The Trap [Paperback]

John Smelcer (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

A gripping wilderness adventure and survival story

 

It was getting colder. Johnny pulled the fur-lined hood of his parka over his head and walked towards his own cabin with the sound of snow crunching beneath his boots.

"He should be back tomorrow," he thought, as a star raced across the sky just below the North Star.

"He should be back tomorrow for sure."

 

Seventeen-year-old Johnny Least-Weasel knows that his grandfather Albert is a stubborn old man and won't stop checking his own traplines even though other men his age stopped doing so years ago. But Albert Least-Weasel has been running traplines in the Alaskan wilderness alone for the past sixty years. Nothing has ever gone wrong on the trail he knows so well.

When Albert doesn't come back from checking his traps, with the temperature steadily plummeting, Johnny must decide quickly whether to trust his grandfather or his own instincts.

Written in alternating chapters that relate the parallel stories of Johnny and his grandfather, this novel poignantly addresses the hardships of life in the far north, suggesting that the most dangerous traps need not be made of steel.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9–Johnny Least-Weasel worries that his grandfather hasn't returned home from checking his trapline. The elderly Indian packed ample supplies onto his snowmobile, but has been out far too long in the plummeting temperatures of the Alaskan winter. Cultural pride and reluctance to disrespect an elder get in the way of search plans until Johnny's grandmother can wait no longer, and she sends him out to find her husband. Only readers know that Albert Least-Weasel has caught his leg in a trap, several feet away from his supplies, and is unable to free himself. Chapters alternate between Albert's dilemma and Johnny's failed attempts to raise concern among his uncles, creating a suspenseful page-turner in which the old man's survival becomes a race against time. Albert's wilderness skills are sharp and described in detail, such as fending off wolves with a spear made from a cedar branch and creating a rabbit snare from a shoelace. Excerpts from a folktale about a warrior named Blackskin appear at the beginning of each chapter, illustrating how present-day life for the Least-Weasel family is still the same, in many ways, as it was for their ancestors. A great addition to survival/adventure collections or Native American fiction.–Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY
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Review

"An unforgettable story. Brilliant!"--Ray Bradbury

"In The Trap John Smelcer takes his readers into a frozen world, and keeps us there with a gripping example of talented storytelling. Unforgettable."--Tony Hillerman

"The Trap is a lovely story, beautifully told, the kind that makes you wade in and sink warmly into the cold, cold north of Alaska."--Winston Groom, author of   Forrest Gump

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); First Edition edition (September 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805079394
• ISBN-13: 978-0805079395
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,592,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully mesmerizing!!!, January 9, 2007

By 

Chris Murphy (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Trap (Paperback)

John Smelcer is one of the most underrated authors of our time. This inspirational tale of courage in the midst of difficult circumstances was difficult to put down! The story serves to captivate the imagination while educating the reader into the unfamiliar traditions of Native Alaskan culture. This book is one of those rare works that is worth every moment spent reading! This poignant, heart-wrenching tale is worth keeping forever in your personal library.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wolves, Cold, or Fear?, November 6, 2010

By 

imaloserdude (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Trap (Paperback)

If you got caught in a trap that you had laid, and you couldn't escape, what would you do? If it was cold outside, below freezing, way, way below freezing, and wolves were threatening, could you focus on staying alive, doing what is necessary to survive another day? Or, would you panic like a wild beast, gnaw through your leg when faced with the possibility of death?

The Trap is a captivating story, the two main characters so real, the dangers so intense. I found myself telling the grandfather and his grandson what to do. I felt as if I were there, in Alaska, feeling the cold and the wind and the steel, hearing the wolves, sensing the dangers. It was simply written, jumping back and forth between the isolated grandfather who was in danger and the concerned grandson who wanted to help those he loved.

How does it end? Does the grandson arrive in time to save his grandfather? Read the story and find out...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of The Trap, April 3, 2009

By 

Nancy A. Caldwell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Trap (Paperback)

This book is a must read. It is an excellent, original, and compelling story, written authentically, that is told in the voice of an old-fashioned story teller. I liked its simplicity, as though the book itself were a part of Alaska's landscape, its portrayal of nature's indifference. And how the book spotlights family relationships. Also, the Indian mystical stories that begin each chapter juxtaposed with reality, really bring it home. Read it, you won't be disappointed.