A Week in the Woods

Clements is one of my favorite elementary authors. His stories are always accented by little grace notes: moments of characterization and humanity, frequently from minor characters, that help the reader to understand why people behave like they do. A Week in the Woods is no exception as he naturally conveys why his main character is aloof, why the main teacher doesn't like him, and how they both change under difficult circumstances and come to understand each other.

Mark Robert Chelmsley (the Fourth) is a rich slacker kid; at least that’s what Mr. Maxwell, the science teacher at his new school thinks. Mark’s parents are part owners in a prosperous company. They have five homes, one of which is in Paris. They travel a lot for their business and leave Mark with Leon and Anya, the housekeeper and handyman/chauffeur who live with them. In order to get some tax breaks, they need to live in their new home in New Hampshire to establish residence. This means Mark will leave his posh private schooling experiences to attend the local public elementary school for the remainder of the year. He and his parents see this as a holding ground until he goes Runyon Academy Boarding School in the fall. Mr. show more Maxwell’s opinion of Mark is unfounded; Mark is actually ahead of his class due to his private schooling. Mark is lonely; his parents are gone a lot and he feels lost. He develops a closer relationship with Leon, who helps him enjoy the outdoors. He slowly comes to realize that his former life was so full of tutors, lessons, sports and activities that he never had time to himself. He finally sees that time is like a bank account that he could now spend any way he wanted. He decides to join the class trip “A Week in the Woods” and prepares himself with gear and necessary supplies. After a misunderstanding, he gets lost in the woods and Mr. Maxwell has to find him. When he finds him, he realizes he was wrong about Mark. Clements writes an engaging story with kid-friendly language. Almost every kid wants to be rich, and lives through Mark vicariously as he purchases his camping gear with his mother’s unlimited charge card. Leon and Anya are warm, caring substitutes for parents who are too involved with their business to give appropriate attention to their child. Mark’s character grows from a spoiled child into a more realistic 5th-6th grader who cares about making friends and fitting in. His parents are somewhat stereo-typed as the “wealthy elite”, but do come down to earth more toward the end of the story. Readers will see that “all that glitters is not gold” when it comes to being wealthy. show less

The fifth-grade Week in the Woods is a beloved tradition of Hardy Elementary, where Mark Chelmsley (the Fourth) is pretty much killing time before his parents send him off to an exclusive prep school. But then Mark realizes the Week might be a chance to prove to Mr. Maxwell that he's not just another of the slacker rich kids the teacher can't stand.

But it may be too late for Mark to change Mr. Maxwell's opinion of him. On the first day of the Week, the tension between teacher and student explodes, and in a reckless moment, Mark puts not only himself, but also Mr. Maxwell, in grave danger. Can two such strong adversaries work together to save their lives?

Andrew Clements in his book "A Week in the Woods" writes not just about a fifth-grade field trip, but a journey about biases, first-impressions, learning our own limits and conquering our weaknesses.

The fifth grade new-comer to the school needs a challenge, but also needs somewhere to belong. As he seeks to avoid boredom, he stumbles into nature and feels its call.

His fifth grade teacher thinks him to be a rich kid with no incentive until he forces his answer and finds that he is unchallenged. He gives him one chance. One chance may not be enough.

The struggle between adult and child was also a battle between viewpoints and whether to try again.

A moving book that intrigues the reader and wants more than just a simple solution. Clements show more gives that.

It was refreshing to have the fifth grader be mature, and struggle with deeper issues, not the typical silly character, for young boys.

My boys didn't want me to stop reading. We will look for other books by this author. show less

Well written (Clements seems to do that a lot) book with some big ideas for little kids to think about. Clements always seems to provide good conversation starters for parents. Rebekah and I read this while waiting for the next Ramona book to come in at the library. Even though it was about a boy and even though it was a little over her head, she enjoyed the story. Well worth the read.

Well written (Clements seems to do that a lot) book with some big ideas for little kids to think about. Clements always seems to provide good conversation starters for parents. Rebekah and I read this while waiting for the next Ramona book to come in at the library. Even though it was about a boy and even though it was a little over her head, she enjoyed the story. Well worth the read.

This is a great book club book for younger readers. There are a lot of really great activities and experiments you can tie in with this, like making your own compass or doing nature experiments.

The story is really good too. I love that Clements can create adult characters who are flawed. The relationships were the best part in my opinion, but the bit of adventure didn't hurt either.