The Sign of the Beaver: A Newbery Honor Adventure of Survival and Friendship on the Frontier

What a well written and fun book! We thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as a family. We watched the movie afterwards. The movie (as always) wasn’t as good as the book. The kids loved learning how Matt took care of himself while his dad was gone. Such a great book!

Matt and his father have gone ahead of the rest of the family to build a cabin on their new land in Maine. Now, his father is returning to Massachusetts to get Matt's mother and siblings, leaving Matt to guard the new home and garden. Matt's dad expects to be gone only seven weeks. What could happen in that time? First, someone steals the gun that Matt's dad left behind for him. Then Matt meets some of the Indians in the area. The chief wants Matt to teach his grandson, Attean, to read English. Attean is two years older than the twelve-year-old Matt, and Matt looks up to him. As the weeks progress, Attean begins to show Matt how to live off the land. Will that help Matt survive until his family returns? While this book isn't as famous as the author's two Newbery Award winners, it's still a great read. The characters of Matt and Attean are so real, and watching them change step by step is captivating. Even though I've read this book several times, I had a hard time putting it down on my latest reread. Really, this is two coming of age stories, Matt's and Attean's. But underneath that is the story of race relations in 1768 Maine. There are so many layers to the story, which is part of what makes it easy to get into the story. If you are looking for more books b Elizabeth George Speare, definitely pick this one up. You'll be captivated before you know it.

My 9 year old and I really enjoyed every chapter of this book!! Every chapter leaves you longing for just one more. Absolutely recommend this book! Both my son and I give it a 10/10!!!

First published in 1983, The Sign of the Beaver is a children's classic. This edition contains an introduction by Joseph Bruchac, which essentially states that the book is racist and sexist but a worthwhile historical novel nonetheless. It's startling to see this kind of apology prefacing a children's book, but the apology is useful. The terminology and attitudes within the story are not only outdated; they're offensive. However, Bruchac is also correct that the book is a vivid tale of wilderness survival and adaptation, filled with descriptions of cross-cultural interactions and the deepening respect and brotherhood between the white boy Matt and his Native American friend Attean. I found The Sign of the Beaver interesting and worth reading, even though much of the terminology bothered me.

It was a great way to learn about life in the Maine colony between earlier settlers and the indigenous tribes. Our class loved the plot twist at the end, and how Matt and Attean went from untrusting partners to true brothers. Still a great historical fiction.

If you’re looking for a read aloud or a gift idea for a 10+ aged boy, I highly recommend this book! This was our first read aloud, so my son protested the idea at first, but after only the first chapter, he didn’t want me to stop reading. This book made us laugh & cry - we truly didn’t want it to end. It’s going to be hard to beat this one.

My grandson had to read this for his summer reading at school. This is a great story for young children to learn about the early settlers in the northeast arriving to build their cabins and farm the land of the previous Indian tribes that were there but were made to sign a treaty and give up their land. The story of a young boy that was left by his father on their newly purchased land to protect it from others that might claim it while the father goes to bring the rest of the family. The great adventures between the young boy and his newly found Indian friend that teaches him how to hunt, fish and take care of himself in the wild.

Matt is a 12 yr old boy whose Dad left him alone at the new cabin, to go bring the family back to the new homestead. Little did he know a disease would slow their arrival by months! The local Indians helped him learn to survive and prosper. Excellent read!

This book is wonderful! There’s also a movie if your interest continues beyond the book

I suppose it’s time for me to admit to a cardinal sin when it comes to choosing books: I am a sucker for an interesting cover. I know not all books with good covers have a plot of equal greatness and I have read many a wonderful book where the cover would not give you even the slightest hint that anything vaguely interesting lay in its pages. It was the cover of this book that first drew me to it. The silhouettes against the warm yellow spoke to me of adventure and I wanted to know more. The Sign of the Beaver is about the friendship between two boys: Matt, an America settler who has built a cabin in the forest with his father, and Attean, a Native American boy. When Matt is left at the cabin whilst his father goes to fetch the rest of the family he is alone for weeks. During an unfortunate incident with a bees nest, he meets some Indians of the local Beaver clan. Matt meets Attean when the chief of the Beavers makes a treaty with Matt: reading lessons for Attean in return for food. Over time the boys’ friendship develops. Attean teaches Matt how to hunt like an Indian and provide for himself. This book is meant for children but I enjoyed it very much from an adult perspective too. I imagine it would send a positive message to children about friendship and breaking down boundaries. I certainly plan to give this book to a child in my family who will enjoy it.

Einwandfrei

Este libro lo compre en inglés p,por qué es una lectura fácil. Para practicar lectura en inglés, el libro llegó a tiempo.

In the 1700s Matt at 12yrs old in Maine American West is left to look after the families cabin while his father goes to fetch the rest of the family, after being alone for some time a bear gets into the cabin and destroys all his food, Matt remembers where he can find a bee's nest with honey, he knows its a risk but he is to hungry to worry about it, he gets stung very badly by the bee's and the next thing he remembers is an indian standing over him in his cabin when he awakes. This indian is a chief among his tribe and introduces Matt to his grandson Attean who becomes a very close friend, Matt discovers many new ways to survive in the forest and also begins to understand the way of life of the Beaver Clan and their problems in adapting to the white man and the changing frontier, an excellent and well written book.