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Read How Angel Peterson Got His Name (2004)

How Angel Peterson Got His Name (2004)

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Rating
3.92 of 5 Votes: 3
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ISBN
0440229359 (ISBN13: 9780440229353)
Language
English
Publisher
yearling

How Angel Peterson Got His Name (2004) - Plot & Excerpts

Definitely, the adult in me was laughing at Angel Peterson. I was chuckling out loud while reading this book. My favorite story was when the boys went to the tent revival meeting and threw crab apples on the roof to mimic the “footsteps of God” just as the preacher was saying those words. When Orvis is caught, he inexplicably gives Archie’s name and that makes for even more trouble. As is his custom, Orvis devises his own punishment, which is much worse than what Archie had in store for him! Orvis was my favorite character. His encounter with the bear was equally hysterical and terrifying. What boys will do to get the attention of a girl!I enjoyed reading Paulson’s “A Note of Caution”. I was expecting the standard wording about don’t try this at home, but Paulson is quite clever in his approach. He notes that they would have worn safety gear if it had been available, but ends by saying “…none of what we did should be done by anybody except heavily insured, highly trained professionals under adult supervision on closed courses with ambulances, doctors and MedEvac choppers standing by”. I also thought teens would like how Paulson would compare his antics to the extreme sports of today. For example, Harris’s exploits with tractor tires are described as “what might have been the first bungee jump.”The cover illustration and wording might attract younger teens to this book. My 13 year old son picked up Angel Peterson and read most of it in one sitting. He really enjoyed it since it is “all about 13 year old boys”. He also let me know that the world speed record on skis is much faster today. I laughed and said please don’t get any ideas about trying to break that record

I gladly call this book a biography of Gary Paulsen as well as for every male alive. Gary Paulsen, while writing of his life experiences particularly, captures the essence of every boy: an abundance of ideas and lack of prefrontal brain development. The biography begins with the title's story and describes how one movie preview + Carl Peterson's idea= Carl "Angel" Peterson. The book goes on from there to describe all the crazy things boys do from riding bikes through flaming hoops to wrestling a bear in a cage all because, in the infamous words of the country song, "the chicks dig it." I found myself laughing to the point of tears at certain stories. Having a younger brother myself, I related to the experiences (having seen my brother perform a few stupid stunts in his day) and came to the conclusion that all males, despite economic status, race, nationality, etc., come wired the same way...with a few short circuits! I would especially recommend this book to boys ages 10+ and feel even adult males would get a kick reliving the "good 'ole days" when being a menace to society was socially acceptable. You don't need your ab workout the day you read this book for you'll laugh your self sore!

What do You think about How Angel Peterson Got His Name (2004)?

Angel Peterson, Gary Paulsen, and their friends tried a number of daredevil stunts in their thirteenth year, and they are chronicled in hilarious detail in this book. Have you ever wondered what could happen if you tried to ski while tied to the bumper of a car? What about shooting a waterfall in a barrel, or wrestling a bear? Gary Paulsen's stories of his youth describe a time when the Army/Navy store had target kites that could be used for hang gliding and circuses had tents where you could pay a quarter to wrestle a trained bear. This is an excellent book for young readers looking for an approachable, funny book. Recommended for ages 9 to 13.
—Amanda

HOW ANGEL PETERSON GOT HIS NAMEGary PaulsenNonfiction Autobiography128 pagesGary Paulsen and his friends go out to watch a news strip. In the news strip, it says that a man had just broken the world record for the fastest person to go on skis. Carl, Gary’s best friend, was speechless after the strip. He said I can do it! They all looked at him. He said I can break the world record on skis. So they end up doing it and after things looked pretty bad for Carl. After this story other friends did other stupid/dumb things like bungee jumping, but this was the highlight of the story.I liked this book because it told people about how kids “lived” back then. They weren’t inside watching video games, they were outside trying to find something to do, and they succeeded. The kids weren’t outside because their moms locked them out (well maybe). They were outside because there was so much to do instead of inside. I also like this book because everything was so cheap to us but expensive to them. A jacket was oh I don’t know like 5 or 6 dollars. It was really funny when they were getting things for Angel to do his ski record. They acted like it was so expensive, and it was, but to us it is cheap. The bungee jumping incident was funny too. He bounces down and into a hornets nest. Then he lands into a big muddy slimy pig pen. This book is a nonfiction book to read.
—Gretchen S.

I really liked this book and I would consider this book a partial autobiography of Gary Paulsen. Angel Peterson wanted to break the record for speed on skis. He got an older friend that had a car to pull him behind it while he held a rope and was riding on the skis. His friends went to an army surplus store and got Angel old pilot gear to prep him for his feat. When he was ready to go, they slowly increased the speed of the car and he kept his thumb up, which meant faster, until they got to 80 mph. At 80, he hit a dry spot in the road and was launched into the air and when he landed, he got buried in snow. After they talked to Angel, it turned out his thumb got caught in the rope so it looked like his thumb was up the whole time but he really wanted to stop way at the beginning. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a good story about several mishaps in a few friends childhood.
—Treyton DeVore

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