By TINA LABELLARTE

"Sounder," the Newbury award‑winning novel, has recently been made into a movie and is now showing in the Chicago area. It is an excellent film which can be enjoyed by any and all age groups.

Although the title of the movie is also the name of the dog in the movie, the story is of the Negro sharecropping family which owns him and their relationships, rather than a typical dog movie.

"Sounder" is set in the year 1933. Although the Civil War ended nearly 75 years ago, the after effects of Reconstruction in the South are portrayed in the sharecropper system under which the majority of the Negro population in the South must live.

Nathan Lee, his wife Rebbeca, and his three children are poor Negro sharecroppers. They are provided with tools, and money to get their farm started, and in return must give the plantation

owner a share of their crop. Before the harvest, the family is without food and must borrow from the storekeeper in town. Their debt grows higher and higher. David Lee, the eldest son, and Nathan Lee try to hunt at night with their dog, Sounder. However, their luck has been bad.

Nathan Lee steals some meat from the storekeeper in town and is sent to jail. The family must struggle to bring in the harvest in order to survive. Much of the hard times is seen through the eyes of David Lee.

The musical background of the film is done in the voice of a Negro singing the spirituals of his people. The green countryside and beauty of the South is vividly seen in the movie.

Nathan Lee and his son David have a special relationship of deep love and friendship. One that I would recommend all to see and enjoy by attending the academy award nominee, "Sounder."