Autobiographical and of course, completely true tales (!) from Paulsen's own tween years. He and his friends attempt to break a world speed record on skis (on a frozen canal, towed by a car), try hang gliding with an army surplus kite, go over a waterfall in a barrel, and box a bear, among other feats. Oh, and go on a first date. Could be billed as the genesis of today's X-Games! Although some language may be challenging, at 110 pages, with some satisfyingly gross bits, this would be a good choice for reluctant readers.

I really like this book. It was really funny and reminded me of my mom for some reason.

Great book for boys 4-6th (or even 7th) grade. Action packed adventures of boys growing up in the 1950's-1960's. Gary, Ala, Wayne, Angel, Orvis and even Archie feel like fiction characters as they tell their unlikely stunts. Stories about Angel Peterson "skiing" behind a car going 82mph to break a world record, when in reality he was tied to the rope with his glove stuck in the thumbs up position. His friends thought he was doing great. Next, Emil pays $11 for a kite so he can "glide/fly." This story has lots of background information about silk parachutes and WWII that students may need to more information on to fully appreciate the story. Orvis -horribly named- is a daredevil of all sorts fighting a bear, jumping through a fire hoop on his bike and beating himself up before the bullies could get to him. This section is all about impressing girls, and has a little bit of racing language p. 100. These boys even hitch rides on their skateboards on the bumpers of cars! Finally, we hear from Harris - cousin from Harris and Me- and his bungee jumping barn incident. Overall, this story shows adolescent boys using their imaginations. Actively trying new things and being curious. (Not something you see kids trying today. What does that say for the inventors of the future?)

This week I started and finished the book How Angle Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulson. This book is about the childhood of Gary and his friends that end up doing some crazy things like fighting a bear, a real bear, for a minute just to impress a girl they all like bungee jumping through a wasps nest and so many other crazy things. I have never done anything like this in my life, as you could probably imagine. Although I would bet that my dad and uncle would have done things like this when they were younger. This is probably a fast paced book because you don't really get top know the characters that well. Even thought I can't relate to this book it is still a wonderfully funny book that I would give five stars!*****

Hilarious. My 6th graders will love it!

So funny. It made me nostalgic for a time in America that I never experienced, but at the same time it made me grateful for safety regulations we have in place now

I gladly call this book a biography of Gary Paulsen as well as for every male alive. Gary Paulsen, while writing of his life experiences particularly, captures the essence of every boy: an abundance of ideas and lack of prefrontal brain development. The biography begins with the title's story and describes how one movie preview + Carl Peterson's idea= Carl "Angel" Peterson. The book goes on from there to describe all the crazy things boys do from riding bikes through flaming hoops to wrestling a bear in a cage all because, in the infamous words of the country song, "the chicks dig it." I found myself laughing to the point of tears at certain stories. Having a younger brother myself, I related to the experiences (having seen my brother perform a few stupid stunts in his day) and came to the conclusion that all males, despite economic status, race, nationality, etc., come wired the same way...with a few short circuits! I would especially recommend this book to boys ages 10+ and feel even adult males would get a kick reliving the "good 'ole days" when being a menace to society was socially acceptable. You don't need your ab workout the day you read this book for you'll laugh your self sore!

From peeing on electric fences to setting records for speed and distance, these boys are lucky they made it into adulthood without any other serious mishaps. Angel Peterson wanted to set the new speed record for skiing, so he and his buddies outfit him at the local Army Surplus Store and then, since there are no hills in their small Minnesotan town, they decide to get the local cool teenage guy to get their skier up to speed by pulling him along behind the car. They get up to 80 miles an hour before things start to go wrong, starting with the sudden appearance of a gravel road.

This collection should appeal to reluctant readers, especially boys. These are real stories about some of the escapades boys have gotten themselves into, organized in short and zippy chapters. If you liked Ralphie in A Christmas Story, you’ll love these guys. This goes way beyond “you’ll shoot your eye out.” Tell your parents you’re going to try any of these stunts at home and find yourself grounded until you’re thirty. But, since no one was killed, we can all laugh at the nerve, the mishaps, and the shear stupidity of these boys.

Such a hilarious account of Gary Paulson’s childhood antics. I love seeing the other side to this author. This a very different style than the Brian series.

This is a non-fiction autobiographical account of Gary Paulsen when he was 13 years old. The book contains five short stories that Paulsen wrote about his 13th year where he tried extreme things with his friends in Minnesota. They are all hilarious and show keen insight into young boys. One of them, the funniest story, is what the title of the book is named after. It recounts Paulsen and his friends' attempt to ski behind an 80 mile per hour car. This book will relate to almost any make YA reader because it is so easy to relate to (i.e. there reference to a group of young men urinating in public...in this case, on an electric fence.) Female YA readers may bot connect to the book as well, but if they do read it, they will gain clear insight into why young men do some of the crazy things they do. This book is definitely tailored to a male YA audience, but I think that female readers would have some fun with it.

The book that I read for my book review is How Angel Peterson got his name by Gary Paulsen. In my opinion this book was fun to read although I was doing it for an assignment. This book also kept me wanting to read more and it kept me interested in what was going on in the book. How Angel Peterson Got His Name was about the author, Gary Paulsen and his friend, Carl “Angel” Peterson, and what they did during their childhood growing up in northern Minnesota as they went on wild adventures when they were just kids. In this book the author talks about most of the bold stunts him and his friends pulled off when they were only about 12 years old. For instance, in the story it talked about a stunt that Gary Paulsen tired where he attempted to ride over a river in a covered wooden pickle barrel, where he almost drowned. The author and his friends did all types of tricks like these. They also wrestled a bear, flew over a barn on a kite string, and his friend Carl also broke the world record for speed on skies.
tWhat is the genre of this book? The book’s genre falls under, biography, preteen/young adult memoir, and nonfiction. This book is a biography because it talked about the life of Gary Paulsen who is the author of this book, and his friend Carl “Angel” Peterson. I also think that this book falls under pre-teen and young adult, because the book cannot really relate or reach out to kids under the age of 10, because it talks about what Paulsen and his friends did when he was at the age of 10-13, like how they listened to certain music on the radio that the average 7 or 8 year old wouldn’t listen to.
tWhere is the setting in this book? The story takes place in southern Minnesota in the 1950s, back then in Minnesota, there were no TVs, so on Sunday’s they would go listen to the radio and hang out with some of their older friends. The book also had different settings throughout the book, like where Gary and Carl were at the river and were about to go down in a berall. These are some of the different settings in the book.

this book had me cracking up in tears as i read these stories from gary paulsen’s childhood. they are of a different era when there weren’t tv’s, when there was only one movie in the theater and it cost five cents to see, and when the best deals in town could be found at the army surplus. i’m not sure how much kids today would enjoy the book (gee, that makes me sound ancient!), but i got some giggles.