A Week in the Woods

Andrew Clements is a prolific middle-grade author whose first book, Frindle, was published in 1996 and received widespread praise from children, parents, and educators alike. It began Clements’s long career in writing, which continues to this day and which has resulted in over 80 children’s and middle-grade books so far. Most of Clements’s middle-grade titles focus on real life issues that children of his intended audience experience, such as facing the prospect of middle school, navigating new friendships, and overcoming family issues. A Week in the Woods focuses on these central themes even as it takes the characters out of the tame, everyday world and into the New Hampshire wilderness.

Clements developed his love of both reading and the outdoors from his experiences spending summers at a lake cabin in Maine. Clements was also deeply influenced by both high school teachers and university instructors who encouraged his creative writing and helped to inspire his decision to write stories about teachers and their students.

Throughout the novel, it is clear that Clements was heavily influenced by the works of such writers as Gary Paulsen and Jack London, for their novels make cameo appearances in Mark’s adventures; thus, Clements makes sure to pay homage to the writers who inspired his own novels.