Revolutionary Times

A couple of parents are in Revolutionary War trouble up to their eye-bobs and the “calvary” that comes to their rescue is none other than their thirteen year old son, Samuel. Gary Paulsen, one of our favorite storytellers, weaves another hard to put down tale about a boy who is just mastering the skills of wilderness survival when the war breaks out. Samuel gets caught up in Hessian raids, Indian attacks, British ambushes and tangled up with undercover patriots all in an effort to recover his folks. Woods Runner is a very empowering book for an early teen boy. It also offers an interesting perspective as Samuel travels from the very edge of the wild frontier to the pulse of the enemy, the British held city of New York. Come to think of it, it’s kind of reminiscent of the Hobbit, Frodo, making his way to the oh-so-scary Modor. Interspersed with an occasional fact page, your child is sure to learn much while enjoying this heart pounding story.

Ages 9-12
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Activity: The firearm issued to the British army during the Revolutionary War was the Brown Bess. It was just about 62" long. Create your own Brown Bess, at actual size! Just print out these nine pages, then use the numbers to line up all the sheets correctly, and tape. Since the printing won't go right up to the edge of the paper, you will have to do some vertical trimming. Here is Ryan with his Brown Bess..