The parallels between emerging America and young Sterling North enhance the significance of the year that the boy and the raccoon spend together.

Their conflicts with Sterling's sister Jessica and the townspeople, especially the Reverend Thurman and Slammy Stillman, precipitate a loss of innocence.

Sterling tries to maintain his ties with Rascal during their several wilderness outings, but nature's call proves too strong and Rascal's desire for a mate outweighs his wish to remain with the companion of his first year. As they separate, the boy displays an ability to come to terms with change and to face the future: "And I paddled swiftly and desperately away from the place where we had parted."

Sterling and his pet raccoon Rascal are two of the most memorable figures in literature written for young people. Sterling, without the guidance of a mother and subject only to...