The spirit bear book series by ben mikaelsen includes books touching spirit bear and ghost of spirit bear. To survive, he must stop blaming others and take responsibility for his life. In the novel touching spirit bear, the main character, cole matthews, is banished to an island in alaska. The spirit bear a mystic bear living on the alaskan island. Touching spirit bear introduces readers to the setting right awaya remote island off the coast of alaska where cole matthews must spend a year while trying to reform himself and repent for his crimes. Touching spirit bear chapter 1 cole matthews knelt defiantly in the bow of the aluminum chapter 2 the heavy load of supplies caused the skiff to wallow chapter 3 cole stared sullenly into the fire, then let his gaze chapter 4 by the time cole paused to catch his breath, he chapter 5 once clear of the bay, cole swam even harder.
Greek, and latin, through bible and prayer book, sermon and tract. The terrain is hilly and there are some forest areas. What is the setting for touching spirit bear answers. Borrow ebooks, audiobooks, and videos from thousands of public libraries worldwide.
Im going to describe the amazing setting from touching spirit bear. While waiting for the courts decision cole, the boy, was kept in a detention center. In the novel touching spirit bear, the setting reflects the main characters internal state of being. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world. The time and place where the story is taking place. There it is rainy and wet almost all the time with strong storms and high winds often.
It is believed that it is a ghost bear or a god like bear, hence the name, because this bear is spiritual. There, he is mauled by a mysterious white bear of native american legend. His novels have been nominated for and won many state readers choice awards. The main guy is a boy who has anger issues and ends up beating a friend severely. Touching spirit bear is a book about a very angry and abused fifteen year old who is facing a prison sentence for attacking and injuring a fellow ninethgrder. The three parts of the setting of touching spirit bear im going to talk about will be the time, location, and mood of the novel. Touching spirit bear cole matthews sits on a boat with handcuffs on because hes agreed to spend a whole year in southeast alaska in order to avoid jail in his hometown of minneapolis. Japanese proverb contents epigraph part one touching spirit bear chapter 1. Touching spirit bear setting ben mikaelsen this study guide consists of approximately 49 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of touching spirit bear. Touching spirit bear is a pretty simple book to follow in terms of writing style and vocabulary, but it does deal with some very heavy issues. This is for the book touching spirit bear by ben mikaelsen.
Lets take a look at the different settings and what emotions are associated or personified by. Fifteenyearold cole is cocky, embittered, and eaten up by anger at his abusive parents. Cole thinks he is unwanted and feels like a piece of trash because his father beats him and his mother never seems to care or help. Clearly this is a kid who has done some very bad things. What is the importance of the setting in touching spirit bear. During one of his adventures, simon is attacked by an animal and, out of nowhere, a kermode bear appears and rescues him.
Its giving him a bunch of trouble at first but then the island starts to help him. Cole strained at the cuffs even though he had agreed to wear them until he was freed on the island to begin his banishment. When i saw this moving, i thought it had to do with the book. What are the settings in touching spirit bear answers. In the book touching spirit bear the setting is on a isolated southwestern alaskan island. The island helped him with the mental endurance that this takes. This is about approximately 3 minutes and 20 seconds.
The main setting of touching spirit bear is on a southwestern alaskan island. Ben mikaelsen is the winner of the international reading association award and the western writers of america spur award. Ketchikan is wellknown for its salmon and was originally a fishing village. Im supossed to write about 17 examples of the the setting in the book. Coles parole officer offers him an alternativecircle justice, an. Ben mikaelsen considered buffy a 750pound member of my family. It is hard to meet and it doesnt try to hurt human unless human attack first. In this lesson, well explore how cole changes throughout the novel, growing from an angry, disaffected youth to a more. Jun 07, 2010 this isnt a real trailer for a movie, its for my school project. From all this it results that there is scarcely a language ever spoken among men that has not some representative in english speech. Quiz about the ben michaelsen book, touching spirit bear. My middle school grades 58 class read the book, touching spirit bear. To repine against the nature of things, and against the great fundamental law of all society because, in consequence of my own want of foresight, it happens to bear heavily on me, would be the basest and most absurd of selfishness trevelyan 1876. Honestly i chose the book because it sounded inkteresting but it was him on the ground half the book and.
Cole matthews knew what he did was wrong but the anger deep inside him kept him on this path. A book about mistakes, and anger, healing and forgiveness. So while it should be a novel that most readers can get through, the thematic issueslike child abuse, violence, and mortalitymight not be appropriate for young or sensitive readers. After i read this book i really just wanted to read more. The hard lessons learned over the years were ones i wanted to share with todays teenagers. His presence on the island is almost mythical since spirit bears are supposed to live somewhere southeast of the island. Whatever you do to the animals, you do to yourself. In this lesson, you will explore how the setting of ben mikaelsens novel touching spirit bear mirrors the main characters emotional states, ranging from the turbulence of a storm to the. The boy is mauled and then healed by the touch of the spirit bear who is perhaps a reflection of the worldspirit or god.
All in all, this was an amazing read and i recommend it to all. The most significant encompassing layer of the setting is the island near the village of drake in alaska. This is a long way of explaining that touching spirit bear is the book i wished i could have read when i was adolescent. Spirit bears are easily recognized by their white fur, but, contrary to common belief, theyre not albinostheyre actually a rare subspecies of the black bear, born with a genetic mutation that gives them white coats. The islands mountains and lakes make a perfect habitat for bears and wolves. When i received my package in the mail i was exited to start reading. See the complete spirit bear series book list in order, box sets or omnibus editions, and companion titles. Touching spirit bear is a book that is about a boy named cole that was evil and mean child becoming a nice and helpful child by the spirit bear asked in touching spirit bear what are cause and. Touching spirit bear quotes by ben mikaelsen goodreads. If a book doesnt have an amazing setting, it will not be a good book. Copy of touching spirit bear chapter questions with answers. Also it helps him on all off the problem that he had at home.
Touching spirit bear is the title and it is by ben mikaelsen this is not a copy of the book it is a poem off the title for the contest. Although an animal, the spirit bear is a truly central character in this novel. Troubled teen meets totemic catalyst in mikaelsens petey, 1998, etc. Based on a true story, spirit bear follows 15yearold simon jackson, an outcast who spends time alone in the british columbia wilderness.
Ben mikaelsen owned a male american black bear named buffy for 26 years until the bear s death in september 2010. Touching spirit bear is a book that is about a boy named cole that was evil and mean child becoming a nice and helpful child by the spirit bear. There may also be rabbits, rats, and moose as food for predators. The setting is important to the events in the story because if cole hadnt gone to the island, he wouldnt have been able to tame his anger or make things right. In the novel, touching spirit bear, the main character, cole matthews is sent to live on a remote island off the coast of ketchikan, which is a small town near the southern border of alaska. Touching spirit bear chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 summary and. You know, the stuff you just told me makes more sense than all the weird things the counselors and psychologist have told me in school and at the detention center. The bear may be a spirit, but deadly to people, the spirit of the bear will remain. The question and answer section for touching spirit bear is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. At fifteen, cole matthews has been fighting and stealing for years. Touching spirit bear ben mikaelsen dedication this book is dedicated to buffy, a sevenhundredpound black bear who has become my own spirit bear. Its the same genetic mutation that gives humans red hair. Touching spirit bear is a novel by ben mikaelsen in which cole matthews must fend for himself on an island for one year as penance for assaulting a boy named peter. Touching spirit bear a poem by punkgirl12893 all poetry.
See the complete spirit bear series book list in order, box sets or. In his napra nautilus awardwinning novel touching spirit bear, author ben mikaelson delivers a poignant comingofage story of a boy who must overcome the effects that violence has had on his life. He taught me to be gentle and that i, too, am part of the circle. Hes unrepentant and even though he is facing serious jail time, his kindly parole officer, a man named garvey, gets him into this native american justice program called circle justice. Instead of being about a fictional book, its true story about the power one student can have in saving a species of bear.
Dec 05, 2015 this video is about my book report about this book. Theres a book in with the supplies to study if you want to learn what is. What follows is a tale of justice and redemption in the wilderness of an island. Copy of the watsons go to birmingham1963 character chart. Dedication thisbookisdedicatedtobuffy, asevenhundredpoundblackbearwho hasbecomemyownspiritbear. After repeated skirmishes with the law, he finally faces jail time when he viciously beats a classmate. Ben mikaelsons book touching spirit bear was truly magnificent. The setting of the novel touching spirit bear has multiple layers. Cole matthews is the main character of the novel touching spirit bear. What is the setting in touching spirit bear answers.
While he is there, he experiences intense feelings of anger, loneliness, and desperation. After severely injuring peter driscal in an empty parking lot, mischiefmaker cole matthews is in major trouble. In his napra nautilus awardwinning novel touching spirit bear, author ben. People feel trust when they touch the bear s head, but so far only cole get to. Touching spirit bear story setting authorbenmikaelsen. Touching spirit bear 2001 red midnight 2002 tree girl 2004 ghost of spirit bear 2008 jungle of bones 2014 awards and honors. Cole matthews is a teenage delinquent whos in big trouble for beating up a kid named peter driscal.
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