The Whipping Boy. Written by: Sid Fleischman. Illustrated by: Peter Sis. Genre: Realistic Fiction. Award: Newbery Award. Copyright: 1986. Pages:90.
Little did Jemmy know when he was taken from the sewers and into the Castle that his life would become what it was. Of all things, a whipping boy for the Prince's misbehavior! But no matter how much trouble the Prince caused, and how often Jemmy was whipped, he never cried out. He was stronger than that he thought! After all, he was merely biding his time until he could escape. Never would Jemmy have imagined the reason he finally did escape from behind the walls, and never would he have imagined that one day, he would hold the Prince's hand and call him a friend. Out of a story of great mischief and trouble making, comes a story of friendship and loyalty. Find out more about what is to come for dear Jemmy-From-The-Streets and Prince brat in Sid Fleischman's The Whipping Boy.
Summary:
This is a story of a young boy named Jemmy who is taken from the streets to become a whipping boy for Prince who is not so lovingly referred to as Prince Brat by the towns folks. After days of dreaming of one day running away, the most surprising thing happened and Prince Brat was going to run away, only he was taking Jemmy with him.
It wasn't before long that Jemmy and the Prince were captured by two highway men with nothing but gold coins and ransom on their minds. Luckily for the smart mouthed Prince, Jemmy was smart in his own regard and was able to convince the two hooligans that he was the Prince and that the Prince was the whipping boy. This plan would have would have worked perfectly but the Prince had not caught on and continued to foil Jemmy's plans for escape. Finally an opportunity struck and they were able to get away.
Once again on their own, and this time also fleeing from the two men as well as the Royal Guard, Jemmy and Prince Brat befriended a young lady Betsy and her dancing bear Petunia, as well as Captain Nips. The five of them traveled together to a fair where they were once again discovered by the two thieves, Cutwater, and Hold-Your-Nose Billy. With no choice but to run for the sewers, Jemmy and Prince Brat tried to seek refuge in the darkness. Unfortunately they were followed in. Their saving grace from capture was that the two men in the end were attacked by sewer rats and they ran off, never to be heard from again.
It was at this time that Prince Brat decided that it was time to go home. Promising Jemmy that no harm would come to him, the two returned together. Their adventure together had changed Prince Brat forever and out of the circumstances, an unlikely friendship formed. The King, although upset at the chaos that they had caused, was not so secretly a little jealous of the adventures that they had. In the end, everything worked out for both the Prince and Jemmy.
My Assessment:
This was a delightful quick read. It was filled with lots of adventure that I think that students of all ages would enjoy. Within all of the adventure there is a lovely tale of over ridding friendship as well as a great message of how people can also change. This is a great story that I will be happy to one day share with my students.
Teaching Tips:
I think that this is a great book that illustrates the importance of sometimes giving people a second chance. Both Jemmy and the Prince changed in this book for the better and I think that there are important teachable moments from that. You could easily spin this into a lot of great writing assignments about what they think happened to Cutwater and Hold-Your-Nose- Billy. Also their could be discussions on why they think the Prince had a change of heart. For younger kids, the illustrations, which are fantastic, would be great to assist in making predictions about what is to come. I would happily use this book in Literature Circles.
The Part I Liked the Most:
I think this is a terrific book. It read really fast and I think that it is because of the wonderful spirit of adventure! The characters were all written so colorfully that they took on a life of their own. I loved the way that you were able to feel for both the Prince and Jemmy. I will definitely recommend this to my students in the future. It is a perfect example of how some books and themes are just timeless.
Little did Jemmy know when he was taken from the sewers and into the Castle that his life would become what it was. Of all things, a whipping boy for the Prince's misbehavior! But no matter how much trouble the Prince caused, and how often Jemmy was whipped, he never cried out. He was stronger than that he thought! After all, he was merely biding his time until he could escape. Never would Jemmy have imagined the reason he finally did escape from behind the walls, and never would he have imagined that one day, he would hold the Prince's hand and call him a friend. Out of a story of great mischief and trouble making, comes a story of friendship and loyalty. Find out more about what is to come for dear Jemmy-From-The-Streets and Prince brat in Sid Fleischman's The Whipping Boy.
Summary:
This is a story of a young boy named Jemmy who is taken from the streets to become a whipping boy for Prince who is not so lovingly referred to as Prince Brat by the towns folks. After days of dreaming of one day running away, the most surprising thing happened and Prince Brat was going to run away, only he was taking Jemmy with him.
It wasn't before long that Jemmy and the Prince were captured by two highway men with nothing but gold coins and ransom on their minds. Luckily for the smart mouthed Prince, Jemmy was smart in his own regard and was able to convince the two hooligans that he was the Prince and that the Prince was the whipping boy. This plan would have would have worked perfectly but the Prince had not caught on and continued to foil Jemmy's plans for escape. Finally an opportunity struck and they were able to get away.
Once again on their own, and this time also fleeing from the two men as well as the Royal Guard, Jemmy and Prince Brat befriended a young lady Betsy and her dancing bear Petunia, as well as Captain Nips. The five of them traveled together to a fair where they were once again discovered by the two thieves, Cutwater, and Hold-Your-Nose Billy. With no choice but to run for the sewers, Jemmy and Prince Brat tried to seek refuge in the darkness. Unfortunately they were followed in. Their saving grace from capture was that the two men in the end were attacked by sewer rats and they ran off, never to be heard from again.
It was at this time that Prince Brat decided that it was time to go home. Promising Jemmy that no harm would come to him, the two returned together. Their adventure together had changed Prince Brat forever and out of the circumstances, an unlikely friendship formed. The King, although upset at the chaos that they had caused, was not so secretly a little jealous of the adventures that they had. In the end, everything worked out for both the Prince and Jemmy.
My Assessment:
This was a delightful quick read. It was filled with lots of adventure that I think that students of all ages would enjoy. Within all of the adventure there is a lovely tale of over ridding friendship as well as a great message of how people can also change. This is a great story that I will be happy to one day share with my students.
Teaching Tips:
I think that this is a great book that illustrates the importance of sometimes giving people a second chance. Both Jemmy and the Prince changed in this book for the better and I think that there are important teachable moments from that. You could easily spin this into a lot of great writing assignments about what they think happened to Cutwater and Hold-Your-Nose- Billy. Also their could be discussions on why they think the Prince had a change of heart. For younger kids, the illustrations, which are fantastic, would be great to assist in making predictions about what is to come. I would happily use this book in Literature Circles.
The Part I Liked the Most:
I think this is a terrific book. It read really fast and I think that it is because of the wonderful spirit of adventure! The characters were all written so colorfully that they took on a life of their own. I loved the way that you were able to feel for both the Prince and Jemmy. I will definitely recommend this to my students in the future. It is a perfect example of how some books and themes are just timeless.