Rescue Josh McGuire

by Ben Mikaelsen

Ever since Josh's older brother died, his father has been drinking too much and taking his anger out on Josh. But when he orphans a bear cub, it's more than Josh can stand. Josh insists on rescuing the bear cub--only to find that he must surrender it to game officials.

Knowing the cub will be sent to a research lab, Josh makes a defiant choice. Taking only his brother's motorcycle, the cub, and his dog, Josh runs away to the mountains, vowing to stay until the hunting laws are changed. But the mountains hold unexpected menace, and Josh's bid for justice soon becomes a battle to survive.

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Survival, Fiction, Animals, Young Adult, Adventure

266 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1991

Reviews

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent adventure story that will appeal to that difficult-to-reach tween boy age group.

Thirteen-year-old Josh is on a reluctant hunting trip with his father, an angry alcoholic. While under the influence of drink, Josh’s father shoots a mother bear and orphans her cub. Josh defies his father’s wishes and rescues the cub—but it seems the little animal is out of the kettle and into the fire. The Fish and Game Dept. wants to take possession of the cub and send him to a biological research lab. Now it’s up to Josh to decide how to save the bear.

Josh and his father, Sam, were complex characters. Unfortunately, some of the supporting characters seemed to be “types” rather than well fleshed-out people.

Rescue will appeal to the same readers who enjoy outdoor survival books in the vein of Hatchet. Unlike many other adventure books, however, it models a teen boy who chooses not to hunt and saves, rather than destroys, a commonly hunted animal. It would also make an excellent starting point for humane education and ethics discussions.

[BLDinMT · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nostalgic read for me--the copy I am reading was autographed for Matt's brother, but I totally remember Ben Mikaelsen coming to our elementary school for a presentation. I met him again as an adult at a street fair. We were selling tie-dye and he and his wife were selling books and art. He told us that he had to be creative talking about Josh's brother Tye. ...because he didn't want to keep saying ...Tye died..." :)

[Hayley Chwazik-Gee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember when Ben Michaelson would come over for dinner and tell stories of his rescue bear Buffy. It certainly put this novel in context with his values and 13-year old alter ego!

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rescue Josh Mcguire
by Ben Mikaelsen


I read Rescue Josh Mcguire by Ben Mikaelsen.It is a survival ficton book about a boy that is thirteen and goes hunting with his father. Joshs dad shoots a mother bear and orphans a bear cub. Josh wants to save the bear cub. His father says that they can't keep the bear cub so Josh runs away.
When I read the book I thought the book was really good. I would recommend this book to everybody that like the outdoors. I felt they should of made the book bigger so you know what know what happens to sam. I also was happy they didn't kill the cub and let it live.

[Sean Clark]

Choice book #2 Quarter 1

Sean Clark

RESCUE Josh McGuire is an adventure realistic fiction book by Ben MIkaelsen.

The book takes place in the mountains near Bozeman Montana.

Josh McGuire, Sam and Otis are the main characters. Josh is thirteen years old and he ran away from home because of his alcoholic dad Sam and because he wanted to run away from his feelings. He is very concerned for a bear cub he named Pokey who he wants to protect. Josh made his parents worried sick because he ran away from home on a motorcycle staying in the mountains and avoided the police. Josh’s dad Sam is an alcoholic, but he wasn't always one. But due to his other son's death he started drinking and raging at Josh and Libby, who is Josh’s mom, which caused a lot of stress on the family. He later overcomes his drinking problem and makes up with Josh. Otis is another adult in Josh's life. He helps hurt animals that got hunted. Josh likes to help him heal animals and help him with chores. Sam envies Josh hanging out with Otis more than him. Which is hard when he drinks so much.

There are three minor characters in my book, they are Brewster and Libby and Mudflap who is Josh’s dog. Brewster is one of the officers that found Josh. He was feeling helpless when he was having trouble finding Josh but he kept looking anyway. He was not the only one who worked to find Josh; he just worked hard at it.. Libby is Josh's mom. She was terrified about losing Josh. And she felt much relief when he was found.
Josh’s dog Mudflap decides to come on Josh’s adventure if he likes it or not. Mud flap gets lost in a bad snow storm and still makes it through it. Mud flap gets attacked by a bear, that's not Pokey, and Josh gets help from Otis to heal his dog.

The main problem in my book is that Josh’s dad killed a mother bear by accident while under the influence of alcohol. This upset Josh, because he was concerned for the bear cub that he discovered was orphaned. And then they had to find Josh because he ran away. I think another reason Josh ran away was because he was trying to run from his feelings about Tye's death because he had no one to talk to.

The plot of this book is that Josh found a cub sleeping near the gut pile and came to the conclusion that Sam had orphaned the cub. Josh knew that he was going to be sent to a zoo or lab if he turned him in. So he ran away from home knowing that his parents would turn the cub in. The rest of the book is about how Josh survives in the mountains and escapes the police. He also names the bear cub Pokey, because every once and a while the cub would tug and pull every few steps as Josh was trying to lead him on a leash. The book ends when Oitis gets tracked to Josh because Josh needed Otis' help because his dog got very hurt. Josh crashed Tye’s motorcycle and collapsed at his camp site so he could not run any more then he was found by a police dog. In the end he got the law changed and Pokey and Mudflap were fine.

My opinion is that the book had described things too much, if I was the author I would not go so in detail, which would make the book shorter and less repetitive. I would also not make it so sad. Maybe he was trying to send a message but still I would have not.
1. I liked hearing how Josh planned his escape and his thoughts on it. I also liked when they talked about the silly things Pokey would do like roll around.

2. The book was very sad hearing about how hurt the dog and cub were also how the cub slept near the gut pile of his mom and stuff.

3. The book was pretty thorough about everything like details and stuff.

4. This book does not compare to any books I've read because it was very sad.

5. If I was the author I would not have made the book so thorough on the sad parts.
I would say the first half of it was a 7 and the end part was a 3 because the book was too long. Lastly, I would have explained how Mudflap lived through the storm.

[Miles Hayward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rescue Josh McGuire by Ben Mikaelsen

This mainly takes place in the mountains.

When the book starts, Josh and his dad, Sam, are on a hunting trip and pretty quickly, they find a bear. Sam shoots that bear, not knowing what a crime he has done but Josh knows. Josh's data was drunk while hunting and shot a bear. The bear had a cub who Sam planned to give to people to do experiments on. Josh took the cub to keep it safe and vowed that he wouldn't go back to his family until the hunting laws were changed to protect bears.

Josh is a stubborn 12 year old boy who cares about nature and its animals.

Sam, Josh's dad is struggling with Tye, Josh's brother's death

Josh's dog barks a lot.

I think this is a good book for kids around 11-13 because it is a good action adventure book about the wilderness and how Josh survives with a bear and his dog. I think people who really like survival stories and survival stuff themselves would love to read this book. The most enjoyable part for me was how the characters interacted at the beginning. And how Josh survives. I find survival stories really fascinating and fun.

[Christine VanHalder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful, fun, read. I went to the Little Library to swap books and this little boy, elementary school age, asked me if I would read this book. It was a little young for me. But thought why, not. It would make him happy. The book was good. I almost pulled an all-nighter reading it. Your never too old to read a children's book. I recommend this book. Copyrighted 1991.
By Ben Mikaelsen.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great tale of doing what is right even when everyone tells you you are wrong. Josh doesn't live an easy life, but he risks what he has to help a motherless cub and almost loses himself in the process.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good action and adventure story for those hard-to-reach readers.

[Kenneth Flusche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written Juvenile Fiction for 10 to 15 year old depending on his or her reading level. Brings real world problems to life.

[Clara Lester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it with my class

[MSabatiniReads]

Recommended for Hatchet fans or those looking for a similar survival, boy and his dog against the world, survival tale.

[Jazmyn Troy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book a 3, Because it is about wilderness and has a bunch of adventerous moments and its not really my style of reading.

[Stef · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book for kids. Set in the mountains around Bozeman, Mt, Josh tries to save a 4 month old orphaned bear cub.

[Aud Connelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good one from the Spirit Bear guy.

[Jessi Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great kids' book! I read this in elementary school and it takes place where I used to live in on Tom Minor Basin in Montana.

[Jeanie Siggaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got drawn in by the characters. Each one had something to love and something to dislike about them. At times, the overall theme of the story was a little heavy handed but on the other hand, the action and suspense stayed steady throughout the book.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, I finally read another book! Can you even believe it? Albeit it is a elementary level book, I still can count it off as a completed task, the first of this school year for me! My kids' principal loaned me this book (last year..but who is counting?) for one of the kids to read. Instead of them reading it, I took it upon myself to complete it, as this story takes place in Montana, and the author has a home in Bozeman. A few years back, I guess this author visited our school which made quite an impression on our youth in this area. With our principal entertaining the idea of having him come again to visit our school, I thought this would be a good opportunity to see his work. I sure hope he does come and visit us, as at times I think our school is too focused on math, and not enough writing and reading. A good story about compassion for animals, in a state that literally feeds on hunting, the adventure of the run away boy kept my interest peaked for the duration of the story.

[George Mnatsakanyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book because when i read the back it said that Josh's older brother had died and after that incident his father started drinking more and became an alcoholic. The book starts when Josh and his dad are hunting in the mountains. Josh's father, Sam, shoots a bear, but doesn't notice that it had a cub. As they are about to sleep Josh cannot because he's worried about the lonesome cub that will have no one to take care of it. He goes out in the dark to find the bear cub and has some luck. When he finaly finds the bear, he adopts it and takes care of it. After a while Josh gets lost in the wilderness with his dad probably not even caring where he is. I liked this book but not a lot because it wasn't very descriptive and there wasn't much going on. I did enjoy the parts where Josh had to find ways to save himself because it brings a little suspense and interest into the book.

[Karen & Gerard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about adventure and protecting a bear cub that I'm glad I didn't pass up although it's a book for kids. Josh flees to the mountains with his dog and a bear cub on a dirt bike to keep the orphaned bear cub from being taken by the Montana Fish and Game Department to be used for lab experiments. After Josh's older brother died, Josh's father became an alcoholic and accidentally shot the cub's mother when hunting with his son but wouldn't admit it. It's a very good story about the difference this one boy made and the search to find the boy. He was determined not to return home until he could keep the cub and the law would be changed to not permit bear hunting in the spring when cubs were generally born. I recommend it to boys and animal lovers.

[Christina Getrost · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exciting book about a boy who rescues a baby bear after its mother is killed, and how he runs away to the mountains to hide with the bear rather than see it be used for testing in a lab. Josh wants spring bear hunting to be outlawed, because so many cubs become orphaned as a result. He's also dealing with the death of his older brother, and how that has changed his father into a drunken angry man.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was Mikaelsen's first book for children. I wondered this as I began reading it because it lacks the polish of some of his newer work; however, I enjoyed this story of courage and a boy who does the right thing no matter what.

Mikaelsen's characters are not as well developed as some of his newer novels, but I enjoyed Brewster's and Otis's characters. This story brought tears to my eyes several times, but it also has a hopeful and happy message.

[Mary Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author lives in Bozeman, MT and actually has his own bear. His stories fall into the adolescent lit. category where the teen becomes something of an extraordinary hero. I enjoyed all his books in middle school and I remember when he came to our library to do a talk and a book signing. It was really my first time meeting a real live author who's book I'd already read.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book! We are reading this for our ward's book club and it is super. I don't agree with everything in the book but it is realistic. I can see a 13 year old like Josh run away for something he believes in. The book has a good message: Stand up for what you know is right and always admit when you've made a mistake.

[Alexander Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It had many challenging words throughout the duration of the book. I had to read a fiction book for a book report and i wanted to read an adventure book so i choose this one. It was such a good book that i have read it 4 times since i returned it last. I finished the bnook in 3 1/2 days and finished my report 2 weeks before it was due. thats how intriging this book was.

[Sharayah · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review for this book is pretty much the same as my review for Sparrow Hawk Red. They're fun, exciting, fast reads that will encourage kids who don't like reading to read. Beyond that, there's not a ton left to say. This one is a survival story, and I think those especially appeal to young readers.

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Book is about a 12 year old kid who's dad shoots a black bear and orphans its cub. Josh runs away untill they change hunting laws. And the cub will go to the game commision and run test and then kill it.

[Elizabeth cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is so good

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best young-adult adventure EVER! I'm sure this will be coming soon to a theater near you. Read it before Hollywood destroys it. I read this aloud to my students every year, and they all loved it.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is kind of weird but i love the fact the josh has the courage to defy his father, save the bear cub, and elude the whole world while doing it. i love josh!!!(not really) (: