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Toughboy and Sister #2

اردوگاه زمستانی

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خواهر و برادر نوجوان مثل بقیه بچه‌های «ساحل یوکن» زندگی می‌کردند. در آنجا اردوی ماهیگیری در تابستان، شکار گوزن در پاییز، رفتن به مدرسه در زمستان و تمام آنچه در روستاهای آلاسکا معمولی است، اوقات زندگی آنها را پر می‌کرد. اما اتفاق هایی تلخ باعث شد تا زندگی آنها دگرگون شود. آنها پدر و مادرشان را از دست دادند و نزد همسایه قدیمی‌شان، ناتاشا، رفتند. ناتاشا که به نسل قدیمی تعلق داشت، بدون هیچ بچه‌ای زندگی می‌کرد و زندگی با او خیلی راحت نبود. اما خواهر و برادر از داستان های شگفت انگیز او همیشه لذت می‌بردند و به زندگی در کنار او علاقمندتر می‌شدند تا اینکه ناتاشا تصمیم گرفت آنها را به یک اردوگاه زمستانی با هوای پنجاه درجه زیر صفر ببرد...

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

8 people are currently reading
202 people want to read

About the author

Kirkpatrick Hill

12 books55 followers
Kirkpatrick Hill lives in Fairbanks, Alaska. She was an elementary school teacher for more than thirty years, most of that time in the Alaskan "bush." Hill is the mother of six children and the grandmother of eight. Her three earlier books, Toughboy and Sister, Winter Camp, and The Year of Miss Agnes, have all been immensely popular. Her fourth book with McElderry Books, Dancing at the Odinochka, was a Junior Library Guild Selection. Hill's visits to a family member in jail inspired her to write Do Not Pass Go.

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5 stars
44 (23%)
4 stars
63 (33%)
3 stars
64 (33%)
2 stars
15 (7%)
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4 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
Profile Image for Hilary .
2,294 reviews490 followers
April 22, 2019
Although this is a sequel to Toughboy and Sister it can be read alone. In the first book Toughboy and Sister who are native Americans, lose their mother during the birth of a sibling and their father soon after due to a drink problem. They go to live with Natasha, an elderly neighbour who still keeps to the 'old ways'

In this story they go to winter camp, after setting up cabin they set up two trap lines which will be their daily work for the winter. Sister doesn't like the idea of trapping animals and when an accident happens she

We loved the details of every day life, how when the extreme cold came you had to wake every few hours in the night to keep the stove going so you wouldn't freeze in the night, how difficult it was to get help and how you didn't need a freezer! There were some wonderful dog characters in this book, we loved Mutt and Charlie. There were some wonderful descriptions of nature. The Indian words were really interesting to us, how interesting that Dalek meant no good! We loved hearing of the old ways of the native Americans and how true was Sister's conclusion that we should take the good parts of the old ways and the good parts of the new.

A wonderful read, highly recommended for those who love stories about everyday life, hardships, the loss of a loved one and living in harsh and remote places.
Profile Image for mona aghazade.
142 reviews44 followers
March 13, 2019
رنج سنی کودک و نوجوان
داستان دو تا بچه که با خانم پیر و بومی به اردوگاه زمستانی و شکار میرن و اونجا یه اتفاقایی میفته
شاید تو سن 11 سالگی و یا شایدم کمتر می خوندم خیلی هیجان انگیزتر بود
Profile Image for Kyle Pratt.
Author 28 books71 followers
January 24, 2013
I have just finished my first year teaching 4th through 6th grade students in a remote Eskimo village. Earlier in the year we had read Toughboy and Sister and toward the end of the year we finished the sequel, Winter Camp. As we read both stories I asked the students if the descriptions or events about nearby Athabascan Native Americans sounded true to them. Invariably they said, "yes."

The two novels focus on a brother and sister, known in their village as Toughboy and sister. After their Father dies they live two come to live with their Aunt Natasha. Natasha longs for the old ways and is unwilling to change. She finds the children soft and suddenly takes them out of school and flies out to cabin in the bush. The children come to admire the survival knowledge and stamina of the Aunt, but question the value of many of the old beliefs. This book explores some basic conflicts; children set against nature, and tradition versus technology.

According to the publisher's website the author, Kirkpatrick Hill, still lives in Fairbanks, Alaska. She taught elementary school in "bush" Alaska for more than thirty years.

Both Toughboy and Sister and Winter Camp are written in a limited omnipresent point of view. We frequently jump from the mind of Toughboy to his sister and back. The story is often told in narrative format and while well written is at times uneven.

Recommendation: If you are a teenage reader and want a taste of what life is still like for many in the remote parts of Alaska, I recommend both Toughboy and Sister and Winter Camp.
Profile Image for Darryl Friesen.
183 reviews50 followers
March 12, 2023
Kirkpatrick Hill has such an incredible way of writing—it’s spare in so many ways, and yet there is such a keen sense of place throughout the whole book. You feel as though you’ve been given a true glimpse into the traditional way of life of these wonderful, strong characters, but never with a sense of it being didactic or pedantic.
Profile Image for Anna.
1,100 reviews5 followers
January 24, 2025
I love some kid adventures. And apropos to read it the week we had temps in the teens here at home. Cute story of the roughing it in the Alaskan wilds in winter. Brrrr!
Profile Image for Gale.
1,019 reviews21 followers
April 15, 2017
“Education in the Old Ways”

Orphaned siblings John and Annie Laurie—better known as Toughboy and Sister—are taken in by a feisty old neighbor lady, who promptly immerses them in the lore and taboos of her now vanished Native American people. Privately scorning her countless taboos as superstitious nonsense the kids experience the challenge and real dangers of outdoor survival in Alaska’s bitter winter.

At 11 and 9 the siblings will come of age in the frigid Alaskan woods—questioning the value of Old Ways versus the advantages of more modern (1970’s) civilization. One wonders how many more years the old winter camp will have—for Natasha, herself, for that matter. But trapping for furs is in her blood and bones; she is eager to teach all she has learned from generations of Indians to these reluctant siblings. But will they ultimately appreciate her no-nonsense instruction? Or reconcile the old-fashioned past with the modern present?

With its short sentences and simple syntax this book proves interesting reading for elementary students. The hints about survival in prolonged winter wilderness provide valuable information for adults and kids alike.

April 15, 2017
Profile Image for Wendy.
952 reviews174 followers
October 30, 2014
ETA: delighted to find this positive review from someone who is a cultural insider. Hill's books seem to be well-received by Alaska Native and Inuit educators. http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/iks/hail/Wint...

After loving Bo at Ballard Creek I read the descriptions of Kirkpatrick Hill's other books and thought they all sounded kind of the same, so I didn't really look for them--but this one crossed my path and I'm so glad. This is a truly delightful story with realistic, lovable characters--two orphans and two cranky elderly people. I wish I had known this author sooner, but I'm glad she's getting wider recognition now.
Profile Image for Kati.
428 reviews11 followers
February 14, 2018
The first book I've read by Kirkpatrick Hill (thought I've known her and known about her books for several years now). It's apparently NOT the first "Toughboy & Sister" story, but it's the first one I've read, and I appreciated reading about the characters lives during this one winter, as they learn more about their ancestry, their "old ways", and as they cope with life after losing their parents. I think I'll be looking at the library to see what other books we've got about these characters, and reading more about their lives.
Profile Image for Jennybeast.
4,349 reviews17 followers
December 8, 2016
Still really enjoying the works of Kirkpatrick Hill -- great kids adventures in the Alaska wilderness. Survival, kindness, and the challenges of growing up in a harsh environment, caught between the old ways and the new. Continuing adventures of Toughboy and Sister (from a previous book), but both can stand alone.
Profile Image for Melba.
712 reviews10 followers
October 30, 2017
This is the book I just finished, and it was as good as the other two that was about these characters. I hadn't heard of these books before a homeschooling friend told me about one of them she used, but now I am so glad I read the three I did. I would love to read more by this author, so I will searching for more from her.
Profile Image for Jamie.
413 reviews8 followers
December 19, 2016
I wish I'd read the first book, Toughboy and Sister, before I'd read this. It made it a little awkward getting into the book and understanding the characters. Once I got into it, things went quickly. Sure made me feel like a wimp complaining about our "cold" weather yesterday, though.
Profile Image for Brody A.
16 reviews
April 19, 2018
This book was very interesting. It was fun to learn about how Natasha likes to do it the old ways.
Profile Image for Elnaz sh.
38 reviews14 followers
August 25, 2021
زمانش بود یه تنوعی به خوندن بدم ....👌😉
Profile Image for Lisa Malmquist.
771 reviews23 followers
March 8, 2024
Enjoyable look at the culture of the Indians in Alaska. Yes, I understand there are different tribes and customs but this book gives a glimpse into one group and how they survived in the "Old days" before indoor everything and electricity and so on.
Two children are orphaned and go to live with their grandmother who wants them to truly learn the old ways. They know the routine in the summer but not in winter camp.
So they set out on an adventure. They learn how to fix the cabin, trap marten and get water and wood to burn for the cold winter.
An old friend comets visit them at the camp with his dog sled and gets hurt by a moose ramming into him. So the kids are in charge with the older man while Natasha, the grandmother takes the dog sled over the hills to get help. Meanwhile, the weather goes to minus 40 and then minus 65. The kids are hard pressed to keep up with the heating of the cabin and cut enough wood to burn.
I don't want to spoil it so I won't tell what happens. But this is a great story showing the survival skills of a culture and that a few modern things might not be so bad either.
1,133 reviews6 followers
May 23, 2019
Good story showing strength of character. The "old ways" are steeped in superstition, but have benefits for survival vs. laziness and comfort. An old miner mentions getting drunk and uses swear words. The children's caretaker smokes a cigarette.
Profile Image for Kristine.
167 reviews3 followers
December 8, 2025
I really enjoyed this sequel story ( didn’t realize there was a first until after I had started it- ugh!) about two orphans that learn how to fight the harsh Alaskan winter and survive! They were aided by the help of two rough old codgers, but trouble befalls and their skills are put to the test… At times, parts of this story reminded me of The Hatchet ! Cannot wait to read more!!!
7 reviews
January 8, 2009
I have finished reading the Winter Camp by Kirkpatrick Hill, which is a nonfiction book. The main theme of the book is how the old ways and the new ways has related.
Winter Camp is about a story of a boy and his little sister. A boy name Toughboy and his little sisters name is Sister. After their parents die, Toughboy and Sister have to live with Natasha, the oldest woman in their Alaskan Village. When winter comes, Natasha takes them out of school to her trapping camp, where they learn to live off land as their ancestors did. At trapping camp, Natasha shows them a lot of different helpful way to live off land. For example: How to keep warm by wearing right clothes, how to trap, how to make fire, how to cook, and how to find the woods in the cold and wet weather under fifty degrees below zero.
It is an interesting story because the book is also showing us how to live off land and helps us to learn how to do stuffs in the winter. The book is very good and my favorite character is Sister because the book, Sister knows how to do the chores and she help around a lot but she was only nine years old. Toughboy also helping around too, he cuts off the big trees to make woods ready for the cold night. Sometime he had to wake up in the middle of the night to put more wood in the stove to keep the room warm.
I would recommend this book to anyone because I think everybody will like this kind of book. I said this because I think we all like winter and in one year we only have three months of winter so I think everyone is enjoying it. If you like Snow Bear and I think you will like Winter Camp because in Winter Camp and Snow Bear, they are took place in winter with snow.
Winter Camp is a nonfiction book and the main theme in Winter Camp is how the old ways and the new ways has related. The book was great and my favorite character is Sister and also Toughboy too. I would recommend this book to anyone because I think everyone like winter and snow.
Profile Image for Amber.
257 reviews3 followers
January 4, 2026
Love toughboy and sister! Any adventure they're on, I'm game to read about. Love any book that reminds me just how soft life can be in my little corner of the world. Inspired by their grit and bravery.
Profile Image for Tracie.
912 reviews
August 10, 2007
This is the story of two Alaskan orphan children being raised by an older woman who thinks more of the old ways than the new. She decides to teach the two more of the ways of their ancestors by taking them to hunt trap lines at her old winter camp. The story touches on some of the problems in this society in transition such as alcoholism but concentrates on survival in the harsh Alaskan environment. The characters are too distant to get to know well, but I did root for them and was satisfied with the outcome.
Profile Image for Michelle.
1,585 reviews21 followers
October 7, 2013
Not as good as Year with Miss Agnes, but still an interesting glimpse of life in 1950s Alaska. A simple to read story appropriate for 8 to 12 year old readers about two children and their survival at a winter trapping cabin. Might be a good introduction for Nathan into the survival story genre, before the more involved books of Gary Paulsen and Jean Craighead George.
112 reviews
November 16, 2007
Good survial story that pits two young teens against nature and old cultural ways against new technology. Brother and sister must survive back country Alaska during a winter storm while their traditional old Aunt takes sled dog team for help.
175 reviews
August 11, 2013
This sequel to Toughboy and Sister by Kirkpatrick Hill is a short read but in interesting one. Again students would learn a lot about living in Alaska and surviving there. A good classroom read with follow-up writing assigned.
Profile Image for Kate atkinson.
27 reviews
March 3, 2010
this was good. kind of slow at the beginning and then it got good.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews

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