Alida's Song

A GREAT BOOK.... NOT AT ALL BAD!!!!

Alida's song, written by gary paulsen, is an interesting and fun book. It bas a great message to it too. This book is about a boy who lives with careless parents that are ofren drunk. He later on receives a letter frim his grandmother, Alida, saying that he will be working for her and two brothers on a farm in Northern Minnesota. He learns many things in his time with his grandmother. I'm not going to give out everything though! Anyways, the boy goes to a dance and thats where the special moment began! He seems a little shy at first, but he starts to change with the help of his grandmother. His grandmother had a song that she picked to dance to with the boy. The boy becomes, well, more comfortable. From then on, he was never afraid and kept that special moment in his head. He still thinks that his grandmother is still guiding him in life! HOPE U READ AND ENJOY THIS BOOK!!!! <3

not all that bad a book with a good message to it

Set in the early to mid 1950s, this book tells the story of a summer in the life of a fourteen-year-old boy whose parents were always fighting and often drunk. He nearly flunked the eighth grade like every grade before it and is in danger of being drawn into the gang life of the city where he lives. But he receives a letter from his grandmother Alida, who is working for the bachelor Nelson brothers on their farm in northern Minnesota and invites the boy to spend the summer there.
The first book by Paulsen which I read was Dog Song, which I found so revolting that I decided not to read any more of Paulsen's books. But Hatchet was recommended by several, so I read it and it is not bad. Then when I saw Alida's Song at a used curriculum sale, I picked it up. Aside from a few references to stealing, drinking alcohol, using tobacco, dancing (this would not be a problem for many people, but there are those of us who do have religious objections to social dancing), and swearing (the only actual instance of swearing is one use of "by god"-do authors really think that if they do not capitalize the word "god" that it really is not taking the Lord's name in vain?), this is not all that bad a book and does have good message to it.
It is identified as "a companion to The Cookcamp," an earlier book of Paulsen's that I have not read, of which it is said, "This short, lyrical novel concerns a five-year-old boy who is sent to the north woods of Minnesota to live with his grandmother, a cook for a rough-and-tumble road-building crew, because his father is off fighting in World War II and his mother has taken a job in a factory." Alida's Song apparently picks up the story some ten years later. I tire of children's books that present nuclear families as broken or dysfunctional, but those situations do exist and it is good that there are grandmothers like Alida who can step in and do something to help. The jacket cover calls it "a memorable novel about one of the most important and loving relationships in Gary Paulsen's life," so we might assume that while it is fictionalized, it is somewhat autobiographical. Common Sense Media said, "Parents need to know that clear writing and strong, wholesome characters are the trademarks of this pastoral novel." The book was reissued in 2001.

coming home

Alida's Song written by Gary Pulsen a guy that comes to see his grandma. He is in the army.He remembers his past of coming to his grandma's house. He grew up poor and his parents were always drunk. He found ways to make money his self. That's why he goes to his grandma's house. He learns to take care of his self and does it all on his own. I gave this book ** stars. I recommend this book to anybody that likes to read novels about people going back to the hard times.

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