A Week in the Woods

Written by Andrew Clements, A Week in the Woods is a middle-grade realistic survival fiction novel originally published in 2002. It is part of the Hardy Elementary collection of books by the same author. It focuses on the initially antagonistic relationship between an upper-class fifth grader named Mark and his classist science teacher, Bill Maxwell. The novel explores how the two characters eventually come to forgive and understand one another when they must help each other survive their mutual adversary: the New Hampshire wilderness. Mark has always been wealthy, but he doesn’t feel truly rich until he discovers his inner courage and his ability to adapt to new environments. A Week in the Woods was awarded the Iowa Children’s Choice Award in 2004-2005, the Keystone to Reading Book Award in 2005, and the Children’s Choices ILA/CBC Award.

This guide utilizes the First Aladdin Paperbacks 2004 edition of the novel.

Plot Summary

A Week in the Woods opens as Mr. Bill Maxwell, the science teacher at Hardy Elementary School in Whitson, New Hampshire, begins preparations for the week-long excursion that he hosts for all the fifth-grade students each year: a week-long camping trip to Gray’s Notch State Park. Mr. Maxwell’s main values are environmentalism and scientific inquiry, and he finds the excursion to be a perfect combination of these two themes. Meanwhile, Mark Robert Chelmsley, an upper-class fifth-grade boy living in Scarsdale, New York, prepares to move to Whitson with his nannies, Leon and Anya. Mark’s parents are away on a business trip, which is a very frequent occurrence, and Mark is sullen at the idea of moving again after finally feeling settled somewhere. Before getting in the car, he puts a penny under the radiator in his room as a sign that he was there, then holds his head high as he travels to Whitson, never looking back. Arriving at his new house in Whitson proves to be an exciting new chapter in Mark’s life, for the house is a massive property that includes a much older farmhouse portion and a brand-new addition that spans most of the land. Mark finds the history of the land and house to be fascinating, and the natural landscape entrances him immediately. Still, he feels reluctant to fully immerse himself in his new environment because he believes he will only be spending a few months in Whitson before heading to a private school called Runyon Academy.

Consequently, Mark makes a poor first impression at Hardy Elementary as he refuses to engage in classes, resists completing his assignments, and disengages from his peers. Mr. Maxwell quickly judges Mark to be spoiled and lazy and decides that the boy stands as the antithesis of his own personal values.

One day in science class, Mr. Maxwell decides to use the Hindenburg disaster to teach the class about the various gases that compose air. When Mark reveals the entire surprise ending to the experiment, Mr. Maxwell is irritated, but he is nonetheless glad to see Mark participating. The interaction gives Mr. Maxwell hope that Mark will improve his attitude. When he tells Mark about the week in the woods, however, Mark pretends not to be interested, taking the permission forms and leaving without saying much at all. Mr. Maxwell is shocked by his apparent lack of interest: an unprecedented response.

When Mark gets home from school, he immediately rushes outside to enjoy the land and let go of the weight of the day. When Mark’s parents come home to visit, Mark relishes the elusive feeling of his family being together, but his parents soon leave again. One afternoon, when Mark goes trudging out in the deep snow and gets soaked, Leon teaches him how to snowshoe. This becomes the first of many lessons in Mark’s journey toward becoming a true outdoor survivalist.

Mark gets his own snowshoes and spends most of his evenings and weekends exploring and learning to endure the harsh weather. He also explores the interior of the barn and finds countless artifacts. Spending so much time on his own makes Mark feel strong, independent, and truly rich for the first time in his life. When Mark asks if he can spend the night in the barn by himself, Anya initially refuses, but Leon trusts that Mark will be able to handle the challenge. When Mark reads Jack London stories as entertainment before bedding down in the barn, the stories scare him, and he eventually finds himself worrying about creatures and killers coming after him. Rather than being overcome by fear, Mark reminisces about fun childhood memories with his mother. He misses his mother and her constant presence when he was young. Mark also thinks about school and Mr. Maxwell and decides to give Hardy Elementary another chance next week.

On Monday morning, Mark is determined to walk into school as a different person. He inserts himself into a group of boys and manages to make a fast friend in a student named Jason, but his teachers seem to have already written him off as a troublemaker. Each teacher targets him in a different way, either by ignoring him or by punishing him for excelling. When Mark gives Mr. Maxwell his permission form for the camping trip, Mr. Maxwell takes it without more than a few words and tells himself that Mark doesn’t deserve a second chance.

By springtime, Mark is making more friends at school and loves science class, despite being ignored by Mr. Maxwell. He finds the lessons intriguing and memorable. When Mark’s parents come for another visit, he gives them a tour of the property, proudly explaining his night alone in the barn. After they’re gone, Mark and Leon have a campout under the stars, and Mark decides that he wants to spend as much time in nature as possible. He asks for permission to purchase some camping gear and spends over $1000 on a sleeping bag, a backpack, a flashlight, a knife, and a fire starter. In the week leading up to the camping trip, each teacher executes a special assignment related to camping or the outdoors, and Mark is amazed at the sense of community and togetherness that results. When Mr. Maxwell blatantly ignores him in class, he suddenly realizes that Mr. Maxwell is punishing him on purpose and resolves to earn Mr. Maxwell’s respect by becoming a true outdoors person.

On the day of the trip, Mark boards the bus and sits across from Jason. When they arrive at the park, Mark and Jason are both assigned to the Raven’s Nest cabin. They gather firewood, and then the whole grade competes in a massive scavenger hunt. That afternoon, Jason shows Mark his multitool, a prohibited item. Mr. Maxwell sees the item in Mark’s hand, assumes that he must be its owner, and tells Mark to pack his things to go home. Mark silently takes the blame for the knife despite Jason’s offer to disclose the truth. Mr. Maxwell goes to talk to another teacher and soon starts to question whether his biases against wealthy people have led him to treat Mark too harshly. He complains about Mark’s attitude to the ranger, who argues that the knife was probably an innocent mistake.

When Mr. Maxwell is on the phone trying to reach Mark’s parents, the ranger notices Jason’s name on the knife, and suddenly Mr. Maxwell feels embarrassed, but he does not realize the true gravity of his mistake until he discovers that Mark is gone. He learns that Mark headed up the mountain alone, and Mr. Maxwell races up after him, tracking Mark’s footprints in the snow. Meanwhile, Mark starts to worry about ruining the camping trip for his peers and decides to start heading back to camp using a longer, winding trail to let Mr. Maxwell worry a little while longer. Mr. Maxwell is horrified to find that Mark has chosen a closed and eroded trail, but he chases after him, concerned about what might happen if night falls before they make it back to camp. Mark heads down the trail, listening to the increasing wind rustling the trees. He finds the portion of eroded trail, and rather than continuing through it, decides to cut back down toward a different part of the trail after checking his map and compass. He soon becomes tired from trudging through the brush and soon becomes lost. He retraces his steps and hears Mr. Maxwell’s call, but Mark is still angry at him and runs the other way. He quickly realizes his foolish mistake and yells for Mr. Maxwell, but his calls and whistles do not seem to be heard. He tries to head back toward the voice he heard before but gets lost again. Mark takes out his flashlight and tries to find the trail but resigns himself to setting up camp for the night instead. He finds a slab of rock and quickly makes a fire and sets up a bed, proud to have done everything on his own.

In the middle of the night, Mark awakens to a loud noise and soon sees Mr. Maxwell standing before him with an injured ankle. Mark helps Mr. Maxwell to sit down, covers him in blankets, and prepares a new fire. He offers Mr. Maxwell some snacks and water, and Mr. Maxwell slowly starts to feel better. He explains that he was running after Mark and fell, pinning his foot under a rock. He had to use the multitool to saw at a tree and pry himself free. Mr. Maxwell apologizes to Mark for mistreating him and misjudging him and admits that he understands why Mark ran away. He sees a basic goodness in Mark and tells himself not to forget it.

Together, Mr. Maxwell and Mark head back to camp in the dark and make it back by the late morning. The others are relieved to see them, and after a hearty breakfast, Mr. Maxwell warmly leaves Mark to go to tend to his injured ankle. Mark enjoys the rest of the week with his peers, exploring, learning, and developing courage and independence. When the trip is over, Mark returns to school and is greeted by Leon and Anya, who take him home. He calls his parents and hears their concerns over his night on the mountain, but then tells them that he wants to stay and live in Whitson. His parents promise to discuss it when they come home. Mark asks his dad to bring the penny from the Scarsdale house when they come, and Mark’s dad tells him how proud he is. Mark feels like he’s changing for the better and looks forward to becoming more and more independent.