Ms. Rawlings, through her creative observations of the natural world, captured the hardness born of pain that a lonesome woman exhibited with the character, Ma Baxter. Ma’s husband, Penny, was no less scarred. He buried many children who had died during childbirth or shortly afterward, until finally, their boy, Jodywas born. Penny was soft of heart and tender in his dealings with the young lad, giving him the same patient understanding he gave to the wild creatures. Yet, Penny also killed for their survival. He hunted, fished, and worked from daylight to dark so his family would eat. ChaCha on!
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