Daniel Boone: Young Hunter and Tracker

by Augusta Stevenson, Robert Doremus (Illustrator)

Recreates the early life of the frontier hero who blazed a trail through the Cumberland Gap and led the first white settlers into Kentucky.

One of the most popular series ever published for young Americans, these classics have been praised alike by parents, teachers, and librarians. With these lively, inspiring, fictionalized biographies - easily read by children of eight and up - today's youngster is swept right into history.

Genres: Biography, History, American History, Nonfiction, School, Juvenile, Childrens

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1943

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thus far the boys are really enjoying this. The 6-yr-old asks random questions throughout the day about Daniel Boone so I know he's connecting.

April 2010 - We finished this a few weeks ago. The boys really enjoyed it. The last 3 chapters talked about what he did in his adult life, and I do wish there was more of that, but we did get a great feel for what life was like growing up when he did.

A good introduction to Daniel Boone and the lifestyle of the time. We will most likely read this again, but next time around I want to find a book which discusses his later life.

Recommended. A 3rd/4th grader would be able to read this on their own, if very interested or motivated.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some good parts to this book. But the last three chapters were such a mess. I get that's how these books work. They summarize the rest of their life in a narrative fashion. I wish they were told to just write it like a history book at that point, becomes it becomes so absurd.

But the part that made me want to burn the book was when Boone's uncle tried to teach him to read and his dad comes in and is like, "Daniel doesn't need to learn to read. He's going to be a hunter." And his Quaker mother who has been opposed to most things in the book is like, "I'm convinced! What a logical argument!"

So I'd probably skip this one unless you really like Daniel Boone.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy elementary level read. Probably three stars. There is a lot of dialogue. Lots of I heard this and she said that. It gets old. Not a lot of colorful details. And sadly by the end of the book my kids were still wondering why Daniel Boone was so famous and everyone’s hero. So I don’t believe it did a great job fleshing out his life achievements. But there were a few interesting stories.

My final four stars is due to the simple reading comprehension questions at the end of the book as well as further ideas to continue learning about Boone and pioneers and a glossary of terms.

[Tommy P · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't like this book because it is really boring. I would recommend this book for 6th through 8th because it is not that easy. If you liked a book about John Tyler you will like this because it is the same but there is different people. Daniel Boone heres a queer noise...................read to find out.

[Clarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also part of our Daniel Boone unit, this book was easy to read and pretty entertaining. I don’t know how accurate it is—especially since we’re talking about Daniel Boone’s childhood and youth. All the same, we enjoyed the read, and it’s fun to consider the early years of a man who (deservedly) has become legendary.

[Arwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

My husband's Grandmother is related to Daniel Boones sister, so when we found this book at Goodwill I decided to read it. It was alright, but not good. At least we'll have it around for our kids to know about their ancestors.

[Meredith Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

(with Ben)

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

AR 3.7

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought Daniel Boone was a myth in all honesty, a tall tale

[Rachel Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids enjoyed this book.

[sincerely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating by 9 year old

[Chelsea Szczyrbak]

Finished book 12/11/2025

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this alongside my 9yr old son for our homeschool. The Childhood of Famous Americans are usually a hit with my kids. It's fun to imagine what historical figures would have been like as children. Daniel Boone is especially fun for boys. There are a few parts where we will have to discuss attitudes towards Indians, which is to be expected in nearly every book about this time period, and something we have been discussing for a while in our history readings.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

My boys loved this biography which focused mainly on Daniel Boone as a child and young adult. I did have to explain some of the prejudiced attitudes on the part of the white settlers towards the Indians.

[Angela]

Biography
Izzy LOVES the CFA series.

[William Varnado]

William Varnado
Mr. Welsh
English
1st Period
10/17/3013
The early life of Daniel Boon
Daniels parents were Quakers; he was closest with his older brother Israel. His mom, Sarah, wanted him to learn how to read and write. She certainly did not want him to be a hunter. His mom would give him spelling lessons every day, but Daniel would run and hide. He hated spelling and positively was not good at it. After a year his Mom gave up on trying to teach him he was so bad.
When Daniel turned eight he started training. His brother was training him how to hide from Indians. In this day in age that was a very important skill. At first he wasn’t good but within a few months he was the best in his family. When he turned ten he got a tomahawk. One day when he was killing small game with his tomahawk he met an Indian named Wolf. He went to wolf’s village to go visit him and beat the Indians at all there games. After that Wolf was jealous and tried to kill him.
When Daniel turned twelve he got a gun. This is when he knew he wanted to be a hunter and tracker. By the age of thirteen he was bringing home more skins than his father and making more money too. He started leaving home for weeks at a time just to get fresh air and live off the land. He hunted and fished with Indians and knew the woods better than anyone. At the age of fifteen Daniel started guiding people on hunts. He was already a legend.
Daniel was a quiet and patient man. Who did whatever he could do for his country. Boon started settlements in Missouri and practically started Kentucky. Every state wanted to claim him as their own. He was a captain in the American Indian War and was in charge of his own regiment. After they won the war they named a town after him called Boonborough. There he settled with his wife and children, and everyone, including Indians knew not to mess with his family.

[Acton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daniel Boone was born in Pennsylvania. When he was ten he spent all his life in the woods; his favorite thing to do was to hunt and track. At the age fourteen he became a trail guide; he knew every trail in the country. During the year 1772 he married and brought his family to Kentucky, which he called Boonesborough. In the early nineteen hundreds the Indians attacked and Daniel became colonel. He fought for five years, and finally drove them out. It took great perseverance to fight, but in the end he drove them away.

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Daniel was young, he learned survival skills from his dad. When he was a little older he led men on expeditions. When he was older he went on really long hunts. When he was even older he got famous by saving Boonesborough.

[Angie Libert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Typed by Nevada: daniel boone is a good book and it just doesn't talk about daniel it talk's about his mother and his fother and his moter want's him to be a weavero but he wants to be a hunter but it talk's about daniel age's 8- 12

[Nicole M. Hewitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this book as part of our homeschool curriculum. I thought that it gave a great illustration of what it was like to grow up in the wilderness. The story was engaging and my kids loved learning about Daniel Boone's childhood!

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. He was the fastest in the settlement and best thrower and so he wanted to play with the Indians and the Indians got mad cause he won all the games. So he went back again and only won the foot race and he did it on purpose.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with my 8 and 11 year old sons. If we had the time, we probably could have read it in a day or two because they wanted to keep reading. They wished there were more stories about Daniel. Perhaps they'll be inspired to learn more about him.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good first read for getting to know who Daniel Boone was and what he did. It was a little over-simplified for my taste. But this is a great book for the younger set ages 6-9.

[Jeannette Brodnik · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids love it.

[emma grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

On an old reading list...estimated to be read in 2006.

Another school read...

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. He could easily find his way through the woods when he was older. He once risked his life to save the lives of these other people.

[Gregory Rothbard · Rating 3 out of 5]

one of my favorite series when younger...

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good intro into the young life of Daniel Boone. Worth reading with the young ones if you're studying Early American History.

[Janell]

Interesting, but probably needs to come with a discussion about what western expansion did to Native Americans.

[WSL Library]

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