Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Wild Life
    Wild Life
    Wild Life
    Ebook131 pages2 hours

    Wild Life

    By Cynthia DeFelice

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Erik is preparing for his first-ever hunting trip when he learns that his parents are being deployed to Iraq. A few days later, Erik is shipped off to North Dakota to live with Big Darrell and Oma, grandparents he barely knows. When Erik rescues a dog that's been stuck by a porcupine, Big Darrell says Erik can't keep him. But Erik has already named her Quill and can't bear to give her up. He decides to run away, taking the dog and a shotgun, certain that they can make it on their own out on the prairie.

    In this story of adventure and survival, Erik learns about the challenges and satisfactions of living off the land, the power of family secrets, and the pain of losing what you love.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateMay 10, 2011
    ISBN9781466801110
    Author

    Cynthia DeFelice

    Cynthia DeFelice is the author of many bestselling titles for young readers, including the novels Wild Life, The Ghost of Cutler Creek, Signal, and The Missing Manatee, as well as the picture books, One Potato, Two Potato, and Casey in the Bath. Her books have been nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award and listed as American Library Association Notable Children's Books and Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, among numerous other honors. Cynthia was born in Philadelphia in 1951. As a child, she was always reading. Summer vacations began with a trip to the bookstore, where she and her sister and brothers were allowed to pick out books for their summer reading. “To me,” she says, “those trips to the bookstore were even better than the rare occasions when we were given a quarter and turned loose at the penny-candy store on the boardwalk.” Cynthia has worked as a bookseller, a barn painter, a storyteller, and a school librarian. When asked what she loves best about being an author, she can’t pick just one answer: “I love the feeling of being caught up in the lives of the characters I am writing about. I enjoy the challenge of trying to write as honestly as I can, and I find enormous satisfaction in hearing from readers that something I wrote touched them, delighted them, made them shiver with fear or shake with laughter, or think about something new.” Cynthia and her husband live in Geneva, New York.

    Read more from Cynthia De Felice

    Related to Wild Life

    Related ebooks

    Children's Action & Adventure For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      How To Breed The Best Horse

      Feb 24, 2022

      How To Breed The Best Horse
      4 min read

    • Article

      Totally EMBARRASSING

      Dec 20, 2020

      It all started in P.E, I found a soccer ball behind the school gate and so I started practising with it. Then my crush yelled out, “Pass it to me!” with the cutest smile on his face, so of course I was going to kick it to him. But when I tried, I tri

      2 min read

    • Article

      Why Are Naked Mole Rats Naked?

      Nov 1, 2022

      Why Are Naked Mole Rats Naked?
      2 min read

    • Article

      Ask Us Anything

      Nov 2, 2023

      Ask Us Anything
      6 min read

    • Article

      Extra EMBARRASSING

      Apr 11, 2021

      Once, I was out on a farm and these goats came up behind me and started eating my pants. It was so embarrassing, I thought they were going to chew them off! Worst of all, my crush was there with me! OMTG! Frankie It was school picture day and I aske

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Sunchild

      Aug 5, 2020

      The Sunchild
      4 min read

    • Article

      Totally EMBARRASSING

      Sep 13, 2020

      Totally EMBARRASSING
      2 min read

    • Article

      Doodlebug & Dandelion Sushi Dragon

      Sep 1, 2021

      Doodlebug & Dandelion Sushi Dragon
      3 min read

    • Article

      What’s Coming In 1.18?

      Aug 12, 2021

      What’s Coming In 1.18?
      2 min read

    • Article

      EXPERT BUILD HACKS & SECRETS

      Feb 24, 2022

      EXPERT BUILD HACKS & SECRETS
      5 min read

    • Article

      Totally EMBARRASSING

      Jun 13, 2021

      In music class, I was holding the microphone down at my side and I thought it was off. Well, I accidentally farted and it made a big noise and it went through all the speakers! My crush was standing next to me and I started crying and he said into th

      2 min read

    • Article

      Doodlebug & Dandelion Tiny Troubles

      Nov 1, 2021

      Doodlebug & Dandelion Tiny Troubles
      3 min read

    • Article

      ‘Toni, It’s Mum. There’s Been An Accident’

      Oct 13, 2021

      Edited extract from Lost & Found: My story of heartbreak and hope by Toni Street with Sophie Neville Like many teenage boys, Stephen loved sport and he loved hanging out with his mates. But he was happiest out on the farm with Dad. They were a tight

      11 min read

    • Article

      Night Visions

      Sep 10, 2022

      Night Visions
      6 min read

    • Article

      Working Out The World

      Nov 2, 2022

      Working Out The World
      3 min read

    • Article

      It’s In Our DNA!

      Jan 28, 2021

      It’s In Our DNA!
      3 min read

    • Article

      Little House

      Jun 5, 2023

      On Monday nights our mother made popcorn and served it to us in mugs with milk poured over. My younger sister and I carried our mugs into the family room and ate the popcorn with spoons, like cereal. We were five and seven. Until we were allowed to s

      21 min read

    • Article

      Little Geniusgenius

      Aug 12, 2021

      Little Geniusgenius
      2 min read

    • Article

      Cyber-parents

      Sep 1, 2020

      Cyber-parents
      4 min read

    • Article

      Flight Of Fancy

      Jun 14, 2023

      Flight Of Fancy
      2 min read

    • Article

      Reunited In 7 Hours!

      Oct 26, 2023

      Reunited In 7 Hours!
      2 min read

    • Article

      Remembering LAURA

      Dec 28, 2023

      Flicking through the pages of Mum’s book of family birthdays, my gaze fell on a scrawled out name that I didn’t recognise. Laura, 3 September 1946. ‘Who’s Laura?’ I asked. A sad look crossed my mum Marjorie’s face. ‘Laura was my first baby. Unfortuna

      3 min read

    • Article

      Flights Of Fancy

      Jun 14, 2023

      Flights Of Fancy
      2 min read

    • Article

      Strangers in India

      Oct 2, 2023

      Strangers in India
      9 min read

    • Article

      Birthday Party With Spider And The Gang

      Jan 1, 2024

      Birthday Party With Spider And The Gang
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Wild Life

    4/5

    38 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
       wild life was an okay book. The theme was wonderful as well as the characters. In the book, Erik's parents are both being deployed in Iraq. They will be there for 6 months, and in that time, Erik will be spending his 6 months with his boring grandparents in North Dakota. Erik hasn't always loved his old folks, but all of that will about to change.
    • 4/5
      Twelve-year-old Erik Carlson has plans, big plans, He is finally old enough to get his New York State hunting license. He's passed the hunter safety course, and is actually going to go hunting with his friend Patrick, Patrick's dad, and their bird dog Hot Spots. But what good does it do for a kid to make plans? Suddenly, Erik's parent are deployed overseas as Army Reservists and he is sent to the Middle of Nowhere, North Dakota, to live with grandparents he barely knows. Oma, his meek and mild grandmother, is okay. But why is his grandfather Big Darrell so mean? And what's the big deal about the closed room at the top of the stairs? When Erik finds and rescues a dog that's been stuck by a porcupine, Big Darrell says the dog can stay one night and no longer. But Erik has already named her Quill and can't bear to give her up. He sets off, taking the dog and a gun, determined that they can make it on their own out on the prairie.
    • 5/5
      Loved it! Great juvenile read.
    • 4/5
      Fast-paced, moving story about the bond between a young boy and a rescued dog.
    • 3/5
      Erik has just received his New York hunting license and is eager to spend the weekend hunting with his best friend when his mom and dad deliver some unexpected news: Erik has to leave in four days to spend the next six months with his grandparents in North Dakota. His parents, Army reservists, are being shipped overseas for a tour of duty. At first, Erik can’t wait for the six months to go by so he can return home to New York. Soon, though, Erik befriends a dog named Quill and things in North Dakota start to turn around. Some of the novel’s plot devices seem more convenient than realistic, which makes the story feel forced. The plot moves quickly, though, and young readers who enjoy hunting and outdoor adventures would enjoy this selection. Additional purchase. For ages 9-12.
    • 5/5
      Erik's parents deploy to Iraq, leaving him to go live with his Oma and Big Darrell on the prairies of North Dakota. Angry, lonely and feeling unwanted, Erik rescues a dog, names him Quill and claims the dog as his own. When the dog's owner turns up, Erik takes to the prairie, confident that he and Quill together can make a life for themselves on the prairie.Middle grade readers, both boys and girls, will love this book. Erik's independence, his love for Quill and his journey on the prairie will fuel the imaginations of young readers. What I liked about the book is that in the end, Erik discovers that there is more to the adults in his life than he first realized. His parents and grandparents aren't just labelled as "the bad guys" and kept that way. Erik is allowed to get to know them and appreciate them for who they are. This is a similar, but easier to read, tale to My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George, one of my personal classics.

    Book preview

    Wild Life - Cynthia DeFelice

    1

    I passed! Erik Carlson flew through the back door and into the dark kitchen hollering, Mom! Dad! I passed!

    The screen door slammed shut behind him, rattling the cups in the dish drainer, causing the cat to leap from his perch on the windowsill and head for cover in the pantry closet.

    Oh, Crenshaw, don’t be such a scaredy-cat, Erik called over his shoulder as he ran through the room.

    He liked Crenny well enough when she decided to sit on his lap and allow herself to be petted, but she wasn’t nearly as much fun as his best friend Patrick’s English setter, Hot Spots. Hot Spots was a champion bird dog. If she couldn’t be hunting, she loved nothing more than hanging out with Patrick and Erik, fetching a ball or a stick, or learning just about any trick they felt like teaching her.

    Crenshaw was named after one of Erik’s father’s favorite golf champions. Mr. Carlson didn’t actually play golf, but he enjoyed watching it on television, something Erik just couldn’t understand. Playing golf looked slow and boring enough. Watching it on TV, with the announcers speaking in hushed voices and sounding like they were spies discussing high-level national secrets, felt to him like torture. He enjoyed doing stuff, like building the tree fort he and Patrick were making in the woods behind Erik’s house. He preferred games where he got to move; to run, swing a bat, toss a ball, or shoot something.

    Mom! Dad! he called again. Where are you guys?

    When there was no answer he went to the living room where his parents sat, Dad in his La-Z-Boy, Mom on the couch.

    Hey, what are you doing, sitting in the dark? Without waiting for an answer, he flipped on the light switch and continued. Guess what! I passed! I got the highest grade in the whole class, and Patrick got the second highest. We did better than the grownups, even!

    Erik and Patrick had been taking a New York State Hunter Safety course. He waved the certificate and held up a wallet-sized card. See? It’s official! Patrick and I can go hunting with his dad! Junior hunters can go out a week before opening day, and that’s this coming weekend!

    He stopped for a second to catch his breath and noticed, for the first time, the strained smiles on his parents’ faces.

    There was a long pause before his mother said, It’s terrific you did so well in the course, honey.

    Congratulations, Erik, said Dad. Let me see that.

    Erik handed the certificate over, and an uneasy silence filled the room. He had the feeling that although his dad was looking at the piece of paper in his hands, he wasn’t really seeing it. Erik’s mother’s eyes were on her lap, where her hands were balled into tight fists. The air felt heavy with things that weren’t being said.

    What’s going on? Erik asked.

    His parents looked at each other as if trying to decide who would answer, and the silence drew out even longer.

    His mother sighed, and his dad placed the certificate carefully on the table beside his chair.

    We have something to tell you, Erik, said Dad.

    His mother patted the cushion next to her on the couch. Sit down.

    Erik didn’t want to sit down. He didn’t like the sound of this at all. A terrible list of possibilities was running through his head: either his mother or father had contracted some horrible disease, or they were getting a divorce like his friend Mark’s parents, or maybe it was Erik himself who had the disease. He had just had a physical for school. Maybe the doctors had found something…

    I might as well come right out with it, said his dad. We’ve been called up. We’re being deployed to Iraq.

    Erik stared dumbly at his father.

    I know how you feel, honey, said his mom. It came as a shock to us, too. We thought that, as reservists, well, we hoped this wouldn’t happen. But the war’s dragged on so long—she shrugged helplessly—and now we’re needed.

    Erik was having trouble believing his ears. His parents had been staff sergeants in the Army Reserves his entire life. To Erik, it was no big deal. They each reported for duty one weekend a month. They did drills and performed fitness exercises. They took classes to update the skills the Army had trained them for. Their specialty was training other soldiers and preparing them for duty.

    And, while he’d always known that there was a chance his parents would be deployed, he—and they—had never really believed it would happen. They knew other reservists who, like his parents, had been in the Army thirty years or more and never been called up. Why his parents? Why now?

    As he struggled to put his chaotic thoughts into words, his father went on. We’ll be training Iraqi soldiers and MPs so they’ll be ready to take over when our military leaves. It’s taking longer than expected to get the locals up to speed. Lots of guys have served several tours already. So—he spread his hands—it’s our turn, buddy.

    "But—both of you have to go?"

    It’s unusual, but, well, we’ve got the training, and we’re needed.

    There were so many questions Erik wanted to ask. What about your jobs? His mom was a nurse and his dad was a mechanic at a Toyota dealership.

    The hospital’s already been notified, said Mom. And your dad told the guys at the garage today. They’re not happy about losing us right now, but they know it’s just the way it is. We’ll have jobs when we come back, honey, don’t worry about that.

    But— Erik couldn’t seem to stop saying that.

    It’s all very sudden, I know, Mom said, reaching over to give his hand a squeeze.

    They try to give people more notice than this, Dad said. But we serve at the need of the Army. They can’t always keep up with changing demands. An order comes down, and it’s got to be met.

    How long will you be gone? Erik asked in a small voice.

    Six months is what they’re telling us, said Dad. But that could change. It could be longer.

    Erik was quiet as the enormity of his parents’ news began to sink in. Finally he forced himself to ask, What about me?

    His parents exchanged a glance. You know the Army requires us to have a family care plan, his mother said.

    Erik vaguely remembered his parents talking to him about this, but it had been a long while ago and, at the time, it hadn’t seemed important. Yeah, I guess. But I forget what it is. He had a sudden thought. Can I stay with Patrick?

    No, hon— Mom began, but Erik interrupted her.

    I bet his parents would let me! I could call right now and ask.

    He took a step toward the phone, but his mom said, Erik, no. I’m sure that Patrick’s mother would be happy to have you. But you know she just had the new baby, and on top of that, they’ve taken in Patrick’s grandmother, who requires a lot of Mrs. Holt’s attention. It’s just too much to ask right now. Especially for such a long time.

    We have to stick to our plan, said Dad. I’m not sure we’d even be able to change it at this point. You’ll be going out to stay with Oma and Big Darrell.

    Oma and Big Darrell were his mother’s parents, who lived in North Dakota. Erik couldn’t believe his ears.

    But I don’t even know them!

    Oh, Erik, you remember when we went out to visit, said Mom.

    I was three years old! That was nine years ago! I don’t remember anything about it, and I sure don’t remember them.

    Well, you’ve spoken to them on the phone since then.

    Yeah, on Christmas and my birthday. ‘Happy Birth day. How’s school? Goodbye.’

    There’s no need to be sarcastic. His mother looked at him pleadingly. Honey, the Army wants you to be with family and so do we. Your father’s parents have both passed on. There’s no one else.

    After a few beats of silence, Erik said sulkily, I don’t even know where North Dakota is. This was a slight exaggeration. He knew it was one of those big block-shaped states out west somewhere.

    Dad got out the road atlas and opened it to the map that showed the whole United States. With his finger, Erik traced the route from upstate New York, where he lived, to Fortuna, North Dakota. That’s really far, he said glumly.

    Not as far as your mother and I are going, Dad answered, in a failed attempt to sound jolly.

    How am I going to get there?

    You’ll fly out.

    "How long will that take?"

    All day.

    All day! Erik turned to his mother for help. Mom, I’ll go nuts sitting in an airplane all day!

    It will actually be three different airplanes, Erik. Company resource personnel looked into it today. Your flights are booked.

    Erik groaned. What if I get on the wrong plane by mistake and end up in…in… He paused, trying to think of a place more remote and less appealing than North Dakota, but couldn’t come up with one.

    The airline people won’t let you get lost, Mom said calmly.

    Erik searched his brain for another argument. Then he had it! What about school? There’s no way I can be out of school for that long. I’ll get way behind in everything.

    You don’t need to worry about your schoolwork, Dad answered, as if that was Erik’s actual concern. "Your grandmother will be enrolling you in school out there. And your records are being sent, so they’ll know which classes to put you

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1