User:Tyrell.straughter/sandbox2

The Corn Grows Ripe
The Corn Grows Ripe by Dorothy Rhoads is a children's literature book that was published in 1956. It also received the literary award, the Newbery Honor Medal in 1957.

Plot
After his father is badly injured, a young 12 year old boy Dionisio, better known as Tigre, is forced to undertake his father's duties and learn to do a man's work. Never having done so before he is forced to grow up faster than expected in order to please the Mayan gods and to take his father's place.

Summary
"The Corn Grows Ripe" focuses on Dionisio, a young 12 year old boy from a Mayan Village. Dionisio is better known by his nickname Tigre (Spanish for tiger, but in this case means Jaguar) due to his curious and mischievous features. In his family Tigre is considered to be the laziest person due to his habits, which include oversleeping and lying in his hammock all day. While he does this the rest of his family, including his little sister. His mother and father spoil him due to his other three brothers dying from the fever in one week and him being the only surviving male left. His great-grandmother however, tells Tigre that he must learn to work hard and insists on treating him sternly in order to curb his lazy and selfish habits.

One day while helping his father clear some weeds, in order to plant a cornfield, called milpa, leaves him so exhausted to the point where he is unable to attend school the next day. However, a tree falls on his father and breaks his leg. After his father's injury Tigre feels an overwhelming sense of guilt and he volunteers to travel to the head village in order to find the medicine man, who can also set bones after they break, to help his father with his injury. Tigre walks 17 kilometers in the night through the bush and grass in order to help his father. He is terrified but he completes his journey telling himself that the journey will be easier on the way back.

Due to his injury, his father is unable to walk until the after the crops are harvested, so Tigre must undertake all his father's duties and become the man of the household. Tigre must clear the land, plant the crops and maintain them during his father's injury, all while still attending school. So after he works he attends school. At first he believes this task to be too daunting and he feels like giving up but then he looks to his father for inspiration. He knows his father would not give up so he does the same and by doing so his work and study schedule becomes easier.

He clears the land and plants the crops successfully. All to the surprise of his family. During school he has become more determined and challenges himself to do more and tries to understand nature in terms of science instead of through deities, like his family does.

When summer approaches, there is a drought within the country and the villagers and Tigre's family grow worried over the drought and they make sacrifices and pray to the "corn gods". However, no rain comes and a prayer ceremony is conducted and Tigre is asked to play a frog. This is considered to be a huge honor as the frog represents luck among the "corn gods" and usually only older boys are asked to be the frog. On the third day after the ceremony, a huge amount of rain comes and the villagers rejoice.

After Tigre's father's leg is healed, him and Tigre walk out to the cornfield and they are both speechless as there is a bountiful harvest of squash beans and corn.

Awards
1957 Newbery Medal