Jip, His Story
| Author | Katherine Paterson |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's Historical novel |
| Publisher | Dutton Juvenile |
Publication date | October 24, 1996 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 192 pp (hardcover edition) |
| ISBN | 978-0-575-06399-0 (hardback edition) |
| OCLC | 36122563 |
Jip, His Story is a 1996 children's book written by American novelist Katherine Paterson. Set in Vermont during the 1850s, it focuses on a 12-year-old orphan named Jip, who was abandoned as an infant and mistaken for a gypsy because of his skin color. Jip works at a poor farm where mentally ill residents are housed. One of the residents, named Putnam Nelson, appears to be a lunatic, although Jip discovers he is actually very intelligent man with serious mental health problems. Jip also discovers that he is the part-black child of an escaped slave, and that he has been claimed as the property of a slave-owning farmer. Jip and Putnam Nelson escape together to the underground railroad.
Jip, His Story won the 1997 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.[1] In 2005, the book was turned into a musical by Danny Duncan and Emily Klion and performed at The Marsh. This adaptation won the 2008 American Harmony Prize.[2]