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Fire-Hunter
"Fire-Hunter is the story of Hawk, a pre-historic man who is banished from his tribe for breaking the tribal law by inventing a spear-launching tool. He is left behind with Willow, an injured young woman abandoned by the tribe because of her inability to travel in the nomadic lifestyle they employ.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1951
14 people are currently reading
256 people want to read
About the author
Jim Kjelgaard
106 books163 followersan American author of young adult literature.
Born in New York City, New York, Jim Kjelgaard is the author of more than forty novels, the most famous of which is 1945's "Big Red." It sold 225,000 copies by 1956 and was made into a 1962 Walt Disney film with the same title, Big Red. His books were primarily about dogs and wild animals, often with animal protagonists and told from the animal's point of view.
Jim Kjelgaard committed suicide in 1959, after suffering for several years from chronic pain and depression.
- Wikipedia -
Born in New York City, New York, Jim Kjelgaard is the author of more than forty novels, the most famous of which is 1945's "Big Red." It sold 225,000 copies by 1956 and was made into a 1962 Walt Disney film with the same title, Big Red. His books were primarily about dogs and wild animals, often with animal protagonists and told from the animal's point of view.
Jim Kjelgaard committed suicide in 1959, after suffering for several years from chronic pain and depression.
- Wikipedia -
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
April 13, 2022
I remember reading this book as a young teen and loving it so much. One of my brothers made off with my copy. Frankly I’ve looked for this book for years. Finally looked it up on iBooks and enjoyed Re-reading.
An excellent adventure story!
An excellent adventure story!
February 16, 2018
Like many of the others here, I read this as a kid and it stuck with me ever since. I tried for years to find it online but failed. Now, at long last, I located my old friend. :)
One of the best prehistoric novels I've ever read. My next prehistoric novel was CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, which sucked me back into the genre (until Auel's series became Fifty Shades of Stone Age). I plan on rereading it soon. It will be interesting to see how the style strikes me now.
One of the best prehistoric novels I've ever read. My next prehistoric novel was CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, which sucked me back into the genre (until Auel's series became Fifty Shades of Stone Age). I plan on rereading it soon. It will be interesting to see how the style strikes me now.
June 7, 2012
How many times did I read this between the age of 10 and 15? Ten? Obviously I loved. Last year I found it in a used bookstore, bought it, went home and read it in about three hours, enjoyingit all over again. It is a book for young people, you should keep that in mind - that is what my rating is based on.
October 25, 2021
I enjoyed this! My only real qualm is: I understand that this is a pretty old book and I get it's written about an even more different time, but DANG... You would think for a guy who is inventive and resourceful and thinks outside the box and doesn't typically agree with the standard "tribe roles and rules", he wouldn't be so shocked every single time the woman does something smart...
July 28, 2010
Kjelgaard was not only a great author of dog books, but he wrote a very good prehistorical noel of early humankind as well. I liked it a lot.
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October 30, 2020I read this book when I was little, and liked it very much then. Recently I read Adolf Portmann's book on Human Origins, and it reminded me of this. It's a good example of some of the pitfalls in imagining the prehistoric past that Portmann explains. It is still, however, an exciting adventure story.
November 29, 2023
What an odd little story. I picked it up after finding it on a list of prehistoric fiction alongside my favourite Clan of the Cave Bear novels. The spirit of discovery and invention to survive was delightful, but the short and brutal lives of its characters made it difficult to reconcile our physical limitations, extended childhood and need for shelter resonate with the continual outdoor camping lives of these nomads. An interesting exploration of necessity being the mother of invention, nevertheless.
January 15, 2019
As many others I read this as a kid, this was one of my first books and after finding a copy on project Gutenberg, I had to read it again and loved it as much as my younger self.
This is a great book for young and adult readers alike; however I may not have enjoyed it so much if it hadn't made such an impression on my 8 year old self.
Highly recommended for young readers.
This is a great book for young and adult readers alike; however I may not have enjoyed it so much if it hadn't made such an impression on my 8 year old self.
Highly recommended for young readers.
January 20, 2019
When I was in school I loved this story of a smart and creative Cro-Magnon boy, the first of his tribe and perhaps the first human to understand and appreciate the usefulness of fire. I still love it.
September 29, 2020
2.5 stars.
I did not read this as a child so it didn’t capture my sense of adventure and excitement, but I can see how it would. It was interesting to see how prehistoric life was viewed in the early 50’s then distilled down into a novel for kids.
I did not read this as a child so it didn’t capture my sense of adventure and excitement, but I can see how it would. It was interesting to see how prehistoric life was viewed in the early 50’s then distilled down into a novel for kids.
April 14, 2021
Read this book when I was a teen, so was curious to read it 50 years later, and it brought back memories of starting to learn about the world and human nature - I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it this time around.
January 1, 2023
Having grown up in a conservative Christian home, this was my first exposure to any media regarding the theory of evolution. While it did not change my opinions, it did open my mind to consider different perspectives and inspired creative thinking.
February 11, 2025
I remember reading this when I was in middle school. I found a copy online and re-read it to see if I still liked it.
And I did. This probably isn't very accurate but it was an interesting take on how early humans lived.
Parts are a little gruesome and the female characters are barely seen.
And I did. This probably isn't very accurate but it was an interesting take on how early humans lived.
Parts are a little gruesome and the female characters are barely seen.
June 19, 2025
It's a kids book from the 50's...it was different than I remembered but still pretty fun haha. With great names like Short-Leg and lines like, "we eated that". what's not to like haha....Willow is the shit though and is way too good for Wolf (turns out cave women are still pretty hot 🤷🏼)
September 13, 2018
A fun read. Kids enjoyed it.
January 13, 2021
I loved reading a book that was from my childhood. It brought back memories. I highly recommend this book to everyone!
November 10, 2025
Full of evolutionary thinking. Doesn't make a lot of sense.
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January 27, 2015So, I read this book in either fifth or sixth grade and despite the fact that I can’t remember exactly when I read it, the story and enjoyment of it has stuck with me for all these years. I don’t know why it popped into my head a few weeks ago and I don’t know why this time around I decided I wanted to find a copy, but I thought it would be interesting to see if it held up after all these years. It took a bit of Googling around to find the title, but I knew if I saw a picture of the cover I would know it and sure enough I found it. I was more surprised to find that my library system still had a copy! I’m a big proponent of weeding, but I’m glad that despite it’s age this one hadn’t been pulled from the shelf (I can’t attest to how much it’s checked out, but the book is in great shape so maybe it should still be on the shelf).
I was even more surprised by the fact that I liked this book as much, if not more, now as I did all those years ago in elementary school. I still remember when the teacher handed out copies of the book. There were two options and it seemed everyone wanted this book over the other (whose title I cannot remember). There were not enough copies for everyone in the class to have one and I was lucky to get one of the last few. I must have devoured this book because I remember it only took a few days of in-class reading to finish it. I certainly read in elementary school, but I was not strong reader (I have talked about this in other blog posts) so to plow through a book like I did with this one was unusual.
The story itself is very well written. It’s got a surprisingly complex vocabulary and syntax, but it wasn’t hard to read. Again, I’m surprised I clicked with this in elementary school knowing that I was not a great reader. However, I think that attests to the fact that the story is incredibly compelling, even if it’s not plot driven. In fact, it does a great job blending plot and character development. There’s quite a bit of suspense both within the overarching plot (will Hawk and Willow survive on their own?) and within smaller incidences (will they be able to evade the hunters they run into? will they be able to kill the cave bear and use his cave? etc.). Hawk, though, is an inquisitive boy/man (he’s a man by his tribes standards and because people didn’t live long, but he’s only 16) and he spends a good deal of time coming up with new ideas that help them survive, such a stick that helps him throw his spear much further which puts him out of harm’s way. He also invents a bow and arrows.
He observes things very closely and learns from what he observes. So when, for example, they leave their original camp because of a lack of wildlife and return a few days later he notices there is game again. He thinks to begin hunting in one smaller area and rotate through smaller surrounding areas to allow wildlife to return. Willow too has ideas and has paid close attention to what others in the tribe do, so when they need to start a fire she knows how to do it. She also creates a number of baskets and containers that help them out and thinks to line a basket with tar so they can always have a large supply of fresh water in their cave. I was pleasantly surprised that the book was not particularly sexist. Considering the era it was written in and the depictions of “primitive man” I was expecting more overt sexism. There were a couple lines that I rolled my eyes at and, sure, they had defined roles as a man and a woman, but I imagine that’s pretty true to what life was like for early humans. I was also pleased that there didn’t seem to be anything that made it seem racist. I guess that may have been because it was about a hunter-gatherer not a Native American, but at its heart this is a survival story and it made all their skills and ideas seem really cool and essential, not primitive and silly.
I will note that there is a lot of hunting and while the story is never graphic there is violence. Don’t give this to your tender-hearted animal lovers. They will not like it. Do give it to your kids who wonder about life long ago. I can’t speak to its historical accuracy, but it certainly gives you a sense of what life as a nomadic hunter-gatherer must have been like and it doesn’t flinch from showing that life would have been brutal, hard and often short. There is also a brief author’s note at the beginning that explains where an author (and anthropologist) look for information about what life was like.
The long and the short of this is, I bought my own copy to keep on my shelf so my own daughter might stumble on it when she’s older. And quite frankly, I will read this one again in the future too. If your library still has a copy hand sell it to kids who like adventure and survival stories and kids who like protagonists who are clever and curious and like to invent things.
I was even more surprised by the fact that I liked this book as much, if not more, now as I did all those years ago in elementary school. I still remember when the teacher handed out copies of the book. There were two options and it seemed everyone wanted this book over the other (whose title I cannot remember). There were not enough copies for everyone in the class to have one and I was lucky to get one of the last few. I must have devoured this book because I remember it only took a few days of in-class reading to finish it. I certainly read in elementary school, but I was not strong reader (I have talked about this in other blog posts) so to plow through a book like I did with this one was unusual.
The story itself is very well written. It’s got a surprisingly complex vocabulary and syntax, but it wasn’t hard to read. Again, I’m surprised I clicked with this in elementary school knowing that I was not a great reader. However, I think that attests to the fact that the story is incredibly compelling, even if it’s not plot driven. In fact, it does a great job blending plot and character development. There’s quite a bit of suspense both within the overarching plot (will Hawk and Willow survive on their own?) and within smaller incidences (will they be able to evade the hunters they run into? will they be able to kill the cave bear and use his cave? etc.). Hawk, though, is an inquisitive boy/man (he’s a man by his tribes standards and because people didn’t live long, but he’s only 16) and he spends a good deal of time coming up with new ideas that help them survive, such a stick that helps him throw his spear much further which puts him out of harm’s way. He also invents a bow and arrows.
He observes things very closely and learns from what he observes. So when, for example, they leave their original camp because of a lack of wildlife and return a few days later he notices there is game again. He thinks to begin hunting in one smaller area and rotate through smaller surrounding areas to allow wildlife to return. Willow too has ideas and has paid close attention to what others in the tribe do, so when they need to start a fire she knows how to do it. She also creates a number of baskets and containers that help them out and thinks to line a basket with tar so they can always have a large supply of fresh water in their cave. I was pleasantly surprised that the book was not particularly sexist. Considering the era it was written in and the depictions of “primitive man” I was expecting more overt sexism. There were a couple lines that I rolled my eyes at and, sure, they had defined roles as a man and a woman, but I imagine that’s pretty true to what life was like for early humans. I was also pleased that there didn’t seem to be anything that made it seem racist. I guess that may have been because it was about a hunter-gatherer not a Native American, but at its heart this is a survival story and it made all their skills and ideas seem really cool and essential, not primitive and silly.
I will note that there is a lot of hunting and while the story is never graphic there is violence. Don’t give this to your tender-hearted animal lovers. They will not like it. Do give it to your kids who wonder about life long ago. I can’t speak to its historical accuracy, but it certainly gives you a sense of what life as a nomadic hunter-gatherer must have been like and it doesn’t flinch from showing that life would have been brutal, hard and often short. There is also a brief author’s note at the beginning that explains where an author (and anthropologist) look for information about what life was like.
The long and the short of this is, I bought my own copy to keep on my shelf so my own daughter might stumble on it when she’s older. And quite frankly, I will read this one again in the future too. If your library still has a copy hand sell it to kids who like adventure and survival stories and kids who like protagonists who are clever and curious and like to invent things.
November 27, 2017
Superb story of a primitive man inventing all kinds of new tools and weapons in order to keep himself alive after being cast out of his tribe for breaking tradition. Working alongside Willow, a girl who was left for dead after a severe leg injury, she and Hawk combine male and female skills to forge a more comfortable life, greatly aided by the inadvertent taming of a wild puppy who works alongside him as a hunter. The book is full of thrilling hunting adventures, from cornering a baby giant sloth to being stampeded by a herd of woolly mammoths, in addition to the day to day. There's a lot of human advancement rolled into one person, and definite liberties taken with that timeline, but it's fascinating to watch the progression.
Side note: this is something of a scarce book, especially in hardcover, so I am forever delighted by the fact that I found an ex-library copy for 10 cents at a garage sale in 2009. I didn't even know it was scarce at the time, only that it was a Kjelgaard book I hadn't read and I needed it for my collection.
Side note: this is something of a scarce book, especially in hardcover, so I am forever delighted by the fact that I found an ex-library copy for 10 cents at a garage sale in 2009. I didn't even know it was scarce at the time, only that it was a Kjelgaard book I hadn't read and I needed it for my collection.
January 26, 2014
I remembered this book so vividly from my childhood and finally searched for it and, although I was sure it was by another author, somehow turned up the actual book that I recalled. I read most - if not all - of Kjelgaard's dog books (Big Read, Irish Red etc) as a young child and loved them. My kids had to read Big Read in elementary school and I read it along with them and felt that it did not stand up well at all. Fire-Hunter does, although there is some incidental sexism (the book was published in 1951), all in all it read well. I remember spending childhood days pretending to be a prehistoric hunter and fashioning my own bows and arrows . . . the book definitely brought back memories, and good ones. Not sure how kids today would find it, but if i had a 4-6th grader, I would definitely suggest it.
May 22, 2009
This was definitely written according to Kjelgaard's usual style. However, I could not help but feel this book was rather repetitious and monotonous. Hawk, the protagonist, faces many dangerous beasts and learns how to develop the bow and arrow. It is very simple and thus gets rather dull after a while. I enjoyed the book, but it definitely was not a favorite, nor would I recomment it to anyone. If people read Kjelgaard, they ought to read Snow Dog (love that book).
October 10, 2012
Was forced to read it as a part of a High School freshman curriculum. With so many other well-written science fiction books to choose from at the time, this had to be the dullest of the choices. I know it turned off some of the kids from reading science fiction. In its defense the book would have been better left as a book report choice than to read it painstakingly a chapter at a time and discuss in class each week.
February 18, 2016
This was the first book I ever bought with my own money- at a school book fair. I loved the story of Hawk and Willow, and many years later realized how many of their adventures (and inventions) were like that of the super talented Ayla and Jondelar in Jean Auel's Earth's Children series. In the space of a few seasons these outcasts invented waterproof baskets, bow and arrow, domesticated animals and fought off enemy tribes. I loved this book when I was ten!
April 17, 2016
I was read this book in fifth grade by my teacher. I loved it then, and I love it now, and I plan to read it to my kids, too.
This is the original book. Apparently, there is another version of it called Return of the Hunter that adds the story of the tribe that banished Hawk and Willow into the mix? I will probably read that at some point, but this is the story I will always remember.
This is the original book. Apparently, there is another version of it called Return of the Hunter that adds the story of the tribe that banished Hawk and Willow into the mix? I will probably read that at some point, but this is the story I will always remember.
May 29, 2023
I read Jim Kjelgaard's Fire Hunter while in Junior High that was over 50 years ago. I think I enjoyed it just as much this time around. The story of Hawk and Willow banished from their tribe and left to fend for themselves. But Hawk has a brain and figures out better ways to hunt and survive. And Willow isn't so dumb herself as Hawk soon finds out.
July 12, 2020
Kjelgaard
A great author of this book and many others. I first read this book 'fire hunters ' 58 years ago it was a well remembered memory. And still a good read
A great author of this book and many others. I first read this book 'fire hunters ' 58 years ago it was a well remembered memory. And still a good read
November 7, 2008
I believe this MIGHT be the first "book" I ever read, on my own, of my own choosing.
July 6, 2009
this was fun and inspireing my favorite book as a teen
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November 13, 2009Very satisfying story, except maybe the very ending, wouldn't have minded a little more romantic/interpersonal development, but a worthy quick read. Anyone wanna help me write a sequel?
February 6, 2015
Read when I was a preteen. Gave me nightmares, but it was truly fascinating and I loved it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews