Jim Harrison is best known for his novels that speak wisdom and illuminate the soul. He now turns his hand to a child's tale, The Boy Who Ran to the Woods. Exquisitely illustrated by Tom Pohrt, The Boy Who Ran to the Woods recounts a childhood tragedy that ends in redemption. Harrison tells a personal story of little Jimmy, a boy who injures his eye and must learn life's meanings through adversity. It is this painful experience that leads to little Jimmy's discovery of nature -- animals, birds, and woods -- and ultimately to his ability to overcome intense suffering. Beautifully written with Harrison's quintessential style of writing about the natural world, combined with the unique illustrations of Tom Pohrt, The Boy Who Ran to the Woods promises to delight children of all ages and will appeal to all the devoted fans of Harrison's literature and poetry as well.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Author of novellas for adults, Harrison (Legends of the Fall) makes his children's book debut with a rambling, ponderous tale centering on seven-year-old Jimmy, a boy living in northern Michigan during WWII. Distressed because he can't find the marbles he buried under the porch, Jimmy runs through town yelling in anger, until he encounters Mary Jo, "an unhappy girl for reasons no one could figure out." The two quarrel and she hits him with a glass bottle, leaving him blind in one eye. He becomes "a wild and unruly boy" and finds trouble in and out of school. The strongest and most closely observed scenes in the book describe Jimmy's summer in a log cabin in the woods and his awakening appreciation of nature. In other situations, Harrison skims the surface of even the most dramatic proceedings (such as the blinding of Jimmy's eye, hopping a freight train and exploring a haunted house), and Pohrt (Crow and Weasel), too, takes the most staid route, portraying mainly buildings or clusters of trees rather than the events described (there are only three drawings of Jimmy, and one is from the back). By summer's end, Jimmy seems anxious to learn from books about the natural world he has just discovered and apparently learns to live according to the rules. Falling flat as either a cautionary tale or a celebration of nature, the story ends with Jimmy, as an old man, reflecting on his "difficult childhood." Ages 9-12. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful, uncoventional story of redemption through nature,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Boy Who Ran to the Woods (Hardcover)
This is a well crafted book. In story and illustration, it reminds me of children's books of 30 years ago; the tone is soft tone and colors subdued. Harrison, a wild man of a novelist and poet, tells the story of his youth in northern Michigan and how he came to find peace in the natural world. Pohrt's illustrations are evocative of small town life and the plants and animals in the woods beyond. The book sneaks up on you--the tale is simple, understated, but also strangely comforting and, ultimately, unforgettable.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Boy Who Ran Into the Woods,
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This review is from: The Boy Who Ran to the Woods (Hardcover)
This is a delightful book. It was recommended by a fellow teacher who knows the author. Because of that connection, the events in the book were even more alive and interesting. It is a story about experiences of the author. I completely enjoyed this book and it is a good read aloud book for second grade on up.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Not really that long ago, fifty years or so, barely a wink and a single tick-tock on earth's ancient clock, a boy lived with his father and mother, and older brother and younger sister, in a small village up in northern Michigan. Read the first page New!
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Not really that long ago, fifty years or so, barely a wink and a single tick-tock on earth's ancient clock, a boy lived with his father and mother, and older brother and younger sister, in a small village up in northern Michigan. Read the first page New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
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7
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- Crow and Weasel by Barry Lopez in Back Flap
- Coyote Goes Walking by Tom Pohrt in Back Flap
- Trickster and the Fainting Birds by Howard Norman in Back Flap
- True North by Jim Harrison in Front Matter
- Conversations with Jim Harrison (Literary Conversations) by Robert Demott in Front Matter
- The Summer He Didn't Die by Jim Harrison in Front Matter
- On Killing: Meditations on the Chase by Robert F. Jones in Back Matter
- The Beast God Forgot to Invent: Novellas by Jim Harrison in Front Matter
See all 7 books citing this book
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