Book title: Rocket Boys
Author: Homer H. Hickam Jr.
Film director: Joe Johnston
Crosspatch Artist: Fidelia
Bookdrop location: TBD
Bookdrop date: TBD
Note: Principal Turner looked at the teacher with derision. She was young and inexperienced. In a few years her irrational idealism would doubtless give way to a more realistic, world-weary wisdom, but he needed her to understand something today. The hillbilly children in his school needed to go to work in the coal mines immediately upon graduation. That was just a fact of life in this town—always had been and always would be. "Miss Riley," he said, "once in a while a lucky student will get out on a football scholarship. The rest of 'em work in the mines."
Miss Riley smiled at him. It was a condescending, rebellious smile. It was a smile that brought to mind the old proverb about saying nice doggie while you look for a rock. "How 'bout I believe in the unlucky ones?" she said. “How ‘bout I believe in the ones that—“
Her sentence was cut short as one of those “graboid" worm monsters struck like lightning from the ground beneath, swallowed her in one gulp, and disappeared back into the ground.
“Well, that settles that," thought Principal Turner as he gazed into the new tunnel and wondered if the mining company would pay for this easy access to the earth under the school.
Additional Note: This book was originally published under the title Rocket Boys. Universal Studios was afraid women and older people would not pay to see a movie of that title, and changed it to October Sky, which is an anagram of Rocket Boys.
