The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

The Underneath is a complex, lyrical story of a animal family. It starts with a cat that has been abandoned meeting up with an old bloodhound who is chained and mistreated by its owner in the backcountry of Louisiana. Gar Face, the owner, is a loner who survives trapping animals and selling the pelts for alcohol and supplies. He is stalking a great alligator who lurks in a bayou near his home. The cat, who befriends the bloodhound, soon has kittens and she raises them under the house where the dog, Ranger, is chained. It is safe in the underneath, she tells her kittens, and encourages them to stay out of site to keep them safe from Gar Face, who often uses small animals as bait. A parellel story tells of the great Grandmother moccasin snake who was imprisoned 1000 years again in a jar under a tree. As the story unfolds we learn why and what happened, and the two stories eventually come together. The book is touching and poetic with references to nature, the Native Americans who previously lived in the area, and magical, mystical creatures. Charming. A Newbery Honor Book. The Underneath by Kathi Appelt. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2008.