Cold River

by William Judson

Two children struggle to survive alone in the Adirondack mountains in this riveting story for “adventure lovers of all ages”( Columbus Dispatch ).

“What I want to tell you is about Timothy and me, about that time in 1921, when we were lost for three months in the northern Adirondack Mountains, in the dead of winter...” 
 
Young Lizzy Allison and her brother Timothy are left frightened and alone when their father dies in the frozen Adirondacks. Battling the untamed perils of nature, withstanding the fierce and bitter elements, and confronting the deadly instincts of man, two desperate children embark on a heart-stopping journey of courage, strength, and endurance against all odds.

Genres: Fiction, Adventure, Young Adult, Survival, Childrens

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The teacher back in elementary school read this to the class. She moved too slowly for me, so I grabbed it from the library and finished it over the weekend. It's one of the few books I remember anything from.

[Gregory Klug · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling story of a trapper’s daughter, her half brother, and their will not just to survive but to survive together as they put their training in bushcraft to the test after getting lost in the Adirondacks in October. Most journey books give minimal attention to the food the characters eat, how they got it, how they prepared it, how they built shelter, found water, etc. This book gives those topics center stage. Very intense and even dark, but also rewarding and humane as the characters are sustained by hope and interdependence in the midst of danger and death.

[Berit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dieses Buch ist so gut, dass du dich erst beim 10. mal lesen fragst ob Tim den Sträfling umgebracht hat.

[Alexia Cain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun lil adventure read. I wish it would have been less detailed in certain spots and more detailed in others.

[Caitlyn]

this book was amazing!it showed that when you put your mind to something you can actually do it! this book showes that when you take a wrong turnand dont go back but you tell people that your in another spot they dont know where you are... the tale of step-sister and brother come together to fight the wilderness in a cabin after losing their father from a horrible waterfall accident! This is my favoite adventure book ever!

[Gale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learning to Share her Father

Judson's 1974 story deals with survival on two levels: a brutal winter in the frozen woods and the hot battle between step-siblings. Of course two kids have a better chance of making it on their own during the winter than just one, but not all the predators have four legs. This readable book rivals Paulsen's man-about-the-woods with its forest lore. It is supposed to be impossible to starve in Nature's bounty--even in winter.

In 1921 fourteen-year-old Lizzie and her step-brother, Tim, anticipate a two-week camp out with their father--a capable woodsman and professional guide in the Adirondack mountains. In fact this book is a treasury of survival information. One of Lizzy's talents is the ability to remember (if not actually understand) everything that she hears. But when their father dies after a whitewater disaster, the two youngsters must pool their knowledge and skills (plus come to terms with their conflicting emotions about the blended family) in order to make it through the long months of challenge and outright danger. Most of the tale is a flashback, from adult Lizzy's viewpoint. The pace picks up dramatically near the end, when the kids face adult violence. This changes the genre of the book from mere survival to thriller--with a touch of mystery. Enjoyable reading for all teens or to keep as a guide in a cabin in the woods.

(Janury 30, 2013. I welcome dialogue with teachsrs.)

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich las "In den Waeldern am kalten Fluss" mehrmals und sah mir auch den Film an. Ich war sogar in der Naehe des Cold River in den Adirondacks im Norden des US-Bundeststaates New York. Auf der Cold River Ranch sagte man mir 1994, dass man die Stelle aus dem Buch nur auf dem Pferderuecken erreichen kann. Es hat sich also seit den 30er Jahren (wann das Buch handelt) nichts veraendert, die Wildnis ist zumindest dort immer noch unberuehrt.

Ein anderes Buch, das auch in der Wildnis handelt, mir aber noch besser gefallen hat, ist "Cleos Insel" (1981) von Harry Mazer.
Auch empfehlenswert: Kathrene Pinkertons Autobiographien (Einsames Blockhaus) und "Frau in der Wildnis" (Band 1 und 2) von Anne LaBastille.

Jean Craighead George schrieb eine beruehmte Trilogie ueber Sam, der in einem hohlen Baumstamm lebt und einen Falken aufzieht (der Film gefiel mir allerdings besser).

Zuletzt moechte ich noch Gary Paulsen erwaehnen, der zwei gute Buecher ueber Brian geschrieben hat, der erste Band wurde verfilmt und beschreibt Brians Flugzeugabsturz ueber der Wildnis, wo er dann den Winter allein verbringt.
Nicht zu vergessen: Farley Mowat und Jo Bentfeld.

[Karryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who doesn't like a good adventure story?
In this one, young, resourceful Lizzie (age 14) manages to keep herself and her younger stepbrother alive in the Adirondack mountains after a tragic river rafting accident kills their father.

I've read this book twice, and both times wondered if I could move forward so quickly after tragedy. I wished for greater grief or greater emotion of some kind from the kids, and then see them pull out of it for the sake of survival. On the other hand, we know that often great trials bring great strength, and this is portrayed well.

The book was worth reading and actually taught me a lot about survival (of which I hope to never use).

[Chance]

It was a pretty cool book. Cold River is the story of an Adirondack guide who takes his young daughter and step-son on a long camping trip in the fall of 1932. When winter strikes unexpectedly early he suffers a fatal heart attack, leaving his two children to find their own way home without food, or protection from the elements. My favorite part in the book is when they have to find their way home.

[Ausy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a book on a great Adirondack adventure. The main character Lizzy was a 14 old girl stranded with her brother in the worst winter ever recorded. Lizzy and her brother endured the blunt of the winter it stick forts and ate grouse and fish. Find out how she barely gets through the biggest blizzard and almost getting murdered in her sleep.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as "The Island Keeper" by Harry Mazer, but still a good story about two kids joining their father on a trip to the Adirondacks wilderness in the early thirties (depression).
The movie was well done.

[Bubbles by Char · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I was in junior high. I remember I liked it so much I read it twice. So I am giving it 5 stars- because at the time it was a great book to me. I don't want to re-read it again, for fear that it won't be as good as I remember it and I want to preserve my pleasant memory.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, I got it when I attempted to check out Cold Rock River at the library. I was intrigued so I brought it home to read. It's a quick read and I read that it has been made into a movie too. I would probably give it 3 1/2 stars.

[Jamie Bright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story, but I felt that some parts were rushed over too quickly, particularly the end. And the whole escaped convict plotline didn't fit very well...but the self-sufficient, kids-living-on-their-own parts were well done.

[Liane Castillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad read this book to me when I was little and it's still one of my favorites. Fantastic story of survival! It never fails to pull me in every time I re-read it.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sixty-plus Lizzie Allison tells the story of the harrowing wilderness adventure she, at age 14, and her younger stepbrother Tim survived through three months of deadly winter.

[Helene Forst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great adventure story that takes place in the year 1921 in the Adirondack Wilderness.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so wonderful, and so exciting, and I was madly trying to learn everything I could from it, should I be in any similar situation! AND even better, I used to live in the Adirondacks, so I loved the setting. Those woods are truly fierce, even now in the 21st century. I guess it's not a true story, but nevertheless, obviously the author knows his stuff. As reported above, two children survive against incredible odds in the winter cold, lost, and having lost their father, an Adirondack guide.

Boy, talk about BEST LAID PLANS! The father was experienced and kept assuring Mama that all would be well if he took the kids on a camping/caneing/hunting trip. Just 1o days or so. He went over the planned direction with his wife and with "Indian Pete", before he left. But then he took the wrong logging road (they all look alike and rarely have any signs), and got on the wrong river. He realized it after a day, they were headed in the wrong direction. Go back to original route (paddling back upstream now) or take a new route that nobody knows about? The kids voted to keep going on the new route. Bad idea. Then the new river (The Cold River) had unforeseen rapids and whitewater and a WATERFALL! The canoe capsized and they all nearly drowned before they struggled to shore. But Dad had broken his leg badly, with the bone sticking out. He was done for, and died several days later of fever and illness. Then, the canoe wasn't secured and floated off during the night. They lost the canoe, the rifles and the axe. One mistake after another. Wow, the wilderness just doesn't give you a break.

So I was totally planning on giving this book 5 stars, but towards the end, they come to a lake, and intend to cross it on foot as soon as it freezes. They hole up on one side of it. Winter had come early, just as Dad predicted and soon the temps are below freezing. They don't have a thermometer, but they are Adirondack kids, they know freezing when they feel it. They know zero! When the snow scrunches, and the hairs in your nose freeze, and you have to cover your mouth so that the freezing air doesn't go into your lungs, you know it's around zero. Or below. You know if you take your gloves off for more than a minute, your hand will soon be useless. So the temperature goes on this way for quite a while. The water freezes quickly all the way down to the bottom of the bucket. They need to have a fire going all the time and are running out of firewood. They've had big snowstorms. And guess what? After more than a month, they say the lake still isn't frozen hard enough to cross. WHAT?????? It was frozen hard enough to cross after a week! We're not talking about a 4 ton truck, we're talking about two lightweight kids! This is just ridiculous!! I could not believe my eyes. I know Adirondack lakes, heck, I also know Maine lakes, where I live now, with global warming, and believe me, after a week of freezing weather, they are frozen. William Judson seems to know his stuff, so this is just preposterous! It has to be a plot point, that he wanted them to be stranded for longer. Anyway, when they finally (after maybe TWO months) find a rickety rowboat and attempt to cross the lake, they are out there PADDLING and battling WAVES!!!! OPEN WATER!!! WHAT THE....?????? I'm sorry, but this is the craziest thing I ever read. It completely undid the realism of the story. So I had to go down to 4 stars, I was so disgusted with this ridiculous premise. Even the salty OCEAN freezes around the edges in freezing weather and it gets much more movement with the tides and the waves. A lake is virtually still and freezes quickly. I just looked up some references on it, and they say lake ice forms quickly in freezing weather, and it thickens at the rate of an inch a day, as long as the temp is below freezing (never mind, near zero!) How thick does it have to be to walk on? 4 inches. See? They should have been able to cross within a week.

Well, anyway, it was a good book up until that point, and those who don't live in the north will probably swallow all that baloney about the magically "unfreezing" lake.

[Seth Avalos · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book “Cold River” by William Judson is about two siblings Lizzy and Timothy who try their best to survive the snowstorm in the Adirondack forest. The story begins when their father Michael Allison wanted to take his children to the Adirondack forest before it turns into a city. Lizzy being the first child of Michael Allison he taught her skills to survive in the forest. As of Timothy he is barely learning how to be a woodsman. These are two siblings who love each other and would do anything for each other if they are In need of help because they have been in difficult situations in the winter of 1921.

Michael Allison gets the idea to take his children to the Adirondack forest because there would be a city nearby where he lives in the forest and he wanted Lizzy and Timothy to get an adventure before the Adirondack forest is demolished and turned into a city. The adventure for survival started when their canoe flipped over and all three of them were pushed to shore. Michael was the only one that was injured so Lizzy and Timothy had to take care of their father. As days pass Lizzy and Timothy tried their best to take care of each other and their father but one morning Michael was pale and was still that of Lizzy who knew what had happened to their father. Now on it was only Lizzy and Timothy who had to look out for each. That is when they wandered further into the forest so they could get back home but as soon they were half way a snow storm happened luckily they were nearby an abandoned cabin which looked like someone was already living in. As they checked around the cabin for material to use for hunting and to start a fire there was plenty of it as of hunting Timothy was the only one who went to go hunt for food because without a father he should do it as the man in the group. As days passed of hunting and surviving in the cabin from the snowstorm one day a man had entered inside the cabin who lizzy and timothy thought it was the man who was living there before but it wasn't when he started being intimidating to them and taking away their supplies. As soon as he left the cabin Lizzy remembered that it was probably a prisoner who escaped because he was wearing a jumpsuit which the news announced after they left to Adirondack. As more days pass the only thing that was in Lizzy's mind is about her father and she has spoken about him to Timothy for the first time and she would tell him that she feels sorry because she caused the canoe to flip over but Timothy tells her to stay strong for them to survive the snowstorm. Lizzy and Timothy always thought if the escaped prisoner will return but as they thought he did and he wanted to use them to escape the town. When they went to sleep with the prisoner inside the cabin Lizzy had dreamed about her father who wasn't himself because he was being rude and screaming at her but it was the prisoner who was harming her to stop screaming luckily Timothy used a chair to hit the prisoner known as Sharp to escape stealing his boat. It took them four days to return back ,when they were hospitalized they went their separate ways for years and Lizzy has never spoken about the tragic situation.

My opinion about “Cold River '' is that they didn't add enough storytelling to the characters. This book for me was mostly about hunting and surviving to get back home from a snowstorm alive instead the author should tell more about the adventures Timothy had during hunting and more drama between them for their father's death. Most of the drama in this book was between Lizzy and Timothy going against Sharp the prisoner. I believe the audience for this book is for those who want to read about hunting and surviving with a little bit of drama.

[David Haberlah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I immensely enjoyed this gritty survival and adventure story narrated from the perspective of a fourteen year old girl. The account of two young teens surviving in the frozen wilderness of Adirondacks in 1921 is full of beauty, insight, suspense, gore and hope. This is a rare gem of young adult fiction, better than many adventure classics from that era. Cold river somehow didn’t receive the acclaim and fame it ought to have. Perhaps with its female heroine and unflinching realism it was too much ahead of its time in the seventies? I am deeply grateful for my ten year old daughter who decided on this favourite of hers to be the first ever book she read out to me aloud end to end. What an unforgettable experience as a parent!

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book about 45 years ago and it just popped into my head today when I was reading about public school library budgets. I read this and did a book report/art project on it of a 'slide show' of sorts on a scroll of paper, me illustrating key scenes in the story. The next year I was a library aide and suggested it to the librarian and I remember her ordering a copy for the shelves.
I remember the brother and sister braving the elements but not much more. But if I can remember it (and even the title) all these years later it had to be at least 4 stars at the time, right? I wonder if it holds up!

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A re-read for me and still a five star book.

Essentially a survival book about 14 year old Lizzy and her 13 year old brother Tim who through bad luck and some accidents find themselves lost and stranded in the Adirondack Mountains during the work winter in decades. This book covers the three months that they were lost and how they survived. Loved it the first time I read it (maybe 15 years ago) and loved it when I read it this time.

[cheryl vought · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a good read

I first read this book many years ago as a sixth grader. I reread it a few times over the years then, and again recently. I have enjoyed it every time. It is well written and tells a great tale. I have always wished the ending had not felt so rushed, but it doesn't diminish the story as it is written

[Alayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book but full of difficulties for the characters! I found the first part very interesting, but the second part was not so much except for wanting to find out how the children got home. I would have appreciated a bit about the actual homecoming rather than just being found by strangers, as that would have finished it off a bit more for me.

[Lara Vehar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was decent. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would but it was all right I guess. I do like that it doesn't shy away from darker topics like death and gore. The characters were all right. Some parts of the plot seemed a little bit rushed. But the book was still really good.

[Friederike]

Auch das, eins meiner allerliebsten Kinderbücher, das eigentlich dringend mal wieder gerereadet werden müsste.
Mich hat es damals gar nicht losgelassen und als ich neulich "into the wild" gelesen/gesehen habe musste ich irgendwie wieder an das Buch denken.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd little nugget of a book but I was pleasantly surprised. The story is somewhat slow moving but the ending was an interesting surprise.

[Ann Dickinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very suspenseful story of 2 young kids trying to survive in the Adirondack Mountains by themselves in winter.

[devyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

i read it in school it was trash

[Tracie Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a kid, I loved stories about other kids having to survive in the woods. Stories like this one remind me what we can do when we put our minds to it.