The title of the paperback released at the same time was changed to the movie title, which is an anagram of rocket boys take the letters of rocket boys and move them around to spell october sky. Riley is very much apart of the rocket boys success. Rocket boys by homer hickham jr, is the story of homer when he was a young man just getting his start in rocket building. In the book rocket boys, the main character is always called sonny. Jake ends up giving the boys a telescope as a gift and also gives them a book on trigonometry. October baby quotes rocket boys quotes october sky book quotes blue october quotes funny october quotes the sky is everywhere quotes quotes about october abraham lincoln quotes albert einstein. Always told her son, sonny that he was only from the lavender side of the family. The true story was published in1998, its about a boy and his friends who build and launch off their own rockets. The easiest of the symbols in october sky to recognize is the symbolism of the rockets. Rocket boys have you ever read a book and later watched the movie version only to find out that they are completely different. When universal made the movie, however, they changed quite a. I, too, grew up in a rural area on a dirt road in the woods of nh.
Filled with awe and a belief that this may be his chance out of coalwood, homer sets. What else do we know about this character in homer hickams october sky. October sky was followed by the coalwood way 2000, sky of stone 2002, and carrying albert home 2015. Many schools from fifth grade to college are studying rocket boys october sky in their classrooms, including english, math, and science classes.
Rocket boysoctober sky by homer hickam if you are a 14yearold boy living in a west virginia mining town in the 1950s, your horizon is defined by the age worn appalachian peaks enclosing your valley. Sonnys older brother, jim hickam, excels at football and expects to get a college football scholarship. In homer hickams book, october sky and the film adaptation by joe johnstun, the main character sonny hickam is portrayed differently. But he did not get to play his senior year because of something that had happened the year before involving his dad, and a well meaning but misguided group know as the football fathers. Homer hickam wants to fallow his dreams and be successful in his dads eyes, through the flying of rockets. Capturing time and place with impeccable detail and superbly developed characters including laura dern as an inspiring schoolteacher, october sky is a family film for the ages, encouraging the highest potential of the human spirit while giving viewers a clear view of a bygone era when the final frontier beckoned to the explorer in all of us. Homer hickam stated that universal studios marketing people got involved and they just had to change the title because, according to their research. During the course of the book, homer, inspired by read full character analysis. After that, sonny enlists the help of quentin wilson, roy lee cooke, sherman siers, jimmy odell carroll, and billy rose to help. October sky is an anagram of rocket boys, the title of the 1998 novel upon which the film is based. Rocket boys characters from litcharts the creators of. Miss riley is a chemistry and physics teacher at big creek high school. This summer, you are expected to read october sky by homer hickam and complete this.
Hickam is such a good writer, and although the book is based on their rocketary adventures, its all interesting, from his antics in school, to his strained family relationship. In the book october sky, the boys had many obstacles to overcome. I thought the film was amazing but this is even better. The book is dedicated to mom and dad and the people of coalwood. He wants his sons to continue in the coal mining tradition, and he has a difficult time. From escaping the mines of coalwood, west virginia by learning rocketry to becoming a nasa engineer, he speaks about a career which eventually added the title of bestselling author to the mix. It was 1957, the year sputnik raced across the appalachian sky, and the small town of coalwood, west virginia, was slowly dying. In the memoir october sky, the character, homer hickam, shows lots of different emotions. The book was then republished as october sky shortly afterwards.
The boys lived in a town dominated by the coal mining industry, a career that loomed over them like a dark shadow. But anyway, october sky is actually a really good movie and i suggest u watch it because its entertaining and it should help u get an idea about the book. Jim hickman is the brother to sonny and the son to elsie and homer hickman. Like giving them a book on rocketry, and showing them new materials for rocket fuel to name a few. 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. She gives sonny a book called principles of guided missile design that is extremely useful to the rocket boys in the future. This commentary and discussion questions were written by linda terry hickam, assistant and wife. Sonny wants to build rockets, homer wants his son to work in the mine. The reason he has a car was from a company settlement that went on before the book. Homer hickam, the main character of the movie, would never succeed in his rocket dream without the extraordinary inspiration and encouragement from miss riley. Sonny, however, is terrible at sports and has no special skill that would get him out of coalwood. It was originally published under the title rocket boys in 1998. I first came across this book after watching the film october sky, that is based on the book.
Rocket boys october sky chapter one less terrible this time micah reads. October sky characters cast list of characters from. An epilogue, using real footage, reveals the true outcomes of the main characters lives. Rocket boys was made into a film in 1999, titled october sky an anagram of rocket boys. He is the son of the mines superintendent, and has very different plans for his future then his father does. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. This article will give you a chapter by chapter october sky summary. Coalwood is a very simple mining town as described in the book. 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. Homer who is called sonny by everybody he knows is the main character, and the story is told by him, looking back on his time in high school and on his experience building rockets at that time.
Rocket boys characters from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Chapterbychapter october sky summary rocket boys by. Homer hickam talks about building rockets and the october. October sky questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on october sky. Chapter one talked about coalwood and how it has come along. List of october sky characters, including pictures when available. A perfect hollywood opening scene, the story behind the hit film october sky is all the more remarkable because it is drawn from the real life of former engineer homer hickam. Home this day in history summaries main characters. You can use this course to supplement your textbooks, get extra. For the film producers felt having two characters named homer would confuse. In october sky, ike bykovski, a character who was a composite of real miners hickam knew, died in a mine accident after helping homer with his rockets. Dec 16, 2009 october sky, by homer hiram, was published in 1999. Also, at the end of the movie, it explains the true story, so that should help as well. One of the rocket boys he is disabled with a shorter left leg he works as the superintendent in the.
Coalwood was described with mountains surrounding the town with many coal deposits inside of them. This readers group guide for homer hickams october skyrocket boys is designed to. Interesting that october sky the name of the movie is an anagram of rocket boys the name of the book the original name anyway. October skies is another exceptional thriller from alex scarrow, he is book by book establishing himself as one of the best thriller writers around. October sky summer reading packet sullivan county schools. The character of elsie lavender hickam in rocket boys from. Filled with awe and a belief that this may be his chance out of coalwood, homer sets out to build rockets of his own and enter the science fair. Although i was a teenager more than a decade later than hickam was, some of the things he wrote about hit close to home. The true story, originally published asrocket boys, that inspired the universal pictures film. She gives sonny a book called principles of guided missile design that is extremely useful to the rocket boys in. Chapterbychapter summaries of october sky rocket boys. It is a story of growing up in a mining town, and a boys pursuit.
As the townspeople gather outside the night of the broadcast, they see the satellite orbit across the sky. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. He grew up in the small west virginian coal mining town of coalwood. The coal mining was where coalwood the name, was created from. October sky, originally published as rocket boys, tells the story of how the author decided to build rockets as a high school student in coalwood, west virginia. This was the movie version of the book rocket boys, written by homer hickam. For the film producers felt having two characters named homer would.
Rocket boys october sky chapter one less terrible this time. October sky character analysis october sky is a movie about how a hillbilly accomplished his dream of building rockets and got out from the falling mining hometown named coalwood. Jake gyllenhaal as homer hickam chris cooper as john. The response to the article was overwhelming and hickam was offered both a book and movie deal, leading to the full length memoir, rocket boys of which the subsequent title october sky is an angrarm, and was followed by the coalwood way 2000 and sky of stone 2002. In october, news of the soviet unions rocket launch of sputnik 1 reaches coalwood. Rocket boys october sky chapter one less terrible this. 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. October sky study guide course online video lessons. Jim hickman is the brother to sonny and the son to elsie. Julia louisdreyfus, jude law, and more stars at sundance 2020 share who theyd like to be played by in a movie of their lives. What characters are in the movie october sky answers. This is an adult book but it is told from a young mans point of view.
This is the true story that inspired the feature film october sky. Why was the movie called october sky instead of the book s title, rocket boys. The young narrator and protagonist of rocket boys, homer hickam, jr. It is also used in a period radio broadcast describing sputnik 1 as it crossed the october sky. How the classic memoir rocket boys was written and the hit movie october sky was made. Access this study guide chapter at any time to study characters and quotes from the book october sky.
The main form of conflicts in october sky are man vs. Rich in sweet sincerity, intelligence, and good oldfashioned inspirational drama, october sky is a comingofage story with a heart to match its hollywood. Elsie hickman sherman the mother of homer hickman she was loving and caring she wanted more for homer so she did not want him to work in the mine like his father homer hickman sr. List some of the books sonny enjoyed reading during his childhood. Roy lee is certainly sonnys best friend in homer hickams memoir october sky. We learn what triggered sonnys need for rocket making. The rocket boys quotes below are all either spoken by elsie lavender hickam or refer to elsie lavender hickam. October sky is a 1999 american biographical drama film directed by joe johnston and starring jake gyllenhaal, chris cooper, chris owen, and laura dern. October sky, by homer hiram, was published in 1999. Hickam is such a good writer, and although the book is based on their rocketary adventures, its all interesting, from his. Homers father, john hickam, serves as the primary antagonist of the film. You can get some information from october sky 1999. The main characters in the movie are homer hickam, john hickman, miss riley, quentin, roy lee, odell, elsie hickam, and jim hickam. It takes place in coalwood, west virginia in the nineteen fifties and sixties.
May 08, 2018 rocket boys october sky chapter one less terrible this time micah reads. Rocket boys by homer hickam, also called october sky, is the story of a young boy growing up coalwood, a west virginia mining town. In 1999, universal made a movie entitled october sky. These convenient lessons and quizzes can benefit anyone who needs to refresh their. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. An evaluation of the novel october sky by homer hickam, using the pit stop principles from first trimester reading. Faced with an uncertain future, homer hickam nurtured a. Many schools from fifth grade to college are studying rocket boysoctober sky in their classrooms, including english, math, and science classes.
It is also available in abridged audio book, electronic book, large print, and is a readers digest condensed book. She was a main character who always supported sonny, even after he blew up the rose garden fence that took three months of reminding mr. Initially, homer does not have the confidence or support to ignite his talent and achieve his desires. Explore our collection of motivational and famous quotes by authors you know and love. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. But through the help of his teacher, mother, friends, and townspeople, he finds within himself the strength, motivation and confidence to leave off dreaming and start building a life that counts for. Response must be less that 100,000 characters thank you for your feedback. Hes often responsible for obtaining materials for the. October sky characters cast list of characters from october sky. These characters from october sky are ordered by their significance to the film, so main characters are featured at the top while minor characters and cameos are further down on the list. In the movie, sherman odell has characteristics of two characters, sherman.
October sky, originally published as rocket boys, tells the story of how the author. Based on 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, and eventually became a nasa scientist. She inspires the rocket boys to compete in the national science fair. The russians launched it into the sky, and it passed through coalwood. Homer hickam, the man whose life became the basis of the film october sky, takes us through some of his inspiring accomplishments. Jim hickman is the brother to sonny and the son to. 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. 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. Using the book the boys learn how to make their rockets better in all areas. Discover and share quotes from october sky characters. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Handwrite answers to characters and terms, vocabulary, and study guide.
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