A Week in the Woods (2002)

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This book is about A rich family. They move to Vermont to Colorado. The main character, Mark, feels sad about leaving his friends behind. Even though he was enrolled in an academy for gifted kids, he must attend a normal school until the academy opens. He meets his new science teacher, Mr. Maxwell, who talks about going to the woods for a week. The whole class is excited except Mark. whenever Mark goes to the campsite, he is accused of bringing a knife, and runs away into the woods, only to be found in the morning.
Mark Clemsley moves to Vermont from Colorado, and is distressed when he is forced to leave his friends behind. His parents renovate an old house, and whenever it is finished, his parents leave for a business trip soon after. Mark explores the environment while living with his butlers, Leon and Anja, and goes to a regular school. I can compare the feeling of leaving friends behind, and I enjoy the story very much. Mark likes to explore his mansion, and the nature surrounding it. I also liked this story because I like exploring new things. The only difference between Mark and I is that he is rich and I am not. ( )

I absolutely love this book. It's one of my favorite books of all time. It's one of the books that made me really want to learn about nature and become more adventurous when I was older. I love that conservation is talked about and how a teacher learns from a student. ( )

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 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. ( )