Saturday, March 13, 2010

Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen

woods Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen
Wendy Lamb Books
January 2010
164 pgs.

Summary
From his 1776 Pennsylvania homestead, thirteen-year-old Samuel, who is a highly-skilled woodsman, sets out toward New York City to rescue his parents from the band of British soldiers and Indians who kidnapped them after slaughtering most of their community. Includes historical notes.

6 comments:

  1. I loved this one. Gary Paulsen was able to weave in historical facts while writing an intense and compelling tale. This would should go far!

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  2. I agree with The Brain Lair. I just wish the storyline continued.

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  3. I agree too, w/ both of you--I just don't know if the ending is so weak that it will impact its quality and the possibility of it receiving Newbery recognition, either as the Medal winner or an Honor. My guess is that it won't be on the list, but we'll see.

    I did love this one, and it's the 1st book I've ever read about Revolutionary War times that brought it to life for me. I think it's fascinating now, and I never thought that before.

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  4. It took me a while to get into this. but it was interesting to read this book and learn more about this time period.
    -Bridget

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  5. The weaving together of the historical facts and the suspenseful story was artfully done, and it gave a good picture of the arbitrary way war can just descend on civilians, the insanity of it -- a good counter to the history book images of heroic soldiers. The story wrapped up too neatly and quickly, though, in my opinion. After the detailed effort of portraying Samuel's life on the frontier before the war, though, the end seemed disappointingly shallow.

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  6. Anne, I agree. I loved the book until the end. And then it just ended. All that time and energy spent creating the character and describing the setting and the people...and then it was as if Paulsen didn't know what to do with his hero. This will probably keep it from being a Newbery Medal or Honor book. I will still recommend it though.

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