Harris and Me

This book was a fun read. I didn’t love the frequent mention of the dirty pictures the main character kept hidden, and I figured parents may want to be aware so they can discuss this with their readers.

I read this book related to a love of Gary Paulsen. I intended the book for my 14 year old, however, I am glad I read it first. He is a highly sensitive kiddo, and right away, I knew when reading about the alcoholic parents, the "dourty peectures," and the frequent cursing of Harris, he would need to wait a couple years. Yes, these are all part of the story, but not offensively so. Personally, I think these are all things that young boys come across in their growing up years at some point, but it's good to be aware before handing the book over to your child. For sure, this book is different than say, "Hatchet," which is a favorite among my children.Having said all that though, the book is excellent. And, I am so thankful I didn't "throw it out." My 16 year old read it as well, and we both really, really liked this book. The story is so touching and the characters so endearing. The young narrator of the story spends the summer with Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins on a farm, an experience entirely new to him. He forms a bond with all of them, especially his young cousin, Harris, whom, I promise you will love before the book is over. As a mother of 3 boys, a sister to 2 brothers, I loved reading of the antics of Harris, and life on the farm.The book was moving without being heart wrenching. The writing and whit is superb. I read multiple parts of the book out loud to all my children, especially the parts about Ernie, as my family and I can relate a rooster that stalks humans.I just couldn't stand the latest review of this book to be 1 star, and a recommendation to throw it out. This book deserves far more than 1 star. I am so glad I read it.

The first time I read this was on an Alaskan cruise. After many laugh out loud moments that had other people staring, I put it away to finish at home. The laughter still continued scaring my cats! When I taught middle school I thought this would be a perfect read aloud. It was, as long as I could keep it together reading it without tears streaming down my face from laughing. Many of the boys' antics remind me of the stories my dad would share of his childhood. Excuse me while I go and read it again!

Gary Paulsen never shuns writing about real life to spare your kiddies' artificial innocence. His books deal with the pains and joys of childhood - parental quarrels, alcoholism, abusive behavior, etc. - more forthrightly than any other children's writer I encountered with my own son as he was learning to read, and my son loved Paulsen's book enough to choose them for himself."Harris and Me" is a first-person narrative, told by a boy whose dysfunctional family has sent him to live with kinfolk on a backcountry farm in Minnesota. Harris is the bigger boy whose family has the farm. He becomes the narrator's surrogate brother and role model for devil-may-care enjoyment of boyish wildness. The narrator sense that his own nature is different from Harris's but he treasures Harris's spirit. It's a quick read for an adult, a kind of hyper-condensed adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. It's funny fun for the right kid to read silently or out loud, but children raised in a household devoted to propriety may find it incomprehensible, since propriety is not a virtue on Gary Paulsen's farm.One might suspect that this narrative, like many of Paulsen's, is semi-autobiographical. I'm very certain, however, that Paulsen has somehow gotten ahold of my unwritten memoirs, and used MY childhood for his model. I've seldom read anything that depicts the experiences of farm life, in Minnesota or in Sweden, fifty years ago or today, as accurately as this short book. I mention Sweden because I lived as a boy on a diary farm near Nykoping that was identical to Harris's. Like Paulsen, I've traveled very far, physically and culturally, from that farm, but in my heart of hearts I'm still Harris, and/or his admiring sidekick, myself. For a writer like Paulsen, "home" is not so much a place but rather a time of life.Paulsen's most popular books are imaginative adventure tales featuring intrepid boys. "The Hatchet" is his best seller. Shorter, more personal books like "Harris and Me" are, in my opinion, better choices for kids to read, offering flashes of insight into maturity, however challenging, instead of day-dream invulnerability.

I liked this book because I had the privilege of raising a son not too different from Harris. I would recommend it to anyone, but especially those who have raised boys. It might seem too far fetched if you've raised dainty girls. I didn't like the ending because I wanted him to stay at the farm and become a member if the family. I can hear these two little boys as teenagers yelling, "Hey boys, watch this" right before they did something disastrous!

I’ve been surprised, over the years, that this book seems to have been missed by many. I think it’s one of the author’s most enjoyable books. Paulsen does a magnificent job describing a young boy’s feelings and need to belong as he is handed from one “adopted” family relative to another, then ends up with Harris and his family for a fabulous summer of farm boy adventures.I’ve had the most success reading this aloud to 4th-6th graders, but it’s also been a great read around the campfire book while backpacking with kids and adults of all ages. Some people may wince at the occasional use of “Damn” and “Hell” by Harris, but dang and heck substitute well if need be. If you are looking for a summer filled with wholesome boyhood adventures, with just a touch of the lesson that we all have the need for family and belonging, I highly recommend this book.It’s a book geared towards boys, but everyone howls with laughter when the book is read aloud well.

Grandson very pleased with this book.

I thought I had ordered a paperback so was disappointed when a not so ferior hardback arrived. The words all seemed to be there so it is fuctional but not elegant.

Favourite book for my 6 and 9 year old. All about a boys summer in the country away from his alcoholic parents. There is swearing but not over the top.

What a lovely book. I read a chapter of it before I go to sleep and I have lovely dreams of days gone by. I love the way he writes. It is so vivid that you feel as though you are right with the two boys. Their antics are so amusing you find yourself wanting to share them with others. Thank you for writing this delightful book, Gary.

I love this book.. reminds me of my childhood.. I wish I had a lynch