1. After conducting research on raccoons, discuss the accuracy of North's descriptions of Rascal's behavior.

2. Describe ways in which Rascal fills a void left in the narrator's life as a result of his family's fragmentation.

3. The narrator of Rascal has several animals. Discuss the community they form and how members of that community coexist.

4. How many episodes in the novel show the narrator and Rascal doing the same activities? How important are these parallels to the development of the theme?

5. Describe how the narrator views nature. Are these the thoughts of a boy or of a man remembering his boyhood?

6. Write a short paper describing an experience in your life with a pet that reading Rascal reminds you of.