Jip: His Story Review

Paterson, Katherine (1996). Jip: His Story. New York: Scholastic

Jip is an orphan. He knows only that he fell of the back of a buckboard as a toddler and no one came back for him. The town sends him to the local poor farm. He likes the farm and works hard to make it work. Everyone at the farm likes Jip. Then, the stranger arrives.

Jip dislikes the stranger on sight and tries to ignore him but he keeps asking questions. Finally, the stranger leaves ,and Jip’s life returns to normal until a year later, when the stranger returns with another man. One who looks remarkably like Jip, except Jip has dark hair and eyes, while the new stranger has light eyes and blond hair. Jip quickly realizes life will change, but it is up to him to decide whether it will be for the better or worse.

Paterson brings to life another wonderful story of perseverance during a tragic event. She does not avoid the difficult issue of slavery and poverty. Set in mid-nineteenth century, rural Vermont, Paterson captures the rugged and wild beauty of the area, while entwining a believable story of one young man learning about his past, a past that suddenly shoves him from being a poor work-boy into a despised liar and worthless slave.

Jip is related in the first person voice adding emotional vulnerability to the story since we see events from the protagonist’s point of view. Dialogue is sparse and Jip shows deep respect for the overseer and his wife, even though he thinks they are worthless as caretakers. The plot is structured around the conflict between slave owners and abolitionists and the way that the poor and mentally infirm were treated in rural areas. The theme revolves around self-respect, courage, and loyalty. The treatment of the protagonist is shown in stark relief to the wealthier people of the town and later to white folks.

From Publishers WeeklyThis historical novel about a maltreated orphan "is full of revelations and surprises," said PW's starred review; "first-rate entertainment." Ages 10-14. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library JournalGrade 5-9?Paterson's companion novel to Lyddie (Lodestar, 1991) rewards readers with memorable characters and a gripping plot. Jip has been told that he tumbled off the back of a wagon when he was a toddler in 1847. He has been raised on a poor farm in a Vermont town, where he is an indispensable asset to the lazy manager and his equally lazy wife. The boy befriends the newly arrived "lunatic" Put, who is kept imprisoned in a cage because he is subject to violent, self-destructive episodes. Jip's life is quietly circumscribed-until a stranger plants the idea that his father might be searching for him. Although he has long fantasized that a loving parent awaits him, he sees the stranger as an unlikely messenger. His instincts prove correct when the man is revealed to be a slave catcher. Then Jip learns the truth about his past: his mother was a runaway slave. With the help of his teacher, Lyddie Worthen, and her sweetheart, Quaker neighbor Luke Stevens, Jip escapes to Canada, where he is welcomed as a free man into the home of a former slave whom Lyddie helped shelter in the earlier book. Paterson's story resonates with respect for the Vermont landscape and its mid-19th-century residents, with the drama of life during a dark period in our nation's history, and with the human quest for freedom. Fans of the previous book will relish meeting up with Lyddie and Luke again at a somewhat later period in their lives. Readers will be talking and thinking about this book long after they finish the last chapter.?Ellen Fader, Multnomah County Library, Portland, ORCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From BooklistGr. 5^-9. What a story. It's not often that the revelations of the plot are so astonishing--and yet so inevitable--that they make you shout and think and shiver and cry. Paterson has taken the old orphan foundling tale, set it in Vermont in the 1850s, and made it new. Jip (as in "Gypsy" ) doesn't know where he came from; they say he fell off the back of a wagon and was found on the road somewhere when he was about two years old. Now, as a young boy, he lives and works on the town poor farm with the other paupers and strays. He just about runs the farm, cares for the plants and animals, and helps ease the pain and sorrow of those around him. His closest bond is with Put, an old man who must spend much of his life in a cage because of the raging madness that comes over him at times. People are scared of the lunatic, but Jip loves Put and comforts him ("he belonged to Jip in a way no one else ever had" ). The real danger is from a menacing stranger who is watching Jip. What does the stalker want? At school, Teacher reads aloud from Oliver Twist, and Jip wonders, as he always has, whether he might have a loving parent far away somewhere. Is Jip somebody's lost boy? The answer is devastating. There are some problems with this book. Jip is idealized, too saintly to be true; in fact, as in Dickens, most of the characters are either totally good or totally bad. But the time and the place are drawn with powerful realism. Paterson's simple sentences lay bare the dark historical truth and the transforming light of love. Hazel Rochman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews Set in the 1850s, this story centers on a boy, named for his supposed abandonment by gypsies, and for his swarthy complexion. Jip lives on the local poor farm, doing chores and caring for the animals. He befriends a caged lunatic, ``Put''; a menacing stranger appears who inquires about Jip's background and turns the boy's life upside down. As he struggles to find answers, he is given the opportunity to attend school and is befriended by the teacher, whom readers will recognize from Lyddie (1991), and her Quaker sweetheart. Through this friendship, Jip is able to face his ancestry and the fact that he must escape or suffer dire consequences. As usual for Paterson, all the characterizations are penetrating--even the villains are interesting. An epilogue lets readers in on Jip's success in reaching Canada and his decisions as the Civil War begins. Unfortunately, the ending is abrupt: Put is sacrificed, and it is not clear what lesson Jip derives from putting his friend in harm's way. Regardless, this is fine historical fiction. (Fiction. 10-14) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

This book could be used, along with Elijah of Buxton, to study the treatment of runaway slaves. Both Jip and Elijah start out free. Both are young boys who need to find their inner selves.
Another way to use this book, would be during a unit studying personal character, courage, honor, and loyalty.

Finally, for older students, a teacher might choose an older book about runaway slaves and have students compare the attitudes and portrayals of how the authors see the protagonists.