet begins with the calico cat, pregnant and tired, walking a long distance, trying to find someplace comfortable.  She happens upon Ranger, a maimed old hound dog, chained outside Gar Face’s falling down shack deep in the woods of an East Texas forest.  Gar Face was an evil man; abused by his father when he was little, he grew up abusing and hating everything around him.  Ranger taught the calico and her new kittens the secret to surviving: stay under the porch, in the ‘Underneath” where they would be safely away from Gar Face.

The story continues with Grandmother’s story: her only friend is the Alligator King until she adopts Night Song, a tiny snake, teaches her the ways of the forest, and loves her like a daughter.  When Night Song leaves with Hawk Man, Grandmother feels betrayed and carries hatred in her heart for over a thousand years. 

The many characters travel long, hard roads through the forests and bayous of East Texas, finally coming together in a twist of fate, saving Ranger and the kittens from a horrible fate.  Good versus evil...Grandmother finally shows some redeeming qualities, Gar Face gets what is coming to him, and good triumphs over evil.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The fantasy element of The Underneath is wrapped up in the animals taking human form, some lives interconnected throughout the story and others not until they meet at the end.  Grandmother, Night Song and Hawk Man, their daughter, and possibly the Alligator King are all half human and half animal.  These creatures of enchantment can become human, live life as a human, but once they return to their animal shapes they will spend the rest of their lives in that form.

Whether in their animal or human form, the characters are all either very likable or very despicable.  It is difficult not to smile at the antics of Sabine and Puck as they frolic in the ‘Underneath‘- under the porch of the shack in the middle of the East Texas woods.  Following Ranger as he helps the calico raise her kittens, it’s impossible not to have a heavy heart, feeling the pain of Ranger’s life.  It’s hard not to hate Gar Face when he forgets to feed Ranger or when he threw the calico and Sabine into the river or when he tries to use the animals for alligator bait.  Grandmother is detestable as she tricks Night Song into returning to her snake form, knowing she will never be able to return to her husband and daughter.  Puck seems to be the protagonist.  The reader follows Puck through twists and turns as he unravels the conundrum facing him: he promised his mom he would find Sabine and Ranger.  It would be difficult NOT to root for Puck’s successful journey.  David Small’s several pencil drawings contribute to the story, providing visual sweetness to many of the characters.

The story begins by setting the stage with this opening: “There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for a while, and then abandoned on the side of the road.  A small calico cat.  Her family, the one she lived with, has left her in this old and forgotten forest, this forest where the rain is soaking into her soft fur.”  Applet entwines the theme of loneliness through the entire book: Ranger chained and alone, Grandmother when Night Song became human, Hawk Man when Night Song returned to the form of a snake and when his daughter left, Puck and Sabine after their mother was gone, and Gar Face in the tavern with no one to talk to.  Loneliness permeates this story, but, at the same time, the reader has hope, hope that good will win over evil, and Applet does not disappoint.  Her vivid descriptions help readers see and feel the story through the hearts of the characters.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY -  Appelt's stylistic choice to use repetition as a construct-"This cat, this feline, this creature he is supposed to hate..."-makes for a monotonous audio experience, and her use of words such as "goldy" (to describe sunshine) makes this disquieting book sound precious.

KIRKUS - Aided by Small's lively illustrations, Appelt intricately weaves these animals' ancient stories into Puck's survival saga to produce a magical tale of betrayal, revenge, love and the importance of keeping promises.

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE - Although this long circular narrative's complex, sometimes-overlapping character histories could prove to be difficult for younger readers and the events are sometimes quite ugly, the prose is breathtakingly beautiful. Many characters make seemingly wrong choices, but all are presented with chances to redeem themselves--and make amends for their past choices to follow paths of hate--by choosing to trust in and/or act through love. Possible themes for discussion include parental abuse, animal abuse, conservation, history, mythology, alternative families, and bullying.

BOOKLIST - Joining Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting as a rare example of youth fantasy with strong American underpinnings, Appelt’s novel folds in specific traditions of the Caddo peoples of east Texas, and casts the bayous as a kind of enchanted forest laden with spirits and benign, organic presences. Some readers may struggle with Appelt’s repeated phrases and poetic fragments, and wish the connections and conflicts in the story came to a faster boil. But most children will be pulled forward by the vulnerable pets’ survival adventure and by Small’s occasional, down-to-earth drawings, created with fluid lines that are a perfect match for the book’s saturated setting and Appelt’s ebbing, flowing lyricism.

CONNECTIONS

Research the Caddo, a varied group of Native Americans who lived in the piney woods of East Texas and Louisiana.

Write a final chapter explaining what Ranger, Sabine, and Puck do after they find each other.          

Discussion: 

•  the difference between being alone and being lonely

•  family - Ranger, the calico, Sabine and Puck consider themselves family.  What makes a group of people family?

•  kindness - What are some examples of kindness in this story? (ex - When Hawk Man, when he has returned to bird form, leaves a mouse for Puck).

•  animal abuse - what things can be done to try to stop this

•  mythology (half human-half animal)

•  bullying - discuss bullying from the novel and make connections to lives today

  

AWARDS

2008 National Book Award Finalist

2009 Newbery Honor Book

2009 ALA Notable Children's Book

Appelt, Kathi, and David Small. The Underneath. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2008.