# Help me ID a juvenile book about a caveman? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2003, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695 "2003-03-12T00:22:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/1 "2003-03-12T00:22:37Z")
My sister and I are trying to remember the title of a book we read when growing up. There was a caveman(name forgotten) who was exiled from his tribe. He teamed up with a cavewoman, who I think was injured. Learns about living in one place and not wandering, discovers how to tame a dog(wolf?), learns how to smoke meat, makes a bow, etc. “Cave” may have been in the title. His former tribe asks why he doesn’t wander and at the end he says there is no need. Slim information I know, but things like this can drive you nuts! Prize of a dozen cookies of your choice(I bake prefessionally) to the first person who can tell me what the book is. This question has also been posted on a “Stump the Bookseller” site(but the cookies are only for the SDMB!😃 ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/2 "2003-03-12T00:23:47Z")
I obviously don’t _spell_ pr_o_fessionally though. ---
**Author:** ![Donut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19adc/32.png) [@Donut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donut)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/3 "2003-03-12T00:54:06Z")
I’m going to suggest _Tonka, the Cave Boy_. According to my local library it “recounts the adventures of a boy living 8,000 years ago in an Alabama cave as he goes hunting, copes with the death of his father, and tames a wolf cub.” I suspect it’s a childrens book, since it is (according to the same source) only 63 pages. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/4 "2003-03-12T00:56:28Z")
Man, I wish I knew the answer. **COOKIES!!!** It reminded me of a couple books I read as a kid. The first was a kid on the farm, and a chicken laid a Triceratops egg somehow. In the sequel, the same kid is on an archeological dig in France and discovers a living caveman. Good books!!! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/5 "2003-03-12T01:02:29Z")
**Tonka, I don’t think that is it. This book we remember is a longer book. But thanks for the information.** **Revtim** , the book you mentioned, about the kid with the Triceratops, is The Enormous Egg , in case you want to look for it. I _loved_ that book as a kid, and I should send you cookies anyway because I did not know there was a sequel. ---
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/6 "2003-03-12T06:19:17Z")
The name of the Book if **Firehunter**. The copy I owned was a Scholastic paperback , with the caveman, in a loin cloth, holding a spear, crouched on an outcropping of rocks. One of my favorites that I periodically go looking for, but I haven’t quite decided to pay 20 or 30 bucks for it. It compresses the development of mankind into one generation, two people. He learns to hunt with a throwing stick, then moves up to a spear, then to bow and arrows (they take over a cave-bear’s cave, and then have to defend it from another tribe that wants it, so he learns to shoot at a distance). he also learns to hunt in quadrants (more or less), leaving some areas alone so the game will comeback–that’s one of the reasons he doesn’t have to move. She learns to weave baskets, and then to dip it into tar to make it waterproof, and gathering grains–not sure if they started planting it, though. I think they also discover garlic to make the meat taste better! ---
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/7 "2003-03-12T06:24:46Z")
Oh, and it’s by Jim Kjelgaard. I’m full service when I full of facts. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/8 "2003-03-12T06:47:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kallessa \* > \*\*It compresses the development of mankind into one generation, two people. He learns to hunt with a throwing stick, then moves up to a spear, then to bow and arrows (they take over a cave-bear’s cave, and then have to defend it from another tribe that wants it, so he learns to shoot at a distance). he also learns to hunt in quadrants (more or less), leaving some areas alone so the game will comeback–that’s one of the reasons he doesn’t have to move. She learns to weave baskets, and then to dip it into tar to make it waterproof, and gathering grains–not sure if they started planting it, though. I think they also discover garlic to make the meat taste better! \*\* And they made a movie about this and called it _Caveman_, starring Ringo Starr and Shelley Long. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/9 "2003-03-12T13:55:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Baker \* > **Revtim** , the book you mentioned, about the kid with the Triceratops, is The Enormous Egg , in case you want to look for it. I _loved_ that book as a kid, and I should send you cookies anyway because I did not know there was a sequel. I don’t think I liked the sequel as much as the original. For some reason I was able to buy a chicken laying a dinosaur egg more easily than a caveman living today. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/10 "2003-03-12T13:57:07Z")
**DING!DING!DING!DING!DING!** We have a winner! Many thanks to **Kallessa** for Firehunter. I _knew_ if I posted on the SDMB I would get an answer, and it came within six hours too! So, **Kallessa** , where do I send the cookiess to? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/11 "2003-03-12T13:58:33Z")
Do you want cookies too, **Revtim**? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/12 "2003-03-12T14:22:22Z")
Is that a trick question? I’d love some cookies! I’ll email you my address. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/13 "2003-03-12T16:11:19Z")
**Donut** , I should offer you cookies to since you tried. Want some? ---
**Author:** ![SnugTheJoiner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@SnugTheJoiner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnugTheJoiner)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/14 "2003-03-12T16:42:13Z")
Just a quick note to all of you out there who don’t want to pay [Alibris.com](http://Alibris.com) a zillion dollars to reread a book that you loved in your youth: Most public libraries have an Intelibrary Loan service. For a few bucks–or maybe for free!–they’ll do an online search of other lending libraries and have a copy of the book you want sent to your branch. I use this service all the time to find long-lost books I loved when i was younger. Oh, and I hope that everyone remembers that Jim Kjelgaard also wrote BIG RED! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/15 "2003-03-12T16:49:14Z")
**Help me ID a juvenile book about a caveman?** …and here I was gonna guess “Bush at War” by Bob Woodward…:smack: ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/16 "2003-03-12T17:29:46Z")
huh, what? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/17 "2003-03-12T18:34:05Z")
As long as I’m here there is _another_ Stone Age book I would like to find. It combines the past with the present. A family of explorers(may have been two families) is looking around in a big cave. Down in a tunnel, wedged in the rock, is a body of an Archyopteryx(spelling wrong for sure) one of those feathered bird/lizards. Thing is, the body is fresh, when it should be fossilized. Going further into the cleft/tunnel in the rock,(a cave in may have helped hurry them along) they find an underground world. Cavepeople and dinosaurs co-exist. I remember them witnessing a ceremony which is supposed to ward off the big flesh-eaters. Once the tribe they become acquainted with is attacked by a T-Rex. Eventually the explorers get back to civilization, but I don’t remember how. Anyone know what this book is? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/18 "2003-03-12T21:31:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh, and I hope that everyone remembers that Jim Kjelgaard also wrote BIG RED! And a sequel to BIG RED, whose name I can’t recall. I wish I saw this thread earlier - I knew the book the instant I read the thread title. Remember, he also discovers poisoned arrows, when a snake bites the head of one of his arrows. Kjelgard also wrote one about an Australian aborigine, whose name I can’t recall either. Tough getting old. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/19 "2003-03-13T18:13:56Z")
I’m going to bump this just once, so my _second_ book request has a little more time, the book about an inner world with dinosaurs and cavepeople coexisting. ---
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695/20 "2003-03-13T18:22:19Z")
**Baker** I’m a baker, too, so why don’t you take my batch of cookies to your local fire station (they can still accept cookies, can’t they?), or a homeless shelter. I don’t mean to sound Mother Teresa-ish or anything, but I hate to see a batch of cookies needing a home. Sorry I can’t help with the second book. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-juvenile-book-about-a-caveman/160695.md?page=2)