Before I go somewhat off topic below - looking for book recommendations to read to kids between the ages of 8 and 11.

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Man, oh man. I don't know when this started happening, but I don't like it LOL.
I can still trap and hunt, I can put a wounded animal out of it's misery without emotion... all business, but...

I have been in the habit of reading to my son (11) and to any overly rambunctious cub scouts (8-11) that are having a hard time falling asleep at camps.

I am reading Where the Red Fern Grows to my boy, and there are parts that I can barely get through because of the lump in my throat. The opening chapter (dog fight) and the whole bit where the kid works and saves for 2 years with such dedication that it tears up his grandpa, and last night - that triumphant first raccoon caught. I am a mess trying to read it LOL.

I am reading The Jungle Book to the cubs, and once again, the themes of family, sacrifice and heroism get me in the feels every time.

As if that wasn't bad enough, seeing that spark of wonder in the eyes of some of those kids... the idea that there can still be mystery and magic and adventure in the world if you know where to look...

God is there in those moments, and I have seen the instant that he unlocks in their hearts a desire to be outside, to maybe trap a "wily raccoon" one day or to stand in defense of the helpless in the face of an uncaring crowd.

Read to your kids, or read to kids who don't have someone else to read to them. Pick something that showcases the best of us, or teaches important, hard lessons.

The books can't be too long, as it's hard to maintain attention spans, but I can recommend:

1. David and the Phoenix (E. Ormondroyd) - which teaches that childhood and the magic that goes with it are fleeting... but that there is always renewal
2. The Jungle Book (R. Kipling) - which teaches the importance of defending the helpless, right and wrong, responsibility, family, and so much more
4. Where the Red Fern Grows (W. Rawls) - which teaches the value of hard work, perserverance, trust, toughness, and so much more
5. Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang (M. Richler) - You'll have to read it to find out LOL
6. Two Against the North (F. Mowat)
7. My Side of the Mountain (J. C. George)
8. White Fang & Call of the Wild (J. London)

What say you, trappers?

The "Hatchet "series is right up your alley. I think the author is Gary Paulson.

if you don't get chocked up reading where the red fen grows, I think you might be broken.

I can dispatch most anything without feeling any more than recoil and that book still gets me.

sly - Good list and commentary. Thanks for your thoughts. Great thing to do (to read to kids).

"The Old Man and the Boy" Should be read to EVERY young boy. It teaches honor, integrity, ethics and humility. Hunting, fishing and growing up.



Charlie

Rourke is a great read, period

Read the Bible it's the best read around.

I saw something the other day that talked about the author of where the red fern grows Wilson Rawls.
I guess I don't know that it was true, I'm sure someone on here will show me if its not, but I thought it was a good story.

He was from Missouri. Dirt poor and I don't think he finished school and couldn't write very impressively.
He tried to write and was embarrassed of his work and by the time he had things written he would throw them out and not send them in or do anything with them.
Then he married his wife and she talked him into rewriting one of his stories that he had thrown away for her to read.
Wouldn't know that the first one he wrote down from memory to show her was Where The Red Fern Grows.
His wife proof read it and worked with him cleaning it up and they sent it in together and it became what it became.

Just a story in some old guys head that the wrote down and gave to his wife to check out. I thought that was a good back story.

Lewis B. Miller has an interesting list of books that he has written. Definitely children friendly.

i've always read bedtime stories to my kids and grandkids. They have all turned into readers.

Some of our favorites were the classic children's stories I received when I was a kid. They were nice leather-bound books and I still have them fifty-plus years later.

Among them is Black Beauty, Heidi, Alice in Wonderland, many Hans Cristian Anderson classics, One Thousand and One Nights, Rapunzel, ect.

I read them all of the Lew and Charlie books and the Sugar creek gang series which was a childhood favorite of mine.

One of my granddaughter's favorite books is a biography of Danial Boone. I have no idea why, I thought it was okay but nothing special. I've read it to her at least three times and she has read it herself at least twice.

The Princess Bride is an all-time favorite of everybody and everybody should read it at least once, it's a great book.

The Old Man and the Boy (Ruark) is one of my all-time favorite books.

Great ideas guys. I need to keep an eye out for Ruark books at the second hand stores, I never have read any of them.

If you like outdoor humor, you need to check out Patrick F. McManus books. One of the titles I have is real ponies don't go oink. The title sounds crazy but every chapter is hilarious. A few of his other titles that are hilarious are, The Grasshopper Trap, The night the bear ate goombaw and a fine and pleasant misery. Has anyone else read any of his books?

I have two sets of all his books. One set at camp, another here at home.

I loved McManus's column, Last Laugh, in Outdoor Life. The magazine had been going downhill for some time. his column was the only reason I still subscribed. I dropped them when he quit writing it.

The guy was a low-key comedic genius.

I'll agree with the Patrick F. McManus books. I used to have a full set of his books but loaned a couple out and never got them back. His writing about his childhood and the friends he had with all their adventures will crack you up.

Jim Kjelgaard books... any of them... would be perfect for you. Maybe start with a common one like Big Red or Stormy. But there are dozens of great ones.

Jack O'Brian wrote many good books about the north also. Jim Kjlgaard books are good and there are a lot of them.

Bryce

It is Halloween time. I am reading The Legend of Sleepy Hollow . I have read it several times .

Summer of the monkeys by Wilson Rawls