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Woods Runner Paperback – January 11, 2011

by Gary Paulsen (Author)

4.6 1,337 ratings

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Samuel, 13, spends his days in the forest, hunting for food for his family. He has grown up on the frontier of a British colony, America. Far from any town, or news of the war against the King that American patriots have begun near Boston.

But the war comes to them. British soldiers and Iroquois attack. Samuel’s parents are taken away, prisoners. Samuel follows, hiding, moving silently, determined to find a way to rescue them. Each day he confronts the enemy, and the tragedy and horror of this war. But he also discovers allies, men and women working secretly for the patriot cause. And he learns that he must go deep into enemy territory to find his parents: all the way to the British headquarters, New York City.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Starred review, Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2010: "A superb reflection on the nature of war."

About the Author

Gary Paulsen is the distinguished author of many critically acclaimed books for young people. His most recent books are Lawn Boy, The Amazing Life of Birds, and Mudshark.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER 1

He was not sure exactly when he became a child of the forest.

One day it seemed he was eleven and playing in the dirt around the cabin or helping with chores, and the next, he was thirteen, carrying a .40-caliber Pennsylvania flintlock rifle, wearing smoked-buckskin clothing and moccasins, moving through the woods like a knife through water while he tracked deer to bring home to the cabin for meat.

He sat now by a game trail waiting for the deer he knew would come soon. He had heard it, a branch brushing a hairy side, a twig cracking, smelled it when the wind blew toward him, the musk and urine of a buck. He checked the priming on his rifle while he waited, his mind and body relaxed, patient, ears and eyes and nose alert. Quiet. Every part of him at rest, yet focused and intense.

And he pictured his life, how he lived in two worlds.

Sometimes Samuel thought that a line dividing those worlds went right through their cabin. To the west, beyond the small parchment window made of grease-soaked sheepskin scraped paper-thin, lay the forest.

The forest was unimaginably vast, impenetrable, mysterious and dark. His father had told him that a man could walk west for a month, walk as fast as he could, and never see the sun, so high and dense was the canopy of leaves.

Even close to their homestead--twelve acres clawed out of the timber with a small log cabin and a lean-to for a barn--the forest was so thick that in the summer Samuel could not see more than ten or fifteen yards into it. Some oak and elm and maple trees were four and five feet in diameter and so tall and thickly foliaged their height could only be guessed.

A wild world.

And while there were trails made by game and sometimes used by natives, settlers or trappers, the paths wandered and meandered so that they were impossible to use in any sensible way. Except to hunt.

When he first started going into the forest, Samuel went only a short distance. That first time, though he was well armed with his light Pennsylvania rifle and dry powder and a good knife, he instantly felt that he was in an alien world.

As a human he did not belong. It was a world that did not care about man any more than it cared about dirt, or grass, or leaves. He did not get lost that first time, because he'd marked trees with his knife as he walked so he could find his way out; butstill, in some way he felt lost, as if, were he not careful, a part of him would disappear and never return, gone to the wildness. Samuel had heard stories of that happening to some men. They entered the forest to hunt or trap or look for new land to settleand simply vanished.

"Gone to the woods," people said of them.

Some, he knew, were dead. Killed by accident, or panthers or bear or Indians. He had seen such bodies. One, a man mauled to death by a bear that had attacked his horse while the man was plowing; the man's head was eaten; another, killed by an arrow through the throat. An arrow, Samuel knew, that came out of the woods from a bow that was never seen, shot by a man who was never known. And when he was small, safe inside the cabin near the mud-brick fireplace with his mother and father, he had heard the panthers scream; they sounded like a woman gone mad.

Oh, he knew the forest could kill. Once, sitting by the fire, a distant relative, a shirttail uncle who was a very old man of nearly fifty named Ishmael, had looked over his shoulder as if expecting to see monsters and said, "Nothing dies of old age in the forest. Not bugs, not deer, not bear nor panthers nor man. Live long enough, be slow enough, get old enough and something eats you. Everything kills."

And yet Samuel loved the forest now. He knew the sounds and smells and images like he knew his own mind, his own yard. Each time he had entered he'd gone farther, learned more, marked more trees with his knife, until he always knew where he was. Now he thought of the deep forest as his home, as much as their cabin.

But some men vanished for other reasons, too. Because the forest pulled them and the wild would not let them go. Three years ago, when Samuel was ten, he had seen one of these men, a man who moved like smoke, his rifle a part of his arm, a tomahawk through his belt next to a slab-bladed knife, eyes that saw all things, ears that heard all things. One family in the settlement had a room on their cabin that was a kind of store. The man had come to the store to buy small bits of cloth and powder and English flints for his rifle at the same time Samuel was waiting for his mother to buy thread.

The man smelled of deep forest, of smoke and blood and grease and something green--Samuel knew he smelled that way, too. The stranger could not be still. As he stood waiting, he moved. Though he was courteous and nodded to people, as soon as he had the supplies for his rifle and some salt, he left. He was there one moment and gone the next, into the trees, gliding on soft moccasins to become part of the forest, as much as any tree or leaf or animal. He went west.

Away from man, away from the buildings and the settled land.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 037585908X
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wendy Lamb Books; Reprint edition (January 11, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780375859083
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0375859083
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9 - 13 years, from customers
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 870L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.38 x 0.36 x 8.13 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #31,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 1,337 ratings

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Gary Paulsen

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Gary Paulsen is one of the most honored writers of contemporary literature for young readers. He has written more than one hundred book for adults and young readers, and is the author of three Newberry Honor titles: Dogsong, Hatchet, and The Winter Room. He divides his time among Alaska, New Mexico, Minnesota, and the Pacific.

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Jim

Don't read unless youlre 14+

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2023

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I'm a dad of 10. I try and read ahead of the kids to keep the trash out. Wish me well.

Great book. Hyper violent against civilian families. The author's stated goal is to pour some reality on the conflict that was the Revolutionary War. Brutal. I'm sure it's true. It was probably worse.

However, the detailed killings along with other implied terrors... don't need to be known and understood by children. It's too much. It's stuff you wish never happened.

I do think there's value in it though, to understand war is horrific. Just not for the young 'uns. Around here will be marked as 15yo+. Let them be young a little longer.

Parent on, parents.

26 people found this helpful

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She Storms

Fantastic book for helping kids understand life at the time. Maybe wait till they can handle it however! Wish I had!

Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2017

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I picked this audiobook for a military move my family had to make a few weeks ago. So many moves and they are a great chance for audio books. As we homeschool I try to make sure at least one audio book is educational in a historic sense and this fit the bill!

This book is a powerful read and like many classics, it brings the impact it needs to very serious topics. I wish I had understood that more though as I would have waiting on it when it comes to my 9 year old daughter. She didn't fully understand the topics well and I felt I couldn't research things that came up with her just then as I was driving. I had though aimed this book more at my 11 year old son who had been learning more about this part of American History. Unlike a lot of history curriculum that focuses on dates and events, this one brought to life the world of Americans in the time period and what they faced. The facts presented in the book in small snippets helped understand the numbers a bit better than even I understood before.

I highly recommend this to those trying to help this time period come to life for their children or students. Perhaps though be extra sure you know they are ready first. My poor 9 year old now doesn't want to talk about Native Americans even though I tried to explain scalping to her then when she had questions about. I seem to have missed my window as she not just doesn't want to learn about them or talk about them at all and so I will be giving her time.

4 people found this helpful

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richard e whitelock

AGAINST ALL ODDS

Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2015

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In the wilderness of Pennsylvania Colony about the time of the American Revolutionary War 1775, a young lad of age 13 loses his parents to a British Force and Iroquois Indian War party as his parents are captured and carried off as captives. The young boy strikes off to rescue his parents and ultimately ends up in New York city, a British occupied war camp.

This kid had no money nor friends that he could call upon for assistance. A lack of clothing and guns and ammunition made him a real prisoner of the deep dark wilderness of Pennsylvania and an open target to any British, Indian or wild animal force looking for prisoners or a quick meal. No money, no food and no relatives or friends to call upon for the very bare necessities of life. How could one so young, inexperienced and ragged rebel avoid sudden capture and death if captured by the British Army, Tories, highwaymen,Indians or natural enemies? What challenged him to continue the venture to save his parents and simply survive the cold wilderness is what legends are made from.

Well, he wasn't alone. There were plenty of other young lads out in the cold with one desire and that was to avoid capture and survive the British, Indians and challenges of the Revolutionary War. And what is really amazing is that these young men were able to survive in great enough numbers to help defeat the British, pacify the Native Americans and make a major contribution to AMERICA'S ULTIMATE VICTORY. It is a story of Colonial strength and determination that ultimately contributed to our final victory and freedom. It speaks of the unusual metal that our early forefathers were made of.

Read what America was truly like to live in during this time period. Learn what America looked and smelled like. Even better, learn how our forefathers were able to survive all odds and help bring the American dream to light. Where did all this strength and determination come from? I think it is a characteristic that all nations have come to recognize from true Americans. Simply stated, "Don't Tread On Me."
And we put our muskets where our mouths are. And made the ultimate sacrifice to insure our colonial victory against all odds.

19 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Really impressed with this book

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2023

Verified Purchase

My grandson is reading this in middle school English at the same time his history class is studying the American Revolution- what an awesome pairing, tells the story of life at that time for a 13 year old, its hard to wait for the next chapter to be assigned, he is now several ahead, I read the whole book just so we could talk about that time period.

2 people found this helpful

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Muffett Pirani

Woods Runner

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2024

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My ten year old granddaughter loves this book!

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KW

Great book for my 9 year old

Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2023

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It was a required reading for the summer as we are reading ahead - I am glad my son loved it.

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Darby Karst

Good novel with interesting historical facts.

Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2020

Verified Purchase

A book written for teens or young adults, yet this book had my attention immediately and I’m a grandma. Good history here. Excellent book for teaching our youth on this country’s fight for independence from England. Colorful characters, and very visual story.

9 people found this helpful

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Shel

Enjoyable

Reviewed in Canada on November 6, 2018

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My kids enjoyed it. Gary Paulsen is a favourite in this house

2 people found this helpful

Mikael

Historic adventure story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 3, 2018

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Bought it for my children, enjoyed it myself. A young boys struggle in "The Last of the Mohicans" - time and landscape.

richard fornwald

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on July 17, 2015

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Great book

2 people found this helpful

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