A Week in the Woods, by Andrew Clements

Eleven-year-old Mark Chelmsley moves into rural New Hampshire's Hardy Elementary School with just weeks left of the school year. Mark is indifferent towards his new school and classmates because his wealthy absentee parents plan to enroll Mark in a private school the following year. Mark's attitude causes his teacher, Mr. Maxwell, to view him as a slacker and a spoiled rich kid. Mark spends his non-school hours on a solo discovery of the New Hampshire countryside. He reluctantly attends Mr. Maxwell's prized environmental camp. The week proves to be a test of will and ultimately a test of survival as Mark Chelmsley and Mr. Maxwell are transformed by A Week in the Woods. (New Hampshire Great Stone Face Committee)