The Haymeadow

A fourteen-year-old boy has to take six thousand sheep up to the summer pasture and tend them all by himself, because his father’s hired man became seriously ill. The ranch is now shorthanded, so nobody even has time to stay with John and show him how to do things. It’s just him, four dogs, two horses and all those sheep. He’s already anxious and from the very first day things start to go wrong. Rattlesnakes, coyotes, thunderstorms, injuries, flash floods and a bear among them. Just one thing after another, in bewilderingly fast succession. The carnage from predators when they do come seems very high. The boy John admittedly thinks of giving up a few times, just leaving, but he sticks with the job and does his best. And grows show more through it.

At the end of a month, when his father comes up to the meadow with fresh supplies, he finds a connection to this stern parent he hadn’t felt before. His father shares some things about a legendary grandfather John had long admired. Sounds like he probably shouldn’t have, the relative was not at all a nice man. Legendary for his meanness, and did some pretty bad things that were kept hushed up by the family. John is shocked to find the truth is different from what he’d heard in the community, and glad to know he’s not like that man. But mostly this is about working the sheep, and handling all the problems and emergencies that arise, and the wonder of those smart border collies, who live for their job.

A really good book. I don’t love it like I did Hatchet, but it was much better than The River. show less

The Haymeadow is now one of my favorite Gary Paulsen books -- and I read about 16 of his Juvenile (MG) and Young Adult novels so far this year.

This story is about John Barron, a 14 year-old boy who lives in an all male household on a sheep ranch in Montana. He's grown up with the legends of his tough, independent grandfather; stories that have left him wondering how it must have been to come to this wild land with nothing but two horses and a gun; to build up an large cattle ranch that extended for miles.

A great portion of this story is John's trying to figure out the more recent past and his place in the family story. His mother died when he was a baby, and somehow his family lost the place and cattle, and now work it as a sheep ranch show more for Eastern businessmen.

John's unsure of his own place principally because the men who surround him are the quiet self-sufficient sorts. They don't tell him much, and don't seem to need him until one of them falls ill and it's falls to John to care for thousands of sheep up in a remote mountain valley where they summer the animals. He'll be alone at the haymeadow except for two horses and the dogs... and the coyotes and the bears!

Despite the fact that The Haymeadow is one adventure followed by another, Gary Paulsen manages to pack in a lot of self reflection and pathos. I absolutely loved that in the end the illness in that male group, along with John's 'coming of age' brings about a break in the quiet. John's father begins to talk about his wife, how they met, and also about what how the legends John new before have little to do with the truth.

As I said, I love this book. It had a depth to it that resonated with me. But because of this, I'm not sure how it will fare with Mr. Paulsen's youngest enthusiasts. It might truly be more of a YA read than an MG (middle grade) one. OR it might be that it's a book that can be read at different levels, and with reward at different times in one's life.

Highly recommend this one.

a mini-review
(Pam T, booksforkids-reviews.com) show less

My son & I enjoyed the book, but there are so few teens living a country lifestyle that I'm not sure how many others would appreciate this. John's strong sense of responsibility (a reality of living on an isolated ranch) has him watching the sheep on their summer pasture. While he has the skills to care for the animals, make camp, use and clean his rifle, his inexperience puts his life and the animals in danger. His knowledge that his great-grandfather had to figure it all out when he started the ranch provided the determination he needed to figure out what to do. And the peace of the mountain valley gives him strength.

I liked this book less than I wanted to. I typically enjoy adventure stories that deal with overcoming some sort of natural obstacle in order to "survive", especially when it has to deal with horses or ranching. This was just a little too much survival though. Don't get me wrong, it was good to see all the stuff about ranching and all of the hardships that must be faced when caring for sheep on your own, but it felt like it was slam full of one chaotic event after another, leaving no time to take a breath between mishaps. As a reader I felt like I didn't get the chance to take in my surroundings or get settled into the situation before I was uprooted again. I understand that the author was trying to convey the difficulties and show more responsibilities of ranching on your own, but it would be nice to have actually had a look around at the scenery and situation, to catch my breath and take the entire experience in. There is a little bit of family resolution at the end of the story, which was nice to see, but this is a true adventure story from beginning to end. show less

Gary Paulsen is the champion of survival coming-of -age novels. This time 14 year old motherless John, is charged by his father with herding a flock of 6000 sheep far up the Wyoming mountains, because the farmhand who usually summers with the sheep has cancer. For three months John battles snakes, coyotes, flash floods and even a black bear. He finds himself hesitating to kill severely wounded sheep with his gun. He also needs to come to terms with his family history, which is not quite like he has always believed.
The beginning of the book was very slow, which might cause teens to loose interest before the meat of the story is reached. Once John arrives at the Haymeadow everything happens so fast, that he hardly has time to recover from show more one catastrophe or the next one happens. Suddenly things calm down, coyotes, bears, snakes and the like disappear into the mountains and John has a lovely month or so with the sheep, the dogs and the mountains. Somehow this quiet ending is not very convincing. show less

A coming-of-age story in which a young boy is sent to watch thousands of sheep alone up in the haymeadow in the mountains. He learns how to be independent and resourceful, to be alone with his thoughts, and reconnects with his father.

(1992)

At only fourteen, John is needed to take care of the Barron-family charges – six thousand sheep that must be tended in the haymeadow high in the mountains. With two dogs and four horses as companions, John faces a host of challenges from snakebites and attacking bears to picking up the pieces after a flash flood washes his summer “home” away, making him wonder if he’s truly the “man” for the job.

A wonderful, action-packed coming of age story told in the first person. John tells of his admiration for his gun-toting great-grandfather, a man he never knew but from his father’s stories and the picture poster on his wall. John resigns himself to his task, overcoming his initial fears to ask ‘what would great-granddaddy show more Barron do?’ Through self-reliance, ingenuity, and a strong desire to please his father, John finds that he does have what it takes to survive a summer in the haymeadow.

Awards: ALA Best Books for Young Adults (1993) show less