How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulsen

How Angel Peterson Got His Name (And other outrageous tales about extreme sports). by Gary Paulsen. A Yearling Book, 2003. 111 pages.

Plot: Get ready to hold your belly as you laugh hysterically while reading Gary Paulsen’s How Angel Peterson Got His Name (And other outrageous tales about extreme sports).  In this collection of short stories, Paulsen recounts events from his childhood that are all connected by the friendships of Paulsen and his pals as they involve themselves in various sports adventures and what awaits them in these pursuits.  Their stunts are driven by various intentions:  the desire to be the “winner” or record-holder in a competition/stunt, the desire to be noticed by girls, the hope of discovering the newest sport’s challenge.  Hilarious and oftentimes painful results seem to follow these friends as they “keep getting up” and dusting themselves off.  Whether it’s Orvis wrestling with a bear, Harris “bungee-jumping” from a hayloft using tractor inner tubing, or Angel wanting to go beyond seventy-four miles an hour on skis, Paulsen and his circle of friends try it all.  As Paulsen writes, “It was, always, worth the try.”  

Review/Personal thoughts:  This book is hilarious and will be enjoyed by tweens and adults alike.  The reader, while pulled into the boys’ antics, can’t help but reflect on their own real life stunts (some which might be downright embarrassing).  This collection of stories speaks to the daredevil in us all and the oftentimes ridiculous stunts that we try to pull off.  Through his stories, Paulsen addresses the curiosity in every child to want to push the envelope, to be brave, and to simply play.  It’s clear in the closing pages of the book, these boys weren’t going be told that something couldn’t be done or that their version of the experience wasn’t true. Paulsen and his friends believed in themselves and “what we could do or thought we could do.”  Paulsen’s stories remind us of our own stories and give us plenty of room to simply laugh at ourselves. 

Genre: Non-Fiction

Reading Level: 6.3 Interest level: Ages 10 to 13.