Rocket boys is the inspiring story of homer hickam, jr. Sonny sees sputnik, and that is when he gets his first inspiration to build a rocket. Faced with an uncertain future, homer hickam nurtured a dream. Later editions were published under the title october sky as a tiein to the 1999 film adaptation. The rocket boys community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Rocket boys is a saga that is part comingofage and part american cando gumption. Rocket boys interdisciplinary unit course overview. The new york times bestselling memoir that inspired the film october sky, rocket boys is a uniquely american memoir a powerful, luminous story of coming of age at the dawn of the 1960s, of a mothers love and a fathers fears, of a group of young men who dreamed of launching rockets into outer space. Weatherford award in 1998, the year of its release. The true story of homer hickam, a coal miners son who was inspired by the first sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his fathers wishes. Find sample tests, essay help, and translations of shakespeare. Later editions were published under the title october sky as a tiein to the 1999 film adaptation it is a story of growing up in a mining town, and a boys pursuit of amateur rocketry in a coal mining town. Try to read the book or at least carefully watch the movie make notes while you do. The boys strive to really understand what the book is really about.
This is the true story that inspired the feature film october sky. Homer hickams memoir, october sky, tells the story of how he got started building rockets with his friends in the late 1950s. Originally titled the rocket boys when hickam wrote it in 1998, the book. It is his alternative to the pioneering style criticized in the rest of the book.
A memoir in 1998 and the premiere of the movie october sky in 1999, many homer hickam listeners and fans have wondered how and why he wrote the book, and how the movie was made. A memoir, later released under the title october sky in concert. Chapterbychapter october sky summary rocket boys by homer hickam. Rocket boys begins with a brief introduction to coalwood and a quick explanation of sonnys life up to that point. In a 1950s mining town called coalwood, homer hickam is a kid with only one future in sight, to work in the local coal mine like his father. Sparknotes are the most helpful study guides around to literature, math, science, and more. In 1957, when sonny was just 14 years old, sputnik raced across the appalachian sky. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of see you in the cosmos by jack cheng. October sky is a 1999 american biographical drama film directed by joe johnston and starring jake gyllenhaal, chris cooper, chris owen, and laura dern. It is the name of the book because the boys form a club called rocket boys. After several mishaps in town with their dangerous steel missile projectiles, the boys set up a rocket center on an old dump site and called it cape coalwood, complete with a cement launch pad and a blockhouse, or building for the rocketeers projection, made of scavenged wood and tin. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Filled with interesting characters, ideas and life lessons, it also has a lot of excellent quotes which encapsulate both the themes and ideas of the book as well as the tone of the time that the book was written in.
The sequel to the acclaimed rocket boys continues the story of coalwood, west virginia, as the author and his fellow rocket boys face their senior year at big creek high, while the forces of. After much tinkering, the boys come up with a mechanism that succeeds in making the rocket fly up faster and further this mechanism, they decided, could be used in real life rockets to make them work better. Instead of making mars as much like earth as possible, timothy and his. But the find out they must learn calculus a class not offered at their school. The boys slowly being to understand the rocket book. Title of a book, article or other published item this will display to the public. Get all the key plot points of homer hickams rocket boys on one page.
He has just started high school, and sputnik the first artificial satellite in history has just been launched by the russians. In a small town in west virginia a 17yearold boy, homer hickam, is fascinated by this development and is determined to build and launch his own rocket. They call themselves rocket boys and call the place where they are launching their rockets cape coalwood, in honor of. Homer sonny hickam was fortunate enough to eventually break the generations old barriers and fulfill his dream of working for nasa as a rocket scientist.
See you in the cosmos, a middlegrade novel by jack cheng, is narrated. The other boys discovered their own truths when we built our rockets, but those were mine. One of the most beloved bestsellers in recent years, rocket boys is a uniquely american memoir. Much more detail is given in this book, beyond the highly acclaimed movie. Sonny, after seeing the russian satellite sputnik, decides to join the american team of rocket. The rocket boys community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author. Rocket boys study guide from litcharts the creators of. It was selected by the new york times as one of its great books of 1998 and was an alternate bookofthemonth selection for both the literary guild and doubleday book clubs. Originally titled the rocket boys when hickam wrote it in 1998, the book can also be found under the title october sky which was released in conjunction with the movie tiein in 1999. Delacorte throughout the summer of 1958, explosions rocked the hills. The story begins in 1957, the year the first artificial satellite, sputnik, was launched by the russians. Originally titled the rocket boys, the book was renamed in 1999.
Rocket boys, perhaps best known as the book that inspired the movie october sky, is a heartwarming comingofage memoir about a group of boys who dreamt. He was a major playboy, but helped with the boys fullfilling their dreams. Homer hickam stated that universal studios marketing people got involved and they just had to change the title because, according to their research. Hickam divides his life in west virginia into two phasesbefore and after the october 1957 launching of the soviet sputnik satellite. The bcma organizes a public rocket launch, which is attended by a modest group of people. They call themselves rocket boys and call the place where they are launching their rockets cape coalwood, in honor of cape. Nominated for the national book critics circle award. Miss riley, the teacher of the rocket boys, also has a very important impact. The book was then republished as october sky shortly afterwards. Riley is very much apart of the rocket boys success. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of rocket boys by homer hickam. By learning to build rockets, he explains, he discovered his own truths.
Rocket boys has been translated into eight languages and has received many awards. October sky, also called rocket boys, is a story by homer hickam. October sky is the name of a movie made from the book. Study guide for rocket boys by homer hickamchapter. Rocket boys summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Miss riley is a chemistry and physics teacher at big creek high school. He fell in with a group of misfits who learned not only how to turn scraps of metal into sophisticated rockets but how to sustain their hope in a. The usa was going against the then soviet union, trying to reach space. In chapters 46 of homer hickmans october sky, he enlists additional help and has some success, even as other things are falling apart. He tells sunny to calm down, but sunny gets angry, saying that he has done all of the work. Quentin wilson is the most intelligent member of the rocket boys and the person who does figures out most of the math in the group. Jimmy odell carroll is small and excitable, the most emotional member of the group. Rocket boys summary supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. It is a story of growing up in a mining town, and a boys pursuit of amateur rocketry in a coal mining town.
This commentary and discussion questions were written by linda terry hickam, assistant and wife. Its a coming of age story about teens and their struggles and victories in a very bleak setting. A numberone new york times bestseller in mass market, brought to the screen in the acclaimed film october sky, homer hickams memoir, nominated for the national book critics circle award, comes to trade paperback with an allnew photo insert. It was 1957, and the small mining town of coalwood, west virginia, was slowly dying. Rocket boys questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on rocket boys. This straightforward, unselfconscious memoir is set in coalwood, w. It left in its wake one boys desire to join the space race, a dream that he ardently pursued with the help and sometimes hindrance of the. It is also used in a period radio broadcast describing sputnik 1 as it crossed the october sky. October sky is the first memoir in a series of four, by american engineer homer hickam jr. A novel study integrating core subject areas in an interdisciplinary unit where students will experience the underlying themes of space exploration, following your dreams, literary elements, and mining results in relation to the novel rocket boys. It was selected by the new york times as one of its great books of 1998 and was an alternate book ofthemonth selection for both the literary guild and doubleday book clubs. Monkeynotes online study guide book notes summary for.
This rocket reached an altitude of over 4000 feet, but sunny rudely tells his group that they are going to zinc dust and sulfur from now on. She inspires the rocket boys to compete in the national science fair. The teasing finally ceases when they saw the rocket boys launch a rocket. Today, it is one of the most often picked communitylibrary reads in the united states. Dubonnet, the leader of the miners union and, as a result, a frequent enemy of homer sr. Rocket boys, perhaps best known as the book that inspired the movie october sky, is a heartwarming comingofage memoir about a group of boys who dreamt of the future in a town that had very little future to dream about. Chapterbychapter october sky summary rocket boys by.
At the end of the book, the boys have gained national attention. A miner who always supported the rocket boys, was in the middletown near the playground where auk xxiid fell. Bykovski notices problems with the rocket and helps the boys fix the issues in the rocket slowly. In the book, it described a spike of immigration from hungary, poland and russians coming to coalwood after world war ii. This lesson will provide a summary of chapters 79 of homer hickams memoir october sky, originally published in 1999 as rocket boys. However in october 1957, everything changes when the first. Rocket boys by homer hickam, also called october sky, is the story of a young boy growing up coalwood, a west virginia mining town.
Rocket boys by homer hickam plot summary litcharts. This lesson will go through a summary and some analysis of that story. Unfortunately, advertising revenues have declined so much that we can no longer afford to offer all of our notes for free. Using the book the boys learn how to make their rockets better in all areas. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. The reason he has a car was from a company settlement that went on before the book. The book is a not just a story about the beginning of the space race and everything that entails for how america changed after sputnik, but also about how life in coal mining communities changed and how the view of marriage and family changed and how the relationships between fathers and sons changed. She gives sonny a book called principles of guided missile design that is extremely useful to the rocket boys in the future. He had a telescope that one night, the rocket boys looked up at jupiter and imagined a life greater. A memoir in 1998 and the premiere of the movie october sky in 1999, homer hickam readers and fans have wondered how and why he wrote the book, and how the movie was made be with hickam as he struggles with the complexities of how a major. Delacorte throughout the summer of 1958, explosions rocked the hills and hollows near coalwood, west virginia. Created by the original team behind sparknotes, litcharts are the worlds best literature guides.
Rocket boys was made into a film in 1999, titled october sky an anagram of rocket boys. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion on rocket boys. Incidental to that are such questions as what is jake gyllenhaal, chis cooper, laura dern, etc. Study guide for rocket boys by homer hickamchapter summary. The group of course disagrees with his view, and roy lee confronts sunny. Chapterbychapter summaries of october sky rocket boys by homer. In this short opening section, hickam sketches out the arc of his book. It was also nominated by the national book critics circle as best biography of 1998. Riley the rocket boys get a book on the math and science behind the flight of rockets. Welcome to the litcharts study guide on homer hickams rocket boys. This study guide consists of approximately 50 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of rocket boys. If there will come soft rains brings bradburys criticisms of heedless advancement to a climax, then the millionyear picnic is a fitting denouement, or conclusion following the climax. The book deals with hiram and the other rocket boys in coalwood, w.
October sky is an anagram of rocket boys, the title of the 1998 novel upon which the film is based. Chapterbychapter summaries of october sky rocket boys by. They do not fully fix the rocket during this chapter, as the rockets have certain issues throughout their work on it. This article will give you a chapter by chapter october sky summary. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in rocket boys, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.