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
