Woods Runner is a historical fiction novel by Gary Paulsen that follows 13-year-old Samuel, who lives in a frontier settlement in Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War. When the British kill Samuel's neighbors and take his parents prisoner, Samuel embarks on a journey to rescue them, aided by a war orphan named Annie and a spy named Abner. After rescuing his parents from a jail in New York, Samuel returns home to Philadelphia with Annie, who he has adopted.

1. Woods Runner
Written by:
Gary Paulsen
Presented by:
Jonathan Swift

3. THE SUMMARY
 The British kill Samuel’s neighbors and take his
parents prisoner.
 Meets Annie, a war orphan.
 Samuel and Annie meet Abner McDaniel. He takes
them to New York.
 Rescues his parents.
 Return home to Philadelphia with
 adopted daughter Annie.

4. MAIN CHARACTER
SAMUEL
 13 years old
 Likes to hunt in woods to
feed his family
 Has great survival skills
 Is very courageous & brave
 Does not like to kill but twice
does so to survive
 The story is about him growing up

5. SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
Abner:
 Old Italian tinker that sharpens knives
 Secretly spying against the British
 Took Samuel and Annie to New York
Annie:
 8 years old
 War orphan
 Adopted by Samuel’s parents

6. THE SETTING – 1776
Pennsylvania:
 Frontier settlement away
from tow
 Many trees, forests
 Lots of wildlife
New York:
 Where British held prisoners
 Many diseases
 Largest city in the colonies

7. THE CLIMAX
 Samuel and Abner went to rescue Samuel’s
parents
 Samuel hit a guard with a brick and knocked
him out
 The prisoners streamed out of the jail
 With Samuel’s mom and dad they crossed the
Hudson

8. THE RESOLUTION
 Samuel has an encounter with the British
and kills a man
 Family won’t return to the frontier
 The family goes to Philadelphia with adopted
daughter, Annie
 Start a school for orphan children

9. AUTHOR'S PURPOSE
 Gary Paulson wanted to show how brutal the
Revolutionary war actually was
 Over 4,000 men died in combat
 Many children became war orphans
 Most of the men died from disease
approximately 50,000
 Most of the soldiers were young
and untrained