Background
Peck was born in rural Vermont, United States on February 7, 1928 to Shaker farmers whose hard yet rewarding lives inspired much of his fiction.
(Originally published in hardcover in 1972, A Day No Pigs ...)
Originally published in hardcover in 1972, A Day No Pigs Would Die was one of the first young adult books, along with titles like The Outsiders and The Chocolate War. In it, author Robert Newton Peck weaves a story of a Vermont boyhood that is part fiction, part memoir. The result is a moving coming-of-age story that still resonates with teens today.
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(Soup and Rob convince a reluctant Santa that Soup's wind-...)
Soup and Rob convince a reluctant Santa that Soup's wind-powered sleigh will be the hit of the tree-lighting ceremonies, but they never imagine the consequences of their suggestion
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("Rural Vermont during the 1920's is the setting for this ...)
"Rural Vermont during the 1920's is the setting for this nostalgic account of episodes in the lives of young Robert Peck and his pal, Soup."--starred, School Library Journal Book Details: • Format: Paperback • Publication Date: 11/17/1998 • Pages: 112 • Reading Level: Age 9 and Up
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Peck was born in rural Vermont, United States on February 7, 1928 to Shaker farmers whose hard yet rewarding lives inspired much of his fiction.
The first of his family to learn to read and write, Peck was profoundly influenced by his grade school teacher and later based the character Miss Kelly in the Soup series of novels on her.
After the war he received his bachelor's degree from Rollins College and studied law at Cornell University.
As a young man he found employment as a lumberjack, hog butcher, and paper-mill worker. He joined the United States Army infantry during World War II, serving for two years in Italy, Germany, and France.
He later became an advertising executive, writing jingles for television commercials, but abandoned this career following the successful publication of A Day No Pigs Would Die in 1973. He now divides his time between Vermont and Florida, where he is the director of Rollins College Writers Conference. Told in a spare yet vivid style, A Day No Pigs Would Die revolves around thirteen-year-old Rob Peck and his relationship with his austere father, a farmer and hog butcher. Rob, in return for helping a neighbor's cow give birth, receives a sow that soon becomes his beloved pet. The pig proves barren, however, and Rob must help his father slaughter it, knowing that their meager income prohibits the luxury of a useless animal. Through this experience, he comes to understand the meaning of love and the necessity of death. He is also able to face the loss of his father, who, though silent on the subject, has been slowly dying. The reaction of reviewer Christopher Lehmann-Haupt to A Day No Pigs Would Die echoed the estimation of many critics: "[This novel] is a stunning little dramatization of the brutality of life on a Vermont farm, of the necessary cruelty of nature, and of one family's attempt to transcend the hardness of life by accepting it. And while . .. there is no rhetoric about love-in fact nobody in A Day No Pigs Would Die ever mentions the word love, or any other emotion for that matter-love nevertheless suffuses every page. " In the Soup series of novels, Peck embellishes upon his childhood adventures with Soup, his mischievous best friend whose practical jokes often result in mayhem at such small-town functions as parades and school plays. Among the best known of these books are Soup (1974), Soup and Me (1975), Soup for President (1978), and Soup's Drum (1980). Most critics have found that while the plots of the books have grown increasingly repetitive, the stories' slapstick humor ensures their continuing appeal for young readers. Trig (1977), Trig Sees Red (1978), Trig Goes Ape (1980), and Trig or Treat (1982) have also been faulted for what many reviewers regarded as Peck's superficial treatment of female characters, a criticism leveled against much of his fiction. Other novels by Peck evince his interest in colonial America and the Revolutionary War. Such novels as Fawn (1975), Rabbits and Redcoats (1976), The King's Iron (1977), and Eagle Fur (1978) feature adolescents who come of age amidst historical events such as the capture of Fort Ticonderoga by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold. Critics have praised the sense of place, strong characterizations, and powerful scenes of these books, yet find them marred by what they perceive as Peck's puerile treatment of violence and sexual relationships. The uneven quality of these novels typifies Peck's work following A Day No Pigs Would Die. However, most critics concur with the estimation of Anne Scott MacLeod that "those who admired Pigs have often been disappointed by Peck's work since that strong beginning. Nevertheless, we look with interest at each new title by this erratic author, hoping that he will sometime match the achievement of that first powerful, moving story. " The strength of Robert Newton Peck's works stems from their striking depictions of the past. Many of his books bring to life the rural Vermont of his childhood, describing the adventures and encounters with nature that helped shape his life.
Sophisticated or not, the author has penned a long list of books for children, many of which reflect his boyhood struggle with the competitiveness of nature and its impending threat of death. Peck, who lives on a five-hundred-acre ranch in Florida, has also written poetry, adult novels, and how-to books for would-be writers.
(Soup and Rob convince a reluctant Santa that Soup's wind-...)
(Originally published in hardcover in 1972, A Day No Pigs ...)
("Rural Vermont during the 1920's is the setting for this ...)
(A rugged life-style in the Vermont woods with a feisty ol...)
(Soup and his best friend Rob enjoy many forays of adventu...)
(Everyone in Miss Kelly's class is excited about the upcom...)
(A bishop's wife and a used-car salesman compete in a wate...)
(A pig's tremendous appetite proves useful when a wolf inv...)
(Rob struggles to keep his family together. By the author ...)
Peck considers it extremely important to motivate young people to read.
Quotations:
He commented: "A Day No Pigs Would Die was influenced by my father, an illiterate farmer and pig-slaughterer whose earthy wisdom continues to contribute to my understanding of the natural order and the old Shaker beliefs deeply rooted in the land and its harvest. "
The six-foot-four-inch tall Peck once described himself as follows: "I wear mule-ear boots, a ten-gallon hat, Western shirts and weigh not quite 200 pounds. " Peck went on to observe, "Socially, I'm about as sophisticated as a turnip. .. . I'm an expert skier, a dismal dancer, and I love horses. "
"A lot of my characters are teachers-all of whom are strong, fair, and respected. "
Writing about his own children, Christopher Haven and Anne Houston, Peck once stated: "I hope they both grow up to have a tough gut and a gentle heart. Because I don't want to sire a world of macho men or feminist women, but rather a less strident society of ladies and gentlemen. "
"My richest talent is making a kid smile. And getting him to read and write. "
"Life is fun. It's a hoot and a holler. If you can't revel in America and enjoy all the wonderful Americans you meet, you wouldn't be happy in Heaven or even in Florida. "
Peck married a librarian, Dorrie, in 1958.