Slowly, David opened his eyes and looked around the horizon, wincing again with the new movement. There was nothing sticking above the water as far...
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reviews
May 10, 2010
Sarah
rated it: 
Fiction:
Gary Paulsen seems to have a common theme in his novels. Or at least his theme carries over from Hatchet to The Voyage of the Frog. In this novel, David is a young man, struck by the death of his beloved Uncle Owen. Together they had sailed the Pacific. But when Owen dies, David's grief manifests itself in anger and reckless adventurism. He ends up sailing by himself and gets washed 300 miles from his home with no one to help him survive or navigate his way home.
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Gary Paulsen seems to have a common theme in his novels. Or at least his theme carries over from Hatchet to The Voyage of the Frog. In this novel, David is a young man, struck by the death of his beloved Uncle Owen. Together they had sailed the Pacific. But when Owen dies, David's grief manifests itself in anger and reckless adventurism. He ends up sailing by himself and gets washed 300 miles from his home with no one to help him survive or navigate his way home.
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Dec 05, 2011
Gordon
rated it: 
The Voyage of the Frog is the story of young David who, upon his dead uncle's wishes, went out to sea to spread his uncle's ashes. David gets caught up in the moment and sails without taking the necessary precautions. A freak storm hits David and sends him many miles off course. David encounters serious hazards such as an oil tanker and a great white shark. Overall this book was very good, especially the ending. It was a little slow in parts; part of the appeal for me was to learn ocean sur
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Mar 29, 2009
Austin
rated it: 
This book was about a boy named David, his uncle Owen gets cancer and asks him to scatter his ashes far out at sea where land is not visible when he dies. Owen always took David sailing earlier in Davids life, so David does his last wish, sails out scatters his uncles ashes and a storm strikes knocking david off course. he floats a few days without wind. His boat is attacked by a shark. When the wind finally picks up he nearly collides with a oil tanker, sees a pack of killer whales, and a pod o
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Apr 19, 2010
Julie
rated it:
David is a fourteen year-old that tries to fulfill his dead uncle's last wish by spreading his ashes out to sea. David takes off in the night to do this deed and is later met with a horrific storm that throws him way off course. This is a typical Gary Paulsen novel. One of struggle and survival. In the end, David realizes that he is capable of more than he ever thought. He also realizes that he and "The Frog" (sail boat) have become one and he will never leave it. A good book for
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Dec 08, 2011
Katie
rated it:
David is a 14 year old boy who is given a sailboat and decides to take a sail across the sea. He runs into a bad storm which causes him to get lost. The color of his boat in the moonlight causes a shark to attack the boat, he comes across killer whales, and he runs into a whale research boat who offers to take him home without his boat. David refuses but tries to sail back home. I would use this book to discuss the parts of a sail becuase it provides the details in the back and also discuss the
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Jan 22, 2012
Shaley
rated it: 
This book is about bravery. It is about a boy that gets lost at sea and finds himself and courage while he is out there. He goes through a lot of things, and in the end doesnt leave his sail boat to get home the easy way. The only thing I didnt like about this book was it took a long time for it to get going and if you dont know about sail boats its a little hard to follow at first, with a lot of descriptions about the boat.
Dec 06, 2011
Ramanda
rated it:
This book is about a young boy who loses his uncle to cancer. His uncle has asked him to take his ashes out to sea and spread them in the water. David gets caught in an unforseen storm and is lost at sea. He faces the elements with limited food and water. Wiil he find his way home? Read the book to find out!
I would use this book in my classroom with a lesson on the ocean and the dangerous, fun, and creatures that inhabit it!
I would use this book in my classroom with a lesson on the ocean and the dangerous, fun, and creatures that inhabit it!
Jan 29, 2012
Lindsey
rated it:
When David's uncle Owen dies, David is asked to scatter Owen's ashes into the Pacific Ocean. David sets sail on his boat, the Frog. Along the way, he faces many challenges after a severe storm leaves him battered and off course. While David is stranded at sea, he realizes how many things he takes for granted. I found this book to kind of hard to follow because I am very unfamiliar with boat terms.
Dec 01, 2011
Stephanie
rated it:
After David's uncle Owen dies, he leave Davis the task of laying his ashes to rest. Owen leaves David his boat, the Frog, and ask him to go out to see till he can no longer see land. Everything is going to plan until a huge storm nearly destroys David and the Frog. David hopes Owen taught him enough before he died to be able to make it home.
Mar 09, 2011
Matthew.hoffman
rated it:
I thought the book was a well put together book. My favorite part of the book was that it was more of a mystery kind. One of the books mysteries was when you didn't know what was going to happen after a 14 year old boy named David was blown away by a big storm while spreading his uncles ashes into the water off of the boat he was willed.
Nov 28, 2011
Hillari
rated it:
I'm wanting to say 3.5 stars for this one. I read it in one evening and quite enjoyed it. I did question the uncle's wisdom in making such a request of his nephew (his final request was for the boy to take his ship out to sea all by himself to do an important job for him)--it seemed it bit too much to ask of a 14 year old boy.
Oct 28, 2009
Ty
rated it:
This is a kids book, but it made a huge impact on my life. It's the only kids book I can recall the events of enough to post it here on goodreads.com. I think I was in seventh grade when I read this. A simple story but a good one. It probably influenced me more than I realize.
Dec 10, 2011
Rose
rated it:
This book is about a little boy who gets lost in sea on his uncle's boat "The Frog". It is an adventurous story of how the boy survived by himself stranded on this boat for several days. This would be a fun read for older children; they could guess what is going to happen next.
Dec 11, 2011
Dayna
rated it:
David's Uncle Owen died and left him a boat named "The Frog". David takes the boat out to give his uncle's ashes to the sea. Next thing he knows he's blown off course by a storm and must learn to survive on the open sea. An adventure tale Paulsen fans will love.
Apr 07, 2010
Dean
rated it:
If you've ever read Hatchet, you will recognize this story. Not quite "Hatchet on the ocean," but close. A survival story definitely. Paulsen does a decent job of teaching about the sailboat, and used a lot of related jargon, although he does explain as he goes.
Jul 04, 2009
I read this in my reading class. It was fun to see a boy take on a completely exciting adventure when he got to use the boat his uncle left him. There was a difference between what he expected and what actually happened. It was pretty exciting.
Feb 02, 2012
Logan
rated it:
Quick read. Appropriate for 4th/5th grade. Dealing with the loss of a loved one,fulfilling tasks that people expect you to do. Overcoming stressful situations, even if your not completely confident in what you know.
Jun 26, 2011
Clint
rated it:
A fan of Gary Paulsen books, this one is a little different than most of his works. Main character (young boy) is faced with a problem where the threat of survival is happening (plot). No dogs in this story though.
Jan 22, 2011
Dotty
rated it:
It was supposed to be a simple labor of love. David would sail out of sight of the shore and scatter the ashes of his Uncle Owen. But David hadn’t planned on a killer storm, sharks, whales, wind, and little food.
Jul 26, 2011
Marie
rated it:
I expected more from this book. It was just too short. I wanted him to have to fish and other things to survive like Brian did in Hatchet. I liked Hatchet so much better than this one.
Jul 07, 2011
Allison
rated it:
Another daring adventure by Gary Paulsen...I have read a few of his other books and enjoyed them. Quick, entertaining and educational read. Hard to put down at the end!
Mar 19, 2009
Art
rated it:
The life of a young man who follows the wish of his uncle and sails off on his own.
Great survivalist and joy of the ocean story.
Great survivalist and joy of the ocean story.
Jan 18, 2012
Sara Loves China So Much Aru~
rated it:
This book was amazing. I absolutely loved it, Gary Paulsen is one of my favorite authors and I hope others will read this book too.
Oct 06, 2011
I was reading it in 5th grade but it didn't seem interesting
so far I'm going to start chapter 4 and i still don't change my mind
so far I'm going to start chapter 4 and i still don't change my mind
Feb 05, 2012
Koqua
rated it:
it was good. i really liked it. the way he turns his hate into a promise to get home helped him, i liked it.
Apr 27, 2010
Rebekah
rated it:
A boy and his boat, lost at sea. Quick read, in the same realm as My Side of the Mountain.
Mar 26, 2010
Kassie
rated it:
Another good survival bookk.....will try to use for Rappin' Readers' Book club.
Dec 29, 2009
Lorelei
rated it:
I found this to be a real disappointment, even though the ending is simply wonderful. Worth reading the whole book to get the wonderful ending? I don't know.
