The movie is taken from an autobiographical novel by homer h. October sky was followed by the coalwood way 2000, sky of stone 2002, and carrying albert home 2015. Initially, homer does not have the confidence or support to ignite his talent and achieve his desires. May 08, 2018 rocket boys october sky chapter one less terrible this time micah reads. The book has been republished under the same name as the film. What obstacles did the boys in october sky have to. Rocket boys characters from litcharts the creators of. For the film producers felt having two characters named homer would.
What else do we know about this character in homer hickams october sky. This summer, you are expected to read october sky by homer hickam and complete this. Homer hickam, the main character of the movie, would never succeed in his rocket dream without the extraordinary inspiration and encouragement from miss riley. Actor william lee scott picked up one of his first film roles as roy lee in october sky. 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.
Aug 16, 2010 i bet your one of those types that complains when your neighbors stereo is too loud, then when you turn yours up you get mad when your told to turn it down, maybe you like to cut someone off on the road, but then when someone else does you road rage and tailgate them until they get out of your way. The book talks about the attributes of coalwood and the people who live there. In the book october sky, the boys had many obstacles to overcome. Explore our collection of motivational and famous quotes by authors you know and love. It was originally published under the title rocket boys in 1998. Im writing a story with a 7 year old girl as the main character. Chris cooper joined october sky as john hickam, the father to. October sky 1999 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading from rocket boys to october sky kindle single.
Hes often responsible for obtaining materials for the bcmas rocket designs, and while his schemes often fail, hes responsible for many important rocket supplies. The boys lived in a town dominated by the coal mining industry, a career that loomed over them like a dark shadow. In the memoir october sky, the character, homer hickam, shows lots of different emotions. Dec 16, 2009 october sky, by homer hiram, was published in 1999. Rocket boys was made into a film in 1999, titled october sky an anagram of rocket boys. What are 7 year old girls most and least outspoken about. 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. 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. Rocket boys october sky characters flashcards quizlet. The reason he has a car was from a company settlement that went on before the book. For the film producers felt having two characters named homer would confuse. October sky is the first memoir in a series of four, by homer hickam jr. 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.
At the same time, he enthusiastically supports homer s experiments with rockets, and even gives him some useful advice about how to prepare rocket fuel and design rocket casings. The true story, originally published asrocket boys, that inspired the universal pictures film. Hes often responsible for obtaining materials for the. It takes place in coalwood, west virginia in the nineteen fifties and sixties. Sonny, however, is terrible at sports and has no special skill that would get him out of coalwood. 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. The easiest of the symbols in october sky to recognize is the symbolism of the rockets. Coalwood was described with mountains surrounding the town with many coal deposits inside of them. Handwrite answers to characters and terms, vocabulary, and study guide. Who are the main characters in october sky answers. 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. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Always told her son, sonny that he was only from the lavender side of the family. Why was the movie called october sky instead of the books title, rocket boys. An epilogue, using real footage, reveals the true outcomes of the main characters lives. October sky 1999 jake gyllenhaal, jake cooper and laura dern star in this drama about the aspirations of a coal miners son. 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. Rocket boys characters from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Sonny wants to build rockets, homer wants his son to work in the mine. When universal made the movie, however, they changed quite a bit. 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. Homer hickam talks about building rockets and the october. October sky is a film that will steal your heart, fill your mind with vivid imagery, and lift your spirit.
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. It was 1957, and the small mining town of coalwood, west virginia, was slowly dying. Like giving them a book on rocketry, and showing them new materials for rocket fuel to name a few. Although i was a teenager more than a decade later than hickam was, some of the things he wrote about hit close to home.
I really feel that homers book helps us to look not only up, but also to the future. Jim hickman is the brother to sonny and the son to elsie and homer hickman. Access this study guide chapter at any time to study characters and quotes from the book october sky. 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. One of the rocket boys he is disabled with a shorter left leg he works as the superintendent in the.
In october, news of the soviet unions rocket launch of sputnik 1 reaches coalwood. He then nabbed the role of odell in october sky, playing a friend of. It is a story of growing up in a mining town, and a boys pursuit. The true story was published in1998, its about a boy and his. Sonnys older brother, jim hickam, excels at football and expects to get a college football scholarship. This article will give you a chapter by chapter october sky summary. Using the book the boys learn how to make their rockets better in all areas. Gyllenhaal was nominated for a young artists award for his work in the film. After that, sonny enlists the help of quentin wilson, roy lee cooke, sherman siers, jimmy odell carroll, and billy rose to help.
Chapter one talked about coalwood and how it has come along. This is the true story that inspired the feature film october sky. From rocket boys to october sky kindle single kindle edition by hickam, homer. 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. The leader of the coalwood miners union, john dubonnet quarrels with homer sr. Discover and share quotes from october sky characters. Riley is very much apart of the rocket boys success. 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. The book was then republished as october sky shortly afterwards.
I first came across this book after watching the film october sky, that is based on the book. As the townspeople gather outside the night of the broadcast, they see the satellite orbit across the sky. Riley the rocket boys get a book on the math and science behind the flight of rockets. This readers group guide for homer hickams october skyrocket boys is. Well ive found a way to train yourself into knowing how they meant to say it, you read a book and you try to identify the emotions of the characters. Many schools from fifth grade to college are studying rocket boys october sky in their classrooms, including english, math, and science classes. These convenient lessons and quizzes can benefit anyone who needs to refresh their. The coal mining was where coalwood the name, was created from. Homer thinks that if jim had been on the bcma, homer sr. October sky, by homer hiram, was published in 1999.
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. It is a story of growing up in a mining town, and a boys. I dont honestly know why, but here are the similarities and differences between the book october sky name changed from rocket boys and. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. In 1999, universal made a movie entitled october sky. I dont honestly know why, but here are the similarities and differences between the book october sky name changed from rocket boys and october sky. October skies by alex scarrow goodreads share book. Monkeynotes study guides download storedownloadable study guides book summary, book notes,notes,chapter summarysynopsis. Faced with an uncertain future, homer hickam nurtured a dream. Rocket boys october sky chapter one less terrible this time micah reads. The tale of homer hickham and his dream of creating a rocket seem so simple at first, especially when the film is set in a mining town, where the future is.
You can get some information from october sky 1999. October skies is another exceptional thriller from alex scarrow, he is book by book establishing himself as one of the best thriller writers around. The character of john dubonnet in rocket boys from litcharts. An evaluation of the novel october sky by homer hickam, using the pit stop principles from first trimester reading. It was 1957, the year sputnik raced across the appalachian sky, and the small town of coalwood, west virginia, was slowly dying. October sky summer reading packet sullivan county schools. Interesting that october sky the name of the movie is an anagram of rocket boys the name of the book the original name anyway. He is the son of the mines superintendent, and has very different plans for his future then his father does.
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. Rocket boys by homer hickham jr, is the story of homer when he was a young man just getting his start in rocket building. List of october sky characters, including pictures when available. 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. October sky is a charming tale and the boys success is inspiring. The story is that of homer hickham jr, or sonny as he is known in the story, and. 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. I thought the film was amazing but this is even better. The book is dedicated to mom and dad and the people of coalwood. The proper title of the book, however, is and always shall be rocket boys. October sky is a 1999 american biographical drama film directed by joe johnston and starring jake gyllenhaal, chris cooper, chris owen, and laura dern.
Although hickam hoped producers would keep rocket boys, they said they felt it wouldnt lure a female audience. The young narrator and protagonist of rocket boys, homer hickam, jr. Learn october sky characters with free interactive flashcards. The main character is homer hickam, a boy who becomes passionate about going into space after he hears about the soviet sputnik satellitethe first one in space. Powered by create your own unique website with customizable templates. Jim hickman is the brother to sonny and the son to. Choose from 500 different sets of october sky characters flashcards on quizlet. Rocket boys october sky by homer hickam monkeynotes. In the book rocket boys, the main character is always called sonny. Sonny couldnt achieve his dreams of building a rocket without his. Miss riley is a chemistry and physics teacher at big creek high school. Rocket boys and this mass market paperback titled october sky are the same book.
October sky characters cast list of characters from. He grew up in the small west virginian coal mining town of coalwood. Why was the movie called october sky instead of the book s title, rocket boys. Like this is our monkeynotes downloadable and printable book summary study guide booknotes synopsis analysis for rocket boys october sky by homer hickam in pdf format. 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, the man whose life became the basis of the film october sky, takes us through some of his inspiring accomplishments.
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. She inspires the rocket boys to compete in the national science fair. Jake gyllenhaal as homer hickam chris cooper as john. 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. She gives sonny a book called principles of guided missile design that is extremely useful to the rocket boys in the future. Rocket boys october sky chapter one less terrible this time. Roy lee is certainly sonnys best friend in homer hickams memoir october sky. Chapterbychapter summaries of october sky rocket boys. This was the movie version of the book rocket boys, written by homer hickam. Many schools from fifth grade to college are studying rocket boysoctober 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.