When universal made the movie, however, they changed quite a bit. Later, homer is inspired to read a book on rocket science from miss riley, learning to calculate the. Originally titled the rocket boys, the book was renamed in 1999. October sky penguin random house secondary education. 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. The true story of how your science teacher can change your life. The rocket boysoctober sky is now part of the coalwood series. October sky is a film that will steal your heart, fill your mind with vivid imagery, and lift your spirit. They do not fully fix the rocket during this chapter, as the rockets have certain issues throughout their work on it. I dont honestly know why, but here are the similarities and differences between the book october sky name changed from rocket boys and. Homer, confused, admits that he thinks he can, with the right research. The new york times bestselling memoir that inspired the film october sky, rocket boys is a uniquely american memoir a powerful, luminous story of coming of age at the dawn of the 1960s, of a mothers love and a fathers fears, of a group of young men who dreamed of launching rockets into outer space. Homer hickam said that universal studios marketing people got involved and they just had to change the title because, according to their research.
The movie started out with the name rocket boys or the rocket boys. 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. In this part of the book jim, sonny, and mom were listening to the radio, that was talking about the space race. Faced with an uncertain future, homer hickam nurtured a dream. October sky by homer hickam in chm, fb2, rtf download e book. This post may contain affiliate links which means we receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase. The movie is taken from an autobiographical novel by homer h. Rocket boys october sky is an excellent way to think about and discuss the many steps it takes to achieve a goal. In the book october sky, the bcma is the social club formed by sonny and his friends to experiment with making rockets and trying to figure out what causes them to fly.
This is an adult book, but it is told from a young mans point of view. The idea that the united states was spending a lot of money and time and dedicating it to building rockets. Interesting that october sky the name of the movie is an anagram of rocket boys the name of the book the original name anyway. 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. October sky liane speaks with nasa engineer and author, homer hickam, junior, and director joe johnston about the newlyreleased film, october sky universal. The book talks about the attributes of coalwood and the people who live there.
A look at the symbols in hickams book, also called rocket boys written by homer hickam about his childhood growing up in a small mining town during the days of the early space race, rocket boys, also called october sky, is in many ways a symbol of the entire space race. 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. Sonnys idea of building rockets starts as simply a dream, but then he brings in the other boys and even approaches quentin, the school outcast. Here is a comparison of the reel story of october sky and the real story of rocket boys. After the success of his book rocket boys, hickam has gone on to have a strong career as a writer. 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. October sky does good job of telling homer hickam jr. Rocket boys and this mass market paperback titled october sky are the same book. Rocket boys study guide from litcharts the creators of. As an amazon associate, i earn from qualifying purchases. The latest is the dinosaur hunter, a mystery story set in montana, hickam says. This was discovered by director joe johnston using an anagram program on his computer.
One connection from october sky to the cold war is sputnik. In the book, it described a spike of immigration from hungary, poland and russians coming to coalwood after world war ii. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. The book has been republished under the same name as the film. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
The true story, originally published as rocket boys, that inspired the universal pictures film. It was 1957, the year sputnik raced across the appalachian sky, and the small town of coalwood, west virginia, was slowly dying. I really feel that homers book helps us to look not only up, but also to the future. Nominated for the national book critics circle award, homer. The memoir was an international bestseller, and within a year of its release it had been adapted as a film, october sky, starring jake gyllenhaal. In the book rocket boys, the main character is always called sonny. I first came across this book after watching the film october sky, that is based on the book. What obstacles did the boys in october sky have to. October sky is a 1999 american biographical drama film directed by joe johnston and starring jake gyllenhaal, chris cooper, chris owen, and laura dern. As the townspeople gather outside the night of the broadcast, they see the satellite orbit across the sky. 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.
She gives sonny a book called principles of guided missile design that is extremely useful to the rocket boys in the future. In order to celebrate sonny and the other rocket boys, they decide to launch off the last of their rockets. It is the story of homer growing up in coalwood, west virginia. In the book october sky, the boys had many obstacles to overcome. Although the movie october sky is based off the book rocket boys october sky the two still have some major differences. Many schools from fifth grade to college are studying rocket boysoctober sky in their classrooms, including english, math, and science classes. A uniquely american memoir, october sky formerly titled rocket boys is at once an inspiring chronicle of triumph and a luminous story of a mothers love, a fathers fears, and a young mans coming of age. Why was the movie called october sky instead of the book s title, rocket boys. Elsie tells homer that she doesnt know what hell do with his life homer sr. It is a story of growing up in a mining town, and a boys pursuit of amateur rocketry in a coal mining town. This article will give you a chapter by chapter october sky summary. This was the movie version of the book rocket boys, written by homer hickam. 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.
Sep 02, 2011 while many of homers friends are puzzled by his new obsession, several new friends share his enthusiasm, and with the encouragement of his teacher laura dern, homer and his fellow rocket boys. It is also used in a period radio broadcast describing sputnik 1 as it crossed the october sky. It was 1957, and the small mining town of coalwood, west virginia, was slowly dying. The boys use trig to figure out how far in the sky the rocket goes.
Homer sunny is a smart an talented 9th grader that wanted to start building rockets after dr. October sky aka rocket boys is the story of homer and his friends teaching themselves, and their town, about rockets and finding a way to create a life away from the dieing coal mine in their part of kentucky. From rocket boys to october sky audiobook by homer. The proper title of the book, however, is and always shall be rocket boys. The difference between aiming sky high or descending into the mine is heavily emphasized, in both visual and dramatic terms. October sky is a charming tale and the boys success is inspiring. A memoir was published by delacorte press in september 1998 and the movie based on it, october sky premiered nationwide on his birthday february 19, 1999. Chapterbychapter summaries of october sky rocket boys. There are many examples of this throughout the movie.
Rocket boys, perhaps best known as the book that inspired the movie october sky, is a heartwarming comingofage memoir about a group of boys who dreamt. His most successful book was his second, rocket boys 1998, a memoir about his high school years with the bcma. The last chapter of october sky has sonny back in town and the strike largely finished. One of the biggest differences is how the movie goes about in. The book has lots of photos taken on the various sets, too. See more ideas about october sky, great movies, homer hickam. It is also used in a period radio broadcast describing sputnik 1 as it crossed the octob e r sky. This commentary and discussion questions were written by linda terry hickam, assistant and wife.
This readers group guide for homer hickams october skyrocket boys is. In 1999, rocket boys was made into a hollywood movie named october sky starring chris cooper, jake gyllenhaal and laura dern. Although i was a teenager more than a decade later than hickam was, some of the things he wrote about hit close to home. In october, news of the soviet unions rocket launch of sputnik 1 reaches coalwood. He achieves that goal with working with his friends and soon after they are done with school, homer works for nasa and build rockets for a living. Online rocket boys a memoir aka october sky read download. In homer hickams book, october sky and the film adaptation by joe johnstun, the main character sonny hickam is portrayed differently. As you know, homer hickams book rocket boys was made into a major motion picture. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. 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.
I, too, grew up in a rural area on a dirt road in the woods of nh. But it also comes to the end of his high school career. Based on hickams folksy, bestselling memoir, rocket boys, joe johnstons second and better rocket film after the rocketeer contrasts homers high hopes with his allbutcertain destiny. A memoir in 1998 and the premiere of the movie october sky in 1999, homer hickam readers and fans have wondered how and why he wrote the book, and how the movie was made. Rocket boys have you ever read a book and later watched the movie version only to find out that they are completely different. 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 is also available in abridged audio book, electronic book, large print, and is a readers digest condensed book. The second book of the series is coalwood way, a novel taking place during the same time of the rocket boys and highlighting life for. A memoir was published by delacorte press in september 1998 and the movie based on it, october sky. 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. Bykovski notices problems with the rocket and helps the boys fix the issues in the rocket slowly. In 1999, universal made a movie entitled october sky. Looking back after a distinguished nasa career that fulfilled his boyhood ambition, homer hickam shares the story of his youth, taking readers into the life of the little mining town and.
Elsie asks homer if he thinks he can build a real rocket. 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, the movie. The boys lived in a town dominated by the coal mining industry, a career that loomed over them like a dark shadow. Interestingly, october sky is an anagram of rocket boys, the same letters just moved around. Filled with awe and a belief that this may be his chance out of coalwood, homer sets. Chapter one talked about coalwood and how it has come along. Download rocket boys a memoir aka october sky epub 28 thoughts on is this book for real. 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 as clear cut as the lumps of coal in the mine. Everyone in town and a lot of other towns come to see the rockets. October s ky is an anagram of rock et boys, the title of the 1998 memoir upon which th e fi lm is based. This is the true story that inspired the feature film october sky. Oct 18, 2019 this movie was made from homer hickams book rocket boys. Clips for project shows homers innocence mathematics. The easiest of the symbols in october sky to recognize is the symbolism of the rockets.