Bibliographic Information
Peterson, Katherine. JIP: HIS STORY. New York, NY: Puffin. ISBN: 979-0142404118.
Plot and Critical Analysis
Jip, an orphan who fell off a wagon in Vermont as a toddler, now lives on a farm for the poor, orphaned, and abandoned of his town. As more people come to live on the farm “the lunatic” joins them to an unfriendly greeting. All but Jip, who takes the lunatic Put, could care less about this man, but Jip takes him on as another creature on the barn to care for and then later, a friendship blooms when Put is in good spirits. As Jip faces questions meant for older people he has to face the cruelness of humanity at a very young age. As the year continues, Jip learns more about people and their cruelty and kindess. Any reader will probably have faced similar hardships as Jip up to this point in the story. This will help the reader relate to Jip so that when the plot twists they may be as confused as Jip about his circumstances, where to go, or how this new revelation could occur. This is especially true with a truth is revealed to Jim, which leads him on a journey away from the only home he has known for his own survival. As Jip processes his fate, the questions he asks and personal doubts he faces are believable to a child his age.
As Jip’s story unravels, the reader will face psychoses, drunkenness, slavery and prejudice, and death. It takes place before the Civil War and although it is set in the north, the issues of slavery and people as "property" take over the plot. It begins fairly upbeat with friendship developing in the lease expected places, a teacher supporting a student, and the creation of families; however from the climax through the ending, children will have lots of questions with this storyline – especially when it comes to the makeup of DNA. The friendship between Jip and Put develops throughout the story, resulting in each choosing to protect and help the other over their own needs and survival. The authenticity of the slave catchers, and their cruelty, is both raw and very real.
Historically speaking, the topic of slavery, slave catchers, and the underground railroad is fairly accurate. The cruelty and focus on capture takes priority over human decency and kindness. The people that are against this practice are the town's educator and a family of Quakers. True to the beliefs of Quakers, their representation throughout this novel is of compassion and helpfulness. The epilogue continues to story a few years later to where Jip is returning to America to fight in the Civil War for the freedom of others, which helps show the reader that one should always fight for what is right.
Awards and Reviews
ALA Notable Children's Books: 1997
Booklist Editors' Choice - Books for Youth - Older Readers Category: 1996
Parents' Choice Awards - Story Books: 1996
Parents' Choice Awards - Story Books: 1999
School Library Journal Best Books: 1996
School Library Journal Best Books: 1996
Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award
Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award
YALSA Best Books for Young Adults: 1997
Publishers Weekly
Abandoned as an infant, Jip West accepts his grim fate on a Vermont poor farm without question until a series of disturbing events changes his beliefs about himself and the people around him. The turning point occurs when, in the year 1855, Jip (who has a gift for "handling beasts and residents") becomes caretaker of a lunatic brought to the farm. The boy's growing friendship with the mysterious, moody man called Put coincides with Jip's discovery that his mother was a runaway slave. Tension mounts when Jip's biological father, the master of a Southern plantation, arrives to retrieve his "property." Like Paterson's Newbery-winning Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved, this historically accurate story is full of revelations and surprises, one of which is the return appearance of the heroine of Lyddie. While Jip's concerns provide insight into 19th-century society, his yearnings for freedom and knowledge are timeless. The taut, extremely readable narrative and its tender depictions of friendship and loyalty provide first-rate entertainment. Ages 10-14. (Oct.)
Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review. Set in the 1850s, this story centers on a boy named for his supposed abandonment by gypsies and for his swarthy complexion. Jip lives on the local poor farm, doing chores and caring for the animals. He befriends a caged lunatic, "Put"; a menacing stranger appears who inquires about Jip's background and turns the boy's life upside down. As he straggles to find answers, he is given the opportunity to attend school and is befriended by the teacher, whom readers will recognize from Lyddie (1991), and her Quaker sweetheart. Through this friendship, Jip is able to face his ancestry and the fact that he must escape or suffer dire consequences. As usual for Paterson, all the characterizations are penetrating--even the villains are interesting. An epilogue lets readers in on Jip's success in reaching Canada and his decisions as the Civil War begins. Unfortunately, the ending is abrupt: Put is sacrificed, and it is not clear what lesson Jip derives from putting his friend in harm's way. Regardless, this is fine historical fiction. (Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 1996)
Connections
Even after finishing JIP, I was still thinking about the story. Any reader, especially a young one who has only begun learning or witnessing prejudice (be it racial or to the disabled), will be left feeling personally connected to the characters of Jip and Put. It is real, tragic, and at times upsetting for both the treatment towards Jip and the demise of Put. By covering this topic in a fictional sense, the reader is drawn into the world of the characters and forgets that this did occur in our history. This will most likely lead young readers to inquire to the underground railroad or how humanity could allow the practice of one human "owning" another. The writing is believable as are the elements of farm life, school life, and the language spoken by the Quakers. It then opens to discussion to slave traders, slavery in general, the division in the United States on their tolerance towards it, and even the biological facts of biracial children.
The setting is detailed and believable whether it's describing a farm in Vermont, a creek in the woods, or the details in the smell of a filthy Put in a state of madness. It is not until two thirds into the book that the reader is fully aware of Jip's situation. The topics of the underground railroad, slave catchers, and biracial children - who were viewed as property and slaves - are realistically addressed for this age group and offer details and facts to introduce any child to these topics authentically. Towards the end, the tone takes on a more serious and emotional turn than the beginning of a simple story about a boy on a farm. Any reader will be left thinking about the circumstances during the 1850s in our country and slavery, and their own morals. The theme shows children that not only can they, at a young age, do what is right and be kind to those less fortunate, but that they should grow up standing for what is right. In the 1850s women did not have a say, nor did African Americans, yet it is Jip's female teacher who is one of the strongest characters, along with Jip, in this story.
Similar Readings
Allen Jay and the Underground Railroad (Marlene Targ Brill): It continues the themes of both the Quaker involvement in the underground railroad and the freeing of slaves.
From Midnight to Dawn: the Last Tracks of the Underground Railroad (Jacqueline L. Tobin): Offers a history of the underground railroad, both its creators and the people it freed.
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