"The howl of a wolf might just be that. But sharper ears could sometimes detect a note more sinister." Thus, Sterling North, the author of Newberry Winner "Rascal", starts his biography of the early adventures of the French-Canadian voyageur, Pierre Esprit Radisson. In history Radisson, along with his brother-in-law Medard Chouart, Sieur de Grossilliers, is best known for the mid-17th century explorations of the upper Great Lakes and Hudson Bay regions which led to the founding of the famed Hudson Bay Company. However, North's biography focuses not on Radisson's rather limited contributions to history, but on his adventures as young man: his capture and adoption by the fearsome Mohawks at age 16, his escape from a French mission besieged by hundreds of Iroquois warriors at age 20, and his journey to the western shore of Lake Superior where he became the first white man to meet the Dakota Sioux at age 25.

This book was written for young boys between ages 9-12. It is very readable and is packed with battles, escapes, hardships, and epic journeys. Radisson's young life was the stuff of movies! It also includes some wonderful, although highly romaticized, illustrations of Pierre and his adventures. North clearly loved the subject and included in the text some passages from Pierre's own autobiography, "Voyages," complete with 17th century spelling which may be confusing to young readers. However, North's imagery of the untouched North American wilderness and thrilling portrait of a young Frenchman's adventures with various Eastern Woodland tribes is what makes this biography so wonderful.

As a child that hated to read, this was my favorite book. I read it many times and still love it as an adult. It is a wonderful story of a boy and his pet raccoon. I reccomend it to everyone!

Sterling North and his family live in a place that has raccoons, a brook, a woods with big trees, foxes, and whippoorwills. Sterling and his family saw a mother raccoon named Moonlight with a bigger, duller child named Flora, and a smaller, darker, more shy child named Fauna. Moonlight taught her children important lessons like finding earthworms and eating wineberries. The book also has stories from other people who know raccoons.

This book is full of unique and puzzling short stories involving the "devils" of many cultures. My personal favorite, a story intitled 'Thus I Refute Beelzy' is one of the best short stories I have ever read. I would recomend this book to anyone and everyone, regardless of religion, for if nothing else the creative stories and inventive plots captured by the many excellent authors whose work is featured.

The book Rascal is set in Wisconsin. The main characters are Sterling and Rascal. Sterling finds Rascal as a baby in the forest and he gets to keep him. Rascal is a racoon. As they grow up together they do lots of stuff like win a pie eating contest and build a canoe. They also go fishing and camping together. I don't want to spoil the ending but you should read it your self and find out. If you like books about adventure and friendship this one is for you. It is a great book to read anytime!

My mom read this book when she was in seventh grade and now has bought it for me. I am in fourth grade. It is a wonderful book about Sterling North when he was a boy and a baby raccoon named Rascal. They have their troubles but also have fun together. Rascal sometimes went into other people's gardens to get food and the neighbors did not like it. My favorite part was when Sterling, his father and Rascal went in a canoe and saw a mother bear and her cub. My mom's favorite part was when Rascal washed a sugar cube and it disappeared in his paws.

Sterling North vividly depicts the adventures, both physically and emotionally, of a boy named Sterling and his pet raccoon. This is a perfectly written book, containing many themes that you can relate to. Read through this book and you will be able to imagine his house perfectly. A menagerie of dogs, crows, skunks, and of course Rascal. The living room with the unfinished canoe and the chicken wired Christmas tree.

Having lost his mother at the age of seven, Sterling is a very independent boy who one day finds a baby raccoon, and decides to call him Rascal. As they both grow, their bond becomes strong along with their numerous activities and adventures. No one couldn’t help but laughing when Rascal, who always washes his food before eating, discovers the sugar cubes. He tries to clean them but they just dissolve!

In this unforgettable book, Sterling North manages to capture you and take you to a timeless place of life. Rascal is an easy, although deep book, and I strongly recommend it to everyone.

I gave this book three stars because parts were pretty boring. It kept me reading in the beginning and the end. I think it was a good book and I recomend it to people who like animals. When the book starts out Robbie Trent(a thirteen year-old boy) learns of a wolf den and wants a whelp for a pet. When they find the wolf den Robbie climbs into it and gets the whelp he wanted. His parents let him keep it and as time progresses the wolfling grows bigger and bigger. The book ends when Robbie, Wolf, and Inga (this girl he likes) live happily ever after.

When Robbie Trent learns of a wolf den, he wishes to have a wolf welp for his own. When one of his school mates also learns of the den he wishes to have all of the welps for bounty paid by the Wisconsin Government. When the two meet up at the den......... THE RACE IS ON!!!!!!!!!

A 12 year old boy wishes to have one of Old Three Toes' wolflings. When Bubs, one of his schoolmates finds the den he hopes to get the wolfling before Bubs and his father smoke out the wolves.

It is one of those vivid and accurate biographies, which can not become old-fashioned with the years. The book describes the early boyhood and young manhood of Abraham Lincoln. It describes the long and not easy way, which Lincoln had to overcome to stay in history as the great and humane American President of the Civil War Years. I underlined the facts, which impressed me the most. Young Abe was the best wrestler for many miles along the midwestern coast. Several years ago I wondered: why sports should be important for politicians? They should be bright in something else - intellectwise. But now I understand that you have to be either in boxing or in karate or in wrestling like Lincoln when you are young. This will help you to overcome numerous defeats when you become older and go into political fights without any rules. Another fact from Lincoln's biography shocked me. He would walk miles to borrow a book. There was no Internet; there were no even libraries in the area where he lived. Why would he go for miles and I am sure it was not always easy for him. How many of my friends would go for miles to borrow a book? I do not know. In addition, the second thing about it. His parents were illiterate; they could not write or read. How and from whom he would know that you have to read books? I found out that one person influenced Abe a lot. That person was his teacher named Zachariaah Riney. From Riney Lincoln got a habit to read aloud to him and would do it for the rest of his life. The third fact from his biography is amazing. Lincoln read every newspaper, which he could find. I ask myself: do I always read New York Times, which I find at home? Alternatively, I prefer to watch cartoons with my brother Kevin. When I think about all of this I come to a sad conclusion: I will never become the President of the great country. However, I hope that at least I will become the Chief of Justice of the Supreme Court. The will power, this is what comes to my mind when I think about Lincoln while reading Sterling North's book. The life was not easy for him. However, he never gave up. I know that life is not easy for anyone. However, most people give up. In addition, they do not become the great Presidents. I was trying to find out what else influenced Lincoln and helped him to become what he became in the future. I am sure it was the environment of Cucumber Trail. It was a small place but Abe could see a larger world from his cabin. All sorts of travelers were passing by their cabin telling all kinds of stories about their life. Pioneers seeking for new land soldiers and even slaves in chains. It reminds me about the city where I live - New York. You can meet the entire world here and know much more about life if you are willing to talk to all these people like young Lincoln used to do. In addition, the last thing, which determined the future of Lincoln, was that his family moved a bit. This was giving to him an exciting feeling of constant adventure. I am sure that this feeling is extremely important for any politician otherwise he becomes and old and boring mosquito who fly's around and disturbs people with his monotonous songs.

I am 38 years old and my father bought me this book when we visited the Lincoln birthplace when I was approximately 6 years old. I still read it from time to time. This book started me on a lifetime desire to learn more about the man called "Abe". The book is well written and takes you from birth to his assassination (which is taken up by less than a page.) I found it fascinating when I was younger and, as I said, I still read it now and then. I have over 50 books on Lincoln and this is still one of my favorites. If you have a young son or daughter that likes to read, let them try this one, I think they might just do as I did the other day. My father is now 72 and visited and I showed him the book and thanked him again as I recalled the day he bought it for me.

I would heartily recommend this book for anyone, but it is geared toward children. (I would actually say from 9-12) depending on how much they like to read.

This book stunk, it literally had smelly pages

This is a reprint of Mason's classic 1938 edition. It is fascinating, even though Mason uses some slightly racist-sounding phrases, it is obvious that he repects (respected) Amerindian culture. He has a great feel for their spirituality. And personal experience with our First Peoples. It's a little corny and naive other parts.

Mason's book has many drawings of original drums and their designs. He gives detailed practical instructions on how to build drums, hand-frame drums and a pow-wow drum, from processing a raw animal hide to bending wooden slats into a hoops, stretching and drying the drum head, painting and adding adornments. He left me with the impression that it is nearly impossible to build dud!

Stinky probably spoke true (if the book was a 1938 musty-smelling edition) but Stinky's review was woefully misleading. The book is a classic on woods craft type drum building. It also provides an intimate glimpse into the recent past before thoughts and words were filtered through a politcally correct seive.