The Sign of the Beaver

I would use this book with grades 3 and up. I think especially boys would enjoy reading this book. Matt at 12 is left to live alone in Maine as his family moves to a new settlement. He becomes independt through rocky patches and new friends. I would use this book during a theme on wilderness or

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Native Americans.

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The story was about a boy named Matt. Matt's father left Matt alone to protect their newly built cabin in the woods. Matt's only protection, his gun was stolen by a white renegade and Matt begins to feel he cannot protect his responsibility, the cabin. Until Matt meets a Indian boy. The Indian boy

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teaches Matt new ways to hunt and survive. The Indian boy also makes Matt realize how the white people are interfering with the Indian's way of life.

I thought this was a accurate book. There were parts that were kind of boring, but overall it was a good book. I liked the way the two boys together helped overcome stereotypes and prejudices by bonding together. The one part of the book (in the beginning) really bothered me that Matt's father left so much responsibility up to the child at such a young age.

As an extension idea you could set down in groups and have the students discuss likes in differences between now and back then. Another idea would be to research on the internet different Indian tribes and tell what parts of the U.S. they lived in. This would teach the children a greater sense of appreciation for other cultures.

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This book takes place in the 1700’s when early colonization was taking place in North America. A young 13-year-old boy named Matt was left behind by his father in order to keep the land claimed and protected as his father went back to get the rest of the family. Matt soon finds out that it was a

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more difficult task than he had imagined and faced great life threatening situations. In the meantime he befriends an Indian tribe who saves his life and helps him survive. The story has many action scenes that keeps the reader wanting to read to find out the outcome and what decision the boy will make concerning his new Indian friends or looking for his family.

I really enjoyed this book for several reasons. First, the plot of the friendship that develops between Matt and the young Indian boy named Attean. At first Matt did not befriend him but as the story continues they do become good friends. Also, the author did well in creating several dilemmas that Matt had to face and had to make a decision. The greatest dilemma was at the end when Matt had to decide to stay with his new friends or go back and look for his family. It was an excellent book and I would recommend reading it to the class.

I believe that this would be a good book to read to the classroom for just a few minutes each day. It may be a little longer but I believe it would be worth reading to the class. It has some good historical facts that can be mentioned about the life of the early settlers and what it was like for the Indians whose lives were changed during this time era. I would use this book to introduce some of the facts of our history and use it to encourage reading for pleasure.

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Matt is in charge of caring for his house and growing corn while his family is gone. He starts out well, but as time goes on and his father doesn't return, he finds life more and more difficult. He develops a friendship with Attean, a local Native American boy, who teaches him what he needs to know

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to survive far from others and without his family, but he doesn't earn Attean's respect until he chooses to wait for his family instead of going to the hunt with Attean's tribe.

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this is a very very good book but not at first

I read this book with my class at school. And my teacher really did a good job by helping us understand what the author was trying yo say. Books can mean more than a story, they are lessons of life in words, and this book is an amazing example of that.

Most people think a friend is someone you've

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known for long time even if you don't know who they really are in the inside. But I think that in this book both Matt and Attean learn that you can't have a real friendship without trust or respect. This is true because in the beginning, when Matt and Attean first mat they had no trust, respect, or friendship what so ever. They both didn't like each others cultures and as a result, didn't like each other. I think that they were to prejudice and that everyone should at least get to know who the person is before judging them.

Attean didn't want to take reading lessons because he didn't want to read but also because it was by Matt and he was white but also because he didn't want to admit Matt was more educated then he was. When Attean gave Matt a rabbit for his half of the treaty and Matt said that there was no hole, Attean offered to teach him how to make snare, instead of a gun or arrow. Matt was excited and astonished by Attean's knowledge and he respected that, and Attean respected Matt now. Now, their friendship had begun.

When Matt saved Attean's dog from the white man's metal trap Attean tried not to show how grateful and happy he was, but he didn't trick Matt. They each trusted each other now, and are like best friends, or even more, like Attean said, brothers. This is why, you can't have a real, true friendship without either trust or respect.

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One of my favorite children's books. It provides an appreciation for basic survival skills, but also helps question values and assumptions about relationships between different people groups.

This is the story of two young boys, one white and one Native American, who rely on each other in order to survive in the wilderness.

The story takes place in a wilderness cabin in Maine (around 1760). Twelve years old Matt helps his dad clear land and then they build a cabin. His father then returns to Massachusetts to get Matt’s mother and the younger children. Matt is left behind to take care of the cabin while waiting for

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their return. Matt becomes concerned mostly about some Indians. However, he finds his difficulties come from the wildlife and from a stranger who steals his most valued gun. He makes a bargain with an Indian boy’s grandfather; Matt will teach his grandson, Attean, to read and write while Attean will provide food for Matt. They create a bond and learn to respect each other. Matt learns to survive in the wilderness while Attean learns to communicate in the white man’s language. The family arrives, several months later than expected, to find their boy has learned a great deal from the Indians.

Personal reaction to the book: Boys, as well as girls, will love this book. The basic theme of “The Sign of the Beaver” is survival and friendship. I loved this book because it shows how people can come together to help each other in a time of need. The characters do not respect each other in the beginning but over time they create a lasting friendship and mutual respect for one another. They grow together and learn from each other even though they are not always realizing it. The two boys’ lives are so different, but they soon realize they also have a lot in common. Coming from different worlds does not always mean you have to be different. The story is historically accurate and believable. Maine at this time is a territory and not yet a state. The book talks about how the Indians were eventually pushed off their land and moved farther north and west. The book is paced at a rate which allows the reader to follow easily. It never has a dull moment and it flows well.

Extension ideas: 1. I would have the students create a diorama using a scene from the book.
2. The students will write a letter from Matt to his family describing what has happened while they have been gone.

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This book is a beautifully well-written tale of a young boy left to his own resources on the frontier of Maine while his father leaves for an extended period of time. The boy is befriended by a Native American boy and his grandfather who help him through a very difficult time in his life.

The

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bravery that the young boy shows in this book is amazing. I can hardly imagine what it would be like to be left all alone in the most primitive conditions. As the 12 year old Matt is faced with life threatening situations, his new friends become his family as he waits for his family to return, completely unsure that they ever will.

This book reminds me that the people who settled the frontier from Maine to California and everywhere in between faced challenges and overcame obstacles that made it possible for me to have the life I have today.

A great time to introduce this book would be when the class is studying the 18th century settlement of the United States in history class, probably in the latter elementary to middle school grades. The students could create posters, dioramas, make period costumes or re-create tools used by the settlers of the time. It would make a great read-aloud book for the class to share and complete group projects.

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A review by Blake: A good book. Surprises around a lot of the corners. The ending was really good. Some of it was kinda sad though.

Excellent read aloud especially during the Native American 4th grade unit.

The Sighn of the Beaver is about a boy named Matt who is left alone in the woods, his father and him build a log house there where matt would stay in for a few months. Matt's father leaves, to pick up Matt's mother, sister, and new born baby sister, now Matt is alone with only his dad's rifle. This

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rifle is eventually stolen a few days later by a random hunter, how will Matt hunt for food now? Later Matt meets an Indian who rescues him from a swarm of bees, the Indian is named Attean. Matt and Attean make a deal: Matt would teach Attean how to read while Attean would get food for Matt he has no rifle. Attean also teaches Matt how to hunt with traps, how make a fish hook, and how to make/ use a bow and arrow. Months go by and his family is still not here, and winter is almost here. Since winter is almost here Attean has to leave, Attean offers Matt if he would like to come with him to go hunt, but Matt says no hoping that his parents will come back soon. Will Matt's parents come back soon or will Matt be in the freezing cold all by himself?

I give the book, The Sign of the Beaver ***** because it is interesting and has lots of action/ adventure. I really like how Matt is left alone in the woods and has to try to survive by himself with no gun. I thought it was nice of Attean to hunt food for Matt while Matt teaches Attean how to read. I also thought it was nice of Attean to teach Matt how to hunt by himself without a gun, how to make a fish hook, and how to use/ make a bow and arrow. I recomend this book to everyone, it will keep you excited from all of the action/ adventures. I hope to read another on of Elizabeth Spheare's books one day. You can really understand the theme and plot of this book. Who doesn't like books with action, care, and excitement.

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I read part of this to a third grade class, and of course, had to read the rest of it. Third graders in Colorado study Native Americans, and this is a perfect read aloud for them during this unit. 13 year-old Matt travels with his father from Massachusetts to Maine to build a small cabin on their

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claim. Father leaves Matt there to guard their cabin until he can return with the rest of the family -- six or seven weeks at most. Matt falls victim to an unscrupulous white trapper, to loneliness, and to his own clumsy and inadequate survival skills. There may also be Indians in the area, and Matt often has the feeling he is being watched. He is, and good thing, too, because the chief of the Beaver clan rescues and nurses him back to health after a foolish attempt to rob some bees. In exchange for helping him, the old chief wants Matt to teach his grandson Attean to read, so the tribes will be able to understand the treaties they sign with white men. Attean is a hostile and unwilling student, but is gradually hooked by the stories Matt reads to him from the only book he has: Robinson Crusoe. Experiencing the story through Attean's eyes, Matt comes to wince at the messages and white superiority asserted in the book -- Crusoe is also befriended by a native, but he is portrayed as bumbling and dependent on Crusoe to help him survive. While Attean learns never warms to reading, he becomes an invaluable teacher and friend to Matt. Matt continues to await his family, and as weeks stretch into months, is transformed by Attean into a self-reliant, independent young man with the tools and knowledge to survive alone when the Beaver clan moves on.

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I read this book aloud to my children. It has won several literary awards, including: 1984 Newbery Honor, 1984 Scott O'Dell Award, and 1988 Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Nominee.

Wow, what an adventure! I love survival stories like this.

The story takes place in 1769 and involves a 12

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year-old boy named Matt. Matt's father has bought land in a new township in Maine, and the two of them have been building their new log-cabin home as well as planting crops. Matt's mother, sister, and new baby stayed behind in Massachusetts while the "men" got things set-up for the family's permanent move to Maine.

During the summer of 1769, Matt's father makes the trek back to Massachusetts to bring the rest of the family to the new home in Maine. It is expected that it will take six to seven weeks, round-trip. Matt is left in charge of the home and crops in Maine, with his father's rifle for both protection and hunting.

There is much work to be done tending to the crops and chinking the spaces between the logs of the cabin. Matt works hard, and he keeps himself busy to help pass the time while he is alone. Of course, he experiences some adventures along the way! He makes friends with the local Beaver tribe, who initially are very hesitant to trust a "white" boy.

August, the time for Matt's family to arrive, comes and goes. Autumn passes, and soon it is winter. The chief of the local Beaver tribe tells Matt that they intend to leave the area and travel north to follow the moose. The tribe worries that something has happened to Matt's family and fear that they will not return now that it is already winter. They invite Matt to come with them, and the chief lovingly promises to treat Matt as his own blood. It is a heartbreaking moment, and Matt must decide whether to try to brave the harsh winter completely alone and isolated or go with the Beaver tribe where he will be safe. What would you do?

We loved this story! This is one of those books where my kids actually begged, "Just one more chapter, please?" It was hard for even me to put down, and it took a lot of discipline to keep my own hands away from the book and not read ahead!

This is a fantastic book to read with your kids, and I highly recommend it! This would also be a perfect choice for someone who is a reluctant reader.

MY RATING: 5 stars!! We loved it!!

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This book is about a boy who is in the forest and he meets this indian.

How cultures can learn from one another, how survival is taught, how friendships are made. Matt and Attean have quite a bit to discover about each other, their cultures, how they can interact, and themselves.

The year is 1768. A man and his twelve year old son have traveled to the territory of Maine to start a new farmstead. Now that the land has been selected and the cabin built, the man heads back to fetch his wife and daughter, leaving his son alone to till their field and protect their cabin. Can

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the boy survive the six weeks alone? Well, we never know, because he's befriended by neighboring Indians who help him survive and lead him to discover not only their culture but a few things about himself as well. "The Sign of the Beaver" is a nice tale, centering on the relationship between Matt, the English boy, and Attean, a native one. It's chock full of information about the lifestyle of the local people (Penobscots, I think, but the book's a bit unclear on that point) and the English settlers. Definitely a book to let your kids check out so you can sneak a peek at it as well.
--J.

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The Sign of the Beaver is about a boy named Matt who lives in Maine. He is alone in a cabin that he and his father built because his father went to England to get his sister, mother, and newborn sibling. One day Matt gets hurt and he soon finds himself spending time with a Native American named

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Attean. Both boys learn a lot from each other. I chose this book because I almost picked Elizabeth Speare books for a previous reading challenge, and I was interested by a description of the book given in class. I enjoyed reading this book because I liked the way that the two boys learned so much from each other, and I also learned new things. I would recommend this book to people who would like to read a book about friendship and also find out more about Native American life.

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Really enjoyed this story. I tried chewing pine sap for gum after reading it, though, and that went very badly.

It was a must read when I was growing up, part of our school curriculum, and it is still as touching to me today as it was amazing back then. When I was younger this was a story about living in another time, practically in another world from my own, where children were left on their own to hunt and

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fend for themselves and no one thought twice of it. A world of living with Native Americans before there were too many whites to influence the culture and interfere with the culture of the tribes. As an adult, it is a story about the comparisons between the two cultures, reflecting how each is similar and how each struggle is fought in different ways by boys who are at the age where they're ready to make their own way in the world, but still young enough to be learning a little more about what life means in the process.

A short story and quick read, this book is filled with enough adventure to keep any reader happy and has enough emotion to turn any heart soft for just a little while. A classic story of a time lost to us that shouldn't be forgotten.

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When I read this book at a much younger age, I adored it. Let's be real, I probably had an unrealistic crush on the fictional Attean. Tall, dark, handsome, strong, intelligent, good with hands... ;)

Alright, alright so he is 14 in this book, but I was merely a young lass enamored with the idea of a

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gorgeous Native American boy to sweep me off my feet.


Now about the book itself... It is an easy read for 2nd-5th graders, I would say. It doesn't teach much but the plot is catching enough that young readers would devour it. A young boy's father leaves him alone in a cabin surrounded by nothing but forest while he returns to Quincy, Maine to retrieve his wife and child. In his absence, Matt [boy] meets Attean [Indian] and against all odds, they become friends. As things progress, he is invited to join the tribe in their move West. Does he abandon the cabin he's guarded for almost a year or does he wait for his family's return? *cue dramatic music* You'll just have to read it to find out!

What I don't like is the inconsistent writing. The author used very ridiculous speech for the Indians. "Me Attean. We no like white man. White man words bad". She gives the boy's father a type of hybrid old-english-southern-alabama accent, while Matt's is plain ol' english. At times, she uses modern slang such as : "the village was awesome" and "now it looks lame".

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Gedell Ellington Review; This book was about a young boy at the age of 13 left alone to guard the family's wilderness. The young boy didn't know how to survive but he soon learned from Indians. back in that time for Indians to have friendships with white men was not acceptable. The young man

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learned plenty from the Indian boy and their heritage. My personal reaction: I enjoyed the book not something I would have just picked to read but it grabbed my attention.

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A 12 year old boy fends for himself with the help of an Indian boy.