The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

By: Rodman Philbrick

Published By: Scholastic

Copyright: 2009

Homer is a twelve year old boy who is living in Maine at the time of the Civil War. He and his brother Harold live with their Uncle Squinton Leach who treats the boys poorly and provides them with little to eat. In order to gain some profit Uncle Squint illegally sells Harold to the Union Army although he is underage. Homer decides to run away to save his brother. In his adventures he experiences multiple modes of transportation for the first time including a steamship, a train, and even a hot air balloon in order to escape the Confederate Army. Homer also encounters run away slaves and helps them escape and travels with a Medicine Show where he is put on display as the Pig Boy. In all his adventures he finally finds his brother in the midst of the Battle of Gettysburg. In order to save his brother from a sure death he must fulfill the difficult task of putting himself in mortal danger. This is a wonderful book full of adventure and historical aspects. This text will engage children from beginning to end. 

Reading Level:  Grades 3-6; Lexile: 950L

Suggested Delivery: Independent Read; Guided Reading

Web Resources:

Author's Site: Here is a link to Rodman Philbrick's website. You will be able to read about other books from this author and access study guides for his books among a number of other pieces of information. 

Literature Circle Guide: Here is a guide for a literature circle for this particular text. These questions will help ignite discussions about the book that will require students to use their explicit and implicit comprehension. For this activity will also require students to use textual evidence to participate in this discussion. 

Lesson Plan Idea: Here is a lesson plan idea from a woman named Lisa Kelley. She combines this text with primary sources to help students realize the significance of the Civil War and make connections with this novel.

Activities: Here is a link to a number of worksheet activities that will engage the students while their read this adventurous novel.   

Key Vocabulary:

• Scalawag
• Perish
• Pestilence
• Aggrieve
• Pummel
• Deliberate
• Prodigious
• Complicated
• Livery
• Conscription
• Abundance
• Valise

Suggestions for Activities for Students:

During Reading -

Whether you decide to use this text as a read guided reading text or an option for students to read as an independent read, students could be given this Sequencing of Events worksheet that will be used as a way to map out the sequence of events in this novel. Since this is a novel based on historical events, this worksheet could help the students begin to understand one perspective of how the events of the Civil War unfolded. As the students follow Homer on his adventure they should record on this sheet the major events that are occuring. After they have completed this sheet the teacher could connect Homer's accounts to primary sources from the Civil War and students can see how they are similar or different by filling out this Venn Diagram worksheet.

These graphic organizers can be found at ReadWriteThink.org.

Awards and Acknowledgements:

Maine Lupine Award, 2010

Newbery Honor, 2010

 

Publishers Weekly Review:

Starred Review. Philbrick (Freak the Mighty) offers rip-roaring adventure in this Civil War–era novel featuring a mistreated orphan who doesn't let truth stand in the way of spinning a good yarn. When his guardian, Uncle Squinton—the meanest man in the entire state of Maine—sells off Homer P. Figg's older brother, Harold, to take a rich man's son's place in the Union army, Homer can't just stand around doing nothing. Determined to alert the authorities (and his brother) that Harold is too young to be a soldier, the plucky narrator traces the path of the regiment. He faces many dangers, including an abduction or two, and being robbed and thrown in with the pigs, and joining the Caravan of Miracles before landing smack in the middle of the Battle of Gettysburg, where he reunites with his brother and more or less drives the Confederates away. The book wouldn't be nearly as much fun without Homer's tall tales, but there are serious moments, too, and the horror of war and injustice of slavery ring clearly above the din of playful exaggerations. Ages 9–12. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

 

School Library Journal Review:

Grade 5–8—When his older brother gets conscripted into the Union Army, Homer runs away from his uncle, "the meanest man in the entire state of Maine." He sets out after Harold but has multiple misadventures along the way. He survives thanks to courage, luck, and his talent for telling lies when needed, since "old Truth ain't nearly as useful as a fib sometimes." Homer relates his own adventures in colorful language as he crosses paths with con men, rogues, and scoundrels of various types. The comic tone is reflected in character names, such as Stink and Smelt, the cold-blooded slave catchers, and the kind but shifty Professor Fleabottom. Things take a more somber tone when Homer sees the horrors of the battlefield up close. The final reunion of the brothers during the Battle of Gettysburg is bittersweet. Homer's escapades introduce some interesting features of the year 1863, including the Underground Railroad, a traveling medicine show, Civil War spies, and an early version of the hydrogen balloon. Homer runs into plenty of danger, but there's more comedy than suspense in most episodes. He also deals with some moral dilemmas as he tries to make sense of the wide world and find people and ideas to believe in. The engaging protagonist and mixture of humor and adventure make this a strong choice for fans of Sid Fleischman's tales.—Steven Engelfried, Multnomah County Library, OR
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

 

Booklist Review:

After his older brother Harold is forced to join the Union Army, Homer runs away from their wicked uncle’s farm to save him. His southward journey divides easily into episodic adventures: outwitting two slave-hunting scoundrels with the help of a wealthy abolitionist; traveling south with an easily duped young clergyman; joining a medicine show led by a mysterious man; fleeing in a hot-air balloon with a disastrous flaw; and arriving at Gettysburg in time for the battle. If these adventures seem a little too colorful to be quite believable, first-person narrator Homer begins his tale by saying, the truth don’t come easy to me. The narrator’s humor and folksy charm bubbles to the surface from time to time, despite a streak of cruelty that runs straight through the story, from the farm to the battlefield. Notes on the period and a glossary are appended. This eventful, episodic novel is accessible to a younger audience than many others set during the Civil War. Grades 4-7. --Carolyn Phelan