Customer Reviews

How Angel Peterson Got His Name

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I was laughing so hard that I woke up Shari AND both dogs!

A longtime friend of mine, who works as our school's counselor--and who gets to borrow the books that I write about--has occasionally asked me very sweetly whether I could find more funny books for our students. J.T., this one's for you!

"We built countless ramps with old boards laid on barrels or boxes, at the bottom of a hill if possible, and we would try to jump over things with our bikes.

"Remember, these were one-speed fat-tired bikes with a crowned-up, castrating brace bar and the things we tried to jump were fences, wooden walls, barrels, bikes, each other. On one memorable occasion Alan--after carefully calculating distances and angles--tried to jump his stepfather's Ford coupe end to end. He didn't...quite...make it and left a face print on the windshield of the car, but that might have been because he was distracted by the scream when his mother came out just as we finished the ramp and Alan made his jump..."

Now, I can remember some of the "really neat stuff" we did when I was young: There was a telephone cable hanging from a wooden utility pole in this vacant lot filled with mounds of dirt left over from digging foundations in he neighborhood. It made for great swinging (à la George of the Jungle) until Jimmy Dean got a concussion by swinging straight into the pole. There was "skitching" --kids in Beatle boots grabbing onto the back bumper of any car that was cruising through the snow-slickened parking lot behind Modell's. I can also recall the thrill of aiming our banana bikes full speed over the edge and down the big drop-off at Sunshine Acres Park. But my sitting here today (in one piece) attests to the fact that I did NOT spend my impressionable years hanging out with Gary Paulsen and his buddies:

"Alan, again after carefully calculating and measuring..., decided that if you got up to twenty-six miles an hour and angled a ramp to ensure (that's how he put it, 'to ensure') that you got at least seven point six feet in the air, it was possible to do a complete backward somersault and land on your wheels upright. Alan, having gotten at least seven feet in the air after a screaming run down Black Hill, landed exactly, perfectly upside down, bicycle wheels straight up, spinning, in a cloud of dust and gravel."

Decorating the cover of HOW ANGEL PETERSON GOT HIS NAME AND OTHER OUTRAGEOUS TALES ABOUT EXTREME SPORTS is an illustration of a young man on snow skis. He is wearing one of those old leather flight helmets (à la Snoopy) and flight goggles, and he is being pulled through the snow behind a sporty automobile that dates back to my father's adolescence. The young man is Angel Peterson who in 1954, inspired by a newsreel proceeding the Saturday matinee, decided he'd break the speed record for skiing despite being a thousand miles from any hills. Such was passion for scientific curiosity (and impressing girls) amid the "Brain Trust" that hung out with the young Gary Paulsen.

"Alan tried once more, getting a lift from an unsuspecting truck by hanging on to the rear corner and hitting the ramp so fast that it gave way and he went through it like a tank, barrels and boards and splinters flying everywhere."

"Wayne completed the only true backward flip off a bicycle but he didn't take the bike with him..."

Of course Shari, ever-the-mom, shakes her head, appalled by what I'm reading her from the book--a sure sign that this book will be absolutely worshiped by young boys. (Shari says that's why I like the book so much.) No, really, it's a book for girls, too. (Rosemary, who can tell you about trying to bounce through the air from the trampoline to the rope hanging from the tree, is going to love this one.) In fact, the only fault that I can find with the book is its size: One hundred and eleven pages is way too brief for so funny a book. Guess I'll just have to read it again...right after I take my government surplus target kite out in the next heavy wind and see if I can...

A quick, fun read. Perfect for those reluctant boy readers, as Paulsen shares some of his friends' daredevil escapades of growing up. I laughed out loud when he shared his first date to Harris's (his cousin from Harris and Me) "bungee" jumping.
Full of voice and action. It would be a great read aloud in a middle school classroom...but have your boys sign waivers that they won't try the "sports" at home. :)

Paulsen has written another book about his youth, similiar to Harris & Me and The Schernoff Discoveries. Paulsen tells about his extreme sports endeavors when he was 13. As he warns the readers in 1954, kids weren't as smart as they are now and there was no safety equipment. The first chapter, which gives the book its title, will have you laughing until you cry. In fact, this is too good for kids. Give this as a gift to that wacky brother who did some wild stunts as a youth. Relunctant boy readers will love this one and it will make a great read aloud. That is if you can keep from laughing.

This is a ludicrously funny true-life recounting of the sort of insane things fifteen-year-old boys do that could be called extreme sports. Even before they invented the term extreme sports. In fact, this is about what the author and his friends got up to, and how it did not actually kill them.

Like the title story. Where the guys decide, after seeing a newsreel about world records to break the land-speed record on skis. By tying Angel Petersen (on skis) to the back of a car. Now, they live in the middle of the prairies and have never actually skiied. But they know that you have to wax skiis, so they get out the paraffin wax. You might not know this, but paraffin wax will actually STICK to the snow when it gets cold... Yeah. You get the idea. A howlingly funny insight into the mind of teenage guys, and a deterrent by example to peeing on electric fences.

It's the 1950's and Gary Paulsen and his friends are 13 years old. For whatever reasons, they chose this year to be the year of "extreme sports"-Paulsen's term for the outrageous dares they took.

These days, extreme sports refers to organized teams and individuals who participate in sport activities that involve rules, certified equipment, and lots of padding and head gear. For Paulsen and his buddies, the equipment was usually purchased at the army surplus store and converted to fit their needs. Their padding and head gear? Didn't exist.

They jumped off of things, help onto things, went fast, went high, broke records, turned, twisted, and rolled along all in the name of "What's the worst that can happen?"

Just one page into this autobiographical sketch of life at thirteen, the reader can perfectly imagine the northern Minnesota town in which Paulsen grew up and can picture the adventurous, comical moments that made up this crazy year of his life. The dialogue brings to mind so many young adolescent boys, all trying to fit in another ten minutes of fun before their parents call them to dinner.

These stories are laugh-aloud fun, and they make the reader want to go out and put some wheels on something!

The Book How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulson is a fun, and hilarious book to read. If you are looking for a funny book, pick this one. It is for the grade level of 6-8.

This story takes place in a small town in Minnesota in the early fifties. They barely had television, mostly radio, and all the kids want to do is have fun. They had fun by doing daredevil stunts. The book is based on Gary Paulson's stories from when he was a 13 year old boy and the crazy things he and his friends did.

Throughout the whole book Angel and his 13 year old friends do crazy dare devil stunts. Such as, break the record for the speed on skis, trying to go down a waterfall in a barrel, hang gliding with an army parachute, and trying to wrestle a bear. These boys did anything and everything possible. They also tried to put dynamite in a box, go in it, and have it blow up. Jumping through a ring of fire was another one of their wild stunts.

The point of this book is that you can do anything you want as long as you put your mind to it. I recommend this book to anyone that likes to laugh. I also recommend the book to anyone that likes humorous books

Have you ever wanted to set a world record? Have you ever wanted to do something crazy? The characters in Gary Paulsen's How Angel Peterson got his Name do just that. At the age of 13, Paulsen and his friends break the world record on skis, wrestle with a bear, jump through a hoop of fire, and more.
The characters in the book have the same mind as young adult. It is a good choice for boys and some girls ages 11- 15 because they can relate to Gary Paulsen and his friends. This book is action packed and the fun never stops. Gary wants to tell his friends not to do the amazing stunts that they do because they might get hurt but he has the curiosity to keep his mouth shut. He wonders what will happen to Angel while breaking the record, what will happen to Orvis when he wrestles the bear?
Breaking the world record of 74 miles an hour on skis isn't easy, especially when you live where there aren't any hills. Another thing, there wasn't safety gear. The trouble starts when they pass the record at 82 miles an hour. They hit a place with out snow and Angel flies off his skies. Later he told his friends that he heard the Angels sing. They were singing "Your Cheatin' Heart" by Hank Williams."
Orvis Orvison wasn't very popular and was always being beaten up at school. He also couldn't talk to girls. So he got the girls' attention by showing off. Whenever there were girls around he would always be two feet higher or jump five feet farther then his friends. At the carnival he saw a sign that said wrestle with a bear for one minute win $25. Orvis saw some girls and got in the ring with the bear.
A New York Times Best Seller and a 2004 winner for the ALA Best Books for Young Adults, Paulsen's memoir about his childhood is not to be missed by middle school readers who want to read a book that will put a smile on their face. Teen readers will be able to find similarities between themselves and the characters in the book.

This is a great book for the average male reader who needs a quick funny read. This book tells the story as it unfolds of thirteen year olds back in the fifties after the Korean war and how they spend their spare time. These daredevils perform the unthinkable just because they don't have anything better to do. Gary Paulsen twists a wacky sense of humor into this piece that will keep your side splitting with laughter. A must read!

How Angel Peterson got His Name
Remember watching the "Road Runner"
cartoons? I could never understand why Wile
E. Coyote kept trying all those crazy and wild
stunts just to get the Road Runner. Gary Paulsen
in his book, How Angel Peterson Got His Name,
compares himself and his friends as teenagers to
the coyote because they all pushed the limits time
after time. Just to have fun, Paulsen as a teenager,
went over a waterfall in a barrel. He was left "with
a bleeding nose, sitting on the bank below the dam
contemplating the fickleness of fate, which endowed
me with an uncanny, lifelong ability to identify with
the hapless coyote in the Road Runner cartoons."
Paulsen's characters, like the coyote, tried everything
imaginable and unimaginable. However, this book
is not only about extreme sports and crazy antics.
The book talks about the excitement of being a
teenager but with a twist.
I believe that the twist or the message the author
is trying to say is to "have fun, but be careful." He
describes what teenage boys are like, willing and ready
to push the limits without thinking of the consequences
or the worse that could happen. Paulsen describes the
crazy antics of he and his friends flying behind cars
while on skis, fighting a bear, going over a dam in a
barrel, and flying bikes over multiple objects. After
describing each activity, Paulsen is quick to point out
that he, himself, can't believe that he survived his
teenage years. "This book is dedicated to all boys
in their thirteenth year; the miracle is that we live
through it."
In a fun and entertaining way, the author
tries to teach kids that you can have fun and try
new and different things but be cautious and know
when to stop before it is too late. He ends the story
of his teenage years with a very powerful message
for all of us, that we should believe in ourselves
and try and try again, never giving up.
"We also believed in ourselves and what we
could do or thought we could do. It didn't
matter that it hadn't been done before. It was
still worth trying."
I would highly recommend this book to dare-
devils, fans of extreme sports, tweens (kids ten to
twelve years old, and teenagers.
Remember: Have fun but be careful!

Here is one terrific writer who as a parent I would encourage you and your kids to select from some terrifically written books especially for kids who don't read enough or haven't grasp the value of well written books!

I read with both of your younger kids to keep them honest (i.e no shortcuts) and to insure they have comprehended the story well enough to have something meaningful discussion to talk about.

What I enjoyed most about this book was it brought back old memories of how low wages and pay was as a kid hustling for odd jobs in the 1950's and 60's just to have money in your pocket... not like today as Paulsen reflects how life was life when he was 16 in 1955 and hitchhiked 300 miles to get a job at the Birds Eye fresh-frozen vegetable plant at an astounding wage of one dollar and five cents per hour ($8.40 per day).

Also the other thought that crossed my mind reading this particular book was now I know how the famous celebrity "EVEL KNIEVEL" who was captured attention for performing similar stunts on his motorcycle in the 70's came about...

Mr. Paulsen - Thank you for the wonderful gift and legacy you have given readers of all ages!