Read aloud...my boys loved it.

Great book. Read it in one sitting. Would be a cool read aloud, and had a lot of places where questioning & research would be a natural action for students.

I normally do not seek the adventure survival-in-the-wild story, but I really liked this one. Lots of well-developed characters, humor, bullying, accurate portrayal of the area and times.

I really enjoyed this book. I read it aloud to my class and they really enjoyed it add well. More people need to read this.

6. Personal Response: As an adult, I see many conflicts with the ideals Moon’s father clings to. It also makes me think of how, when we share extreme beliefs with our children and don’t show them alternatives, we are taking away their choices.[return] 7. Connections: Homelessness unit or a unit on living off the land, including books like Hatchet.

I really enjoyed this book. I read it at the same time my sixth graders were reading Hatchet, so I shared with them in a compare/contrast how this boy, Moon, was prepared and knew so much about survival when Brian (in Hatchet) knew nothing in his predicament. Moon and his family moved out to a shelter in the woods when he was just a baby. First his mother died, and then when he was 10, his father died. His dad had taught him how to live off the land, how to track, how to read, but most importantly how to not get caught while living this alternative lifestyle. Turns out dad had been a soldier in Vietnam and the experience soured him against the government. He instructed Moon to make his way from Alabama to Alaska after his death, to find others who felt the same and lived off the grid. Moon gets caught and is hauled off to a juvenile detention center. He executes an escape plan, but he and two friends remain out in the woods determined to make it on their own. It looks like Moon is finally caught when things take a turn for the worse, and he has to reconcile his father's beliefs with his own new experiences. I really liked it and thought it was well written. Some minor language, but nothing a typical sixth grader hasn't heard before.

3.5—reminiscent of My Side of The Mountain, but with even more heart and a focus on the value of human connection. Tommy and I enjoyed reading this one together.
*there was more cursing than I am used to in a juvenile/middle grades fiction.

This book was recommended to me by a friend. I really liked it, but didn't love it. I do however think this is one of those books I need to put away on a shelf for my son to read when he gets a bit older.

I read this one after seeing a friend's review of it on Goodreads and I thought it might be a good "adventure" title to know about. Wow. Moon Blake (the main character) has been raised in the woods his whole life and is a very self-sufficient child. When his dad dies, he finds himself feeling a little lonely and ventures out into society. There, he has some run-ins with the law and LOTS of adventures ensue. I find myself feeling a little concerned that these boys do so many very dangerous things (riding around a clay pit in a beater truck and crashing into things so hard that the windshield shatters (okay, they WERE wearing helmets at that point, but...); shooting rifles; using chainsaws) and don't seem to have any negative consequences for those actions. Maybe I'm just a Nervous Nellie, but... does reading about these things make kids want to try them? Or does it purge that temptation because they've "experienced" it through the text?

Moon Blake is ten years old when he has to bury his Pap. They've been living in the forest of Alabama, hiding from the government. Moon has had only had his Pap for human company. Pap tells him to head for Alaska to find other people living the survivalist lifestyle. Thus begins Moon's adventure into the real world he is not too sure about. Moon is smart, can read and write, and can whip up on any body. The local constable, Sanders, trys to bring Moon into "the system" (the governemnts way of dealing w/ orphans). Moon makes some friends along his way and finds out maybe his Pap wasn't quite right about some things.