A memoir in 1998 and the premiere of the movie october sky in 1999, many homer hickam readers and fans have wondered how and why he wrote the book, and how the movie was made. This book inspired the movie october sky it is the type of book i will be lending to everyone. On 4 october 1957 the russians start the space race by launching sputnik i. Homer hickam reveals how director joe johnston came up with the name for the popular film. October sky, novel units student packet, grades 912. Homer hickam s memoir october sky is the story of homer and his love for rocketry during the space race. Luckily, this small mining town has a resident, mr. Coalwood is in a small town and the main activity is coal mining.
Homer s family is an important element in the story. Extract of sample rocket boys aka october sky hardcover by homer h. The title of the film, october sky, is an anagram of rocket boys. 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. Carrying albert home by homer hickam is the story of a classic love triangle. This wellwritten biography is a snapshot into history, into the mind of a teenaged homer hickam, into the lives people living in a 1950s coal mining town, and into our national attitude about the space race. Sky of stone, the third installment of hickams memoirs, is a brilliant book.
Homer hickam thought women over 30 wouldnt go see a movie called rocket boys, so they changed it to something more palatable. Til the title for the movie october sky is an anagram of. October sky is a 1999 american biographical drama film directed by joe johnston, starring jake gyllenhaal, chris cooper, chris owen, and laura dern. This readers group guide for homer hickam s october sky is designed to stimulate discussion and enhance the readers appreciation of this exceptional book. October sky, novel units student packet, grades 912 9781588174 by homer hickam. Homer hickam, master storyteller and bestselling author of october sky, speaks to the ntpn opening session.
Why was the movie called october sky instead of the books title, rocket boys. Hickam has been a coal miner, vietnam combat veteran, scuba instructor, nasa engineer, and now a bestselling author. 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. Rocket boys by homer hickam, also called october sky, is the story of a young boy growing up coalwood, a west virginia mining town. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. After watching the launch of sputnik, he set his sights on. October sky by homer hickam meet your next favorite book. From rocket boys to october sky book by homer hickam. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read crater.
Homer hickams memoir october sky is the story of homer and his love for rocketry during the space race. Homers family is an important element in the story. Feb 10, 2009 homer hickam reveals how director joe johnston came up with the name for the popular film. Rocket boys and this mass market paperback titled october sky are the same book. Get an answer for describe homer hickam in detail in october sky. His engaging memoir reminds everyone of what it felt like to be a little kid with big dreams and more importantly, that those dreams can come true.
Prodigious youll find the reason for that description when you read the book. Monkeynotes online study guide book notes summary for. October sky is the first memoir in a series of four, by american engineer homer hickam jr. Although hickam hoped producers would keep rocket boys. What is the great six in the book october sky by homer hickam. Rocket boys, october sky homer hickam collectspace. If youre interested in booking homer hickam to speak at your next event, please. Our own printable literature summaries will provide you with a concise, yet detailed summary of the title you are studying and offer you additional insight into your comprehension of the this novel including detailed chapter summaries and notes, setting. Faced with an uncertain future, homer hickam nurtured a dream. Homer hickam, the man whose life became the basis of the film. Throughout october, the library will sponsor book discussions, films and activities for all ages all focused around the reading of the book. Do you think youd have been happy to live in coalwood in the late 1950s.
When in wales recently i finished reading october sky by homer h hickam, which seemed to have a certain synchronicity for me at that moment in time. A marketing survey indicated that rocket boys as a title would confuse the audience with another movie, rocket man, and therefore the change. The story takes place in a small coal mining town in west virginia from 1957 on. Sep 05, 20 how does a 54yearold man get inside the brain of a 14yearold boy. His 1998 memoir rocket boys also published as october sky was a new york times best seller and was the basis for the 1999 film october sky. The main form of conflicts in october sky are man vs. October sky by homer hickam pdf free download ebook. The book has lots of photos taken on the various sets, too. October sky, book by homer hickam mass market paperback.
Rocket boys, the homer hickam autobiography that became the movie october sky, is the book the library has chosen for the program. The author of torpedo junction, a military history book of the month club selection, as well as numerous articles for such publications as smithsonian air and space and american history illustrated, he is a nasa payload training manager for the international space program and lives in huntsville, alabama. As marvelous as the film is, the memoir, october sky soars above it. Mar 04, 2011 buy october sky new ed by hickam, homer isbn. It is maintained by homers staff and homer himself. Homer hickam is an excellent writer and this is a heartwarming story of his passion for science and the circumstances that shaped his future. Beau bridges brings rocket boys the book that the movie october sky is based on to life. By the way, the title october sky is an anagram for rocket boys. In any case, i am proud of the film and also proud to have this mass market version of my book under the october sky title. As you read this memoir, did you begin to feel as if you knew the people involved.
If youre interested in booking homer hickam to speak at your next event, please contact greater talent. Til the title for the movie october sky is an anagram of the homer hickam book rocket boys close. October sky the title on the mass market movie tiein version of the bestselling the rocket boys is the first memoir in a series of four, by homer hickam jr. Weatherford award in 1998, the year of its release. October sky tells the story of a young boy growing up in coal mining town during the beginnings of the space race. Chapterbychapter october sky summary rocket boys by. Hickam s other books, the coalwood way, and sky of stone both give even more insight, and are also great reads. Effort and pure determination is a key part of the success of the rocket boys throughout homer hickams october sky.
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. October sky rocket boys critique strategies by homer h. Except theres a difference to this menage a trois, a rather large, scaly one. The book is set in coalwood, west virginia, a long way from aberdare in the valleys of south wales where i spent my earliest years and where its unmissable cemetery is the final resting place for. Hickams third installment in his bestselling memoir the coalwood way, 2000, etc. Sky of stone, the third installment of hickam s memoirs, is a brilliant book. October sky by homer hickman is an story that looks into a small coal town. Filled with symbolism, october sky is in some ways the story not only of the space race, but also of many young boys who had their dreams set free by the possibilities of.
Our own printable literature summaries will provide you with a concise, yet detailed summary of the title you are studying and offer you additional insight into your comprehension of the this novel including detailed chapter. See all 2 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. The main conflict is when homers father has the idea that homer will. Sonny is the head coal minnings kid, most kids in this town follow the footsteps in becoming part of the coal mine. Hickam, jr download file to see previous pages homers sole opponent was his own father, the town mines superintendent, who desired him to become a miner and clamped down on his ambitions. Homer hickam wants to fallow his dreams and be successful in his dads eyes, through the flying of rockets. It is a story of growing up in a mining town, and a boys pursuit of amateur rocketry in a coal mining town. This is the true story that inspired the feature film october sky. The author of torpedo junction, a military history book of the month club selection, as well as numerous articles for such publications as smithsonian air and space and american history illustrated, he is a nasa payload training manager for the international space program. In homer hickmans october sky, a group of young boys in a small mining town have decided that they are determined to build a rocket. John hickham is a coal miner and he expects his two sons, jim and homer, to follow in his footsteps and become coal miners too. How the classic memoir rocket boys was written and the hit movie october sky was made 1 by hickam, homer isbn. It was 1957, the year sputnik raced across the appalachian sky, and the small town of coalwood, west virginia, was slowly dying.
That was the challenge former nasa engineer and author homer h. Mar, 2007 homer hickam, master storyteller and bestselling author of october sky, speaks to the ntpn opening session. Hickams body of written work also includes several additional best. Filled with interesting characters, ideas and life lessons, it also has a lot of excellent quotes which encapsulate both the themes and ideas of the book as well as the tone of the time that the book was written in.
Story diagram rising action the rising action is when sputnik is launched by the russians, homer hickam was then inspired to launch his own rocket into outer space. From rocket boys to october sky gives lots of behindthescenes stories both onset and off. How does a 54yearold man get inside the brain of a 14yearold boy. This article will give you a chapter by chapter october sky summary.
It received so much acclaim and interest, he was asked to write a book detailing the whole story. Later editions were published as october sky as a tiein to the 1999. In october sky by homer hickam, what does auk stand for. Student questions reference the edition quoted in the front cover dell paperback edition, 1998 by homer h. It is mostly a true story though the author admits to taking some license about homer hickam, jr. My buddys band is called the rocketboys in honor of homer hickam. It is really the story of a boy and where he grew up, said hickam about the nonfiction memoir. Like many other kids, the dream of becoming an astronaut occupied homer h.
October sky is an ok book its about a small mining town called coal wood. The true story, originally published as rocket boys, that inspired the universal pictures film. Hickam has gone off to virginia polytech to pursue his dreams of rocket science but is required to return to. Borrowing a complimentary phrase from the cerebral rocketboy friend quentin, it is a prodigous work. Part comingofage, part exploration of a bygone community and way of life, part treatise. 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. Faced with an uncertain future, sonny hickam aka homer hickam, jr. It was 1957, and the small mining town of coalwood, west virginia, was slowly dying. The author of torpedo junction, a military history book of the month club selection, as well as numerous articles for such publications as smithsonian air and space and american history illustrated, he is a nasa payload training manager for the international space program and lives in huntsville. Nasa from rocket boy to nasa engineer homer hickam. Due to the effort and determination that sonny had to use in order to pursue his dreams throughout the memoir of october sky, the theme in this book can be used to help any 21st century student in achieving their dreams. Order of importance in the beginning, it tells of how homer was interested in building a rocket after he heard about sputnik on the radio.