These novels are written by our own Mr. Dahlstrom, the 7th grade ELAR and Creative Writing teacher.

This may be a series, but you don’t necessarily have to read them in order. Each book is it’s own adventures with the same recurring characters. We see very little of Wilder’s parents--they are peripheral characters. We know that his mom, Livy, has cancer and his father works a great deal and tends to his wife. Wilder has a younger sister Molly for whom he feels an older brother’s responsibility and love but appears little in the novels. He likes to tell her of his adventures. Gale is an older gentleman to whom Wilder looks up. They have a great relationship--young and old, teasing each other as Wilder learns how to be an ethical and moral man. Sunny is Wilder’s “girl,” the girl he feels a tugging after and realizes that it might be the beginnings of love.

In this opening novel of a series, Wilder and Gale are going on an elk hunt. What ensues is the adventure of the day. Waiting for elk, shooting, and dressing the elk as well as the dangerous hike back to the truck. The second novel is a five-day trip to Texas for Wilder to visit his grandfather as they deer hunt and brand cattle where Wilder must learn the dangers and responsibilities of each. The third book is a day’s trip fishing with Gale and Sunny as the reader sees the beginnings of a relationship and the roles of males and females even to the extent of what it takes to survive.

There are many lessons in these novels about humility, being a man, gun safety, survival, family life, and morality towards nature and man. The conflicts between man and nature as well as man and man will be of particular interest to people who like to be outdoors--hunting, fishing, riding horses, etc. As a girly girl, dressing a deer, skinning a rattlesnake, and castrating a bull have little interest for me personally. These short, accessible novels are available in the paperback section. If you like Gary Paulsen, you’ll enjoy these novels as well. ( )