They are an unlikely pair, about to become an unlikely family. She dares to find him in the forest, and the hound dares to befriend this cat, this feline, this creature he is supposed to hate. Love definitely endures, but it is not sugar-coated as in real life.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.Ī calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of a chained-up hound deep in the backwaters of the bayou. And Gar Face is eaten by the Alligator King. Grandmother’s daughter pines away and dies when she is separated from her husband. Warning for those with young children: it may not be appropriate as it deals with heavy themes. Heartfelt and moving, this book is a page-turner not to be missed. Happiness is as mystical and fragile as a glass ornament. Promises are broken and the consequences are deadly. It’s the classic story of how love conquers all but applied to animals in a very realistic manner. This is a heartfelt book that had me close to tears many times. And love binds the three friends together. Grandmother Moccasin chooses love over all else. Through hardships and more misfortunes the three-some end up together at the end. Another ancient creature, the Alligator King, himself as old as she toys with Gar Face as Gar Face becomes obsessed with killing him. We learn she was banished because she was selfish and wanted her daughter for herself whom had chosen to leave Grandmother and cleave to her husband. Her story is interwoven with the three animal’s. She has been entombed in a clay jar buried under an ancient tree for a thousand years. Meanwhile, we learn about an ancient creature known as Grandmother Moccasin who herself is a water moccasin. Alone and frightened, Puck does his best to survive. He captures Puck and the mother cat and throws them into the swamp where only Puck survives. She soon has two kittens, a boy and a girl named Puck and Sabine. They become quick friends and companions. One day a mother cat (herself abandoned) wanders in the swamp and finds Ranger. He banished Ranger for coming between him and a kill and Ranger has been chained ever since. His owner known as Gar Face is an outcast in society.

Ranger, a neglected dog, lives under the deck of a tilting house in the middle of a Louisiana swamp. The Underneath by Kathi Appelt, a 2009 Newbery Honor Book, is a powerful book not to be missed.

The underneath appelt