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White Water Still Water
The Challenge!
Knowing his parents would object, Chris had made the raft in secret. He would lie on it for hours, dreaming of all the distant towns and cities he wanted to see. But late one fall afternoon, it slipped out of the shallows where he kept it hidden and into the dark, powerful current of the river.
All through the night Chris clung to his raft as it swept past the empty miles of wilderness to the South. When he finally swam ashore, he faced a long, nightmare journey home. Barefoot and equipped with nothing but a broken-bladed pocket-knife, Chris had to find food, make his own fire, stave off wild animals- and reach safety before the first snow fell.
Knowing his parents would object, Chris had made the raft in secret. He would lie on it for hours, dreaming of all the distant towns and cities he wanted to see. But late one fall afternoon, it slipped out of the shallows where he kept it hidden and into the dark, powerful current of the river.
All through the night Chris clung to his raft as it swept past the empty miles of wilderness to the South. When he finally swam ashore, he faced a long, nightmare journey home. Barefoot and equipped with nothing but a broken-bladed pocket-knife, Chris had to find food, make his own fire, stave off wild animals- and reach safety before the first snow fell.
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First published January 1, 1966
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 22, 2022
My grandma is in a nursing home and she came across this sweet book from the community book corner. She read it in a few hours and insisted I read it. I was reading other books at the time which is why it took me a while to get through it, but it was very exciting, wholesome, and clever. I’m so glad I read it.
December 4, 2012
This book stuck with me from childhood. Though I don't remember the particulars, I do remember reading it and completely loving it. Survival stories were my favourite thing, and this one really hit the spot.
June 20, 2018
I ran across this young adults ( middle school) at the library. Published in 1969 it was a good adventure book about a young boy who gets swept down a raging river miles from home. He manages to use his wits to survive and attempts to walk back home ... it was definitely enjoyable
February 7, 2022
This is another favorite book from my younger days. I could so identify with not fitting and finding solace in nature. I loved the survival and coming of age themes intertwined in this book. If you haven't read it and you like survival and adventure stories, this might be for you.
September 28, 2019
Held some interesting facts about the different places they've all canoed, and hearing about the differences between these so many places was incredibly fascinating. I'd never heard of desert varnish
before so that was cool to learn about (especially right before going down to the Arches/Glen Canyon area). It also totally inspired me to go out and try to canoe more, especially along the BWCA which is the closest to home for me.
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"As the moon winked out, the stars winked on" (35).
"One of the first things you have to keep in mind is that when you take a piece of wilderness and put a road through it, you don't end up with two smaller pieces of wilderness, necessarily. You often end up with no wilderness at all" (165).
"It's nice to not have 'previews of scenic highlights.' Here we can discover them for ourselves" (184).
"Looked at bow on, our canoes' sides curved inward, trying to form a circle. That inward curvature is called the tumblehome. Tumblehome, a foolish but fetching word for something so mechanical, I always thought.
And I thought of it again now. Tumlehome. That's about what we did" (187).
before so that was cool to learn about (especially right before going down to the Arches/Glen Canyon area). It also totally inspired me to go out and try to canoe more, especially along the BWCA which is the closest to home for me.
---
"As the moon winked out, the stars winked on" (35).
"One of the first things you have to keep in mind is that when you take a piece of wilderness and put a road through it, you don't end up with two smaller pieces of wilderness, necessarily. You often end up with no wilderness at all" (165).
"It's nice to not have 'previews of scenic highlights.' Here we can discover them for ourselves" (184).
"Looked at bow on, our canoes' sides curved inward, trying to form a circle. That inward curvature is called the tumblehome. Tumblehome, a foolish but fetching word for something so mechanical, I always thought.
And I thought of it again now. Tumlehome. That's about what we did" (187).
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June 12, 2009White water, still water by J. Allan Bosworth (1966), [1st ed.]
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews