The Cookcamp — Gary Paulsen

In 1944 a little boy is sent to stay with his grandmother. Grandma cooks for nine men who are building a road from Minnesota to Canada.

Living in the forest is a great adventure. The little boy helps his grandmother, who gives him her love and delicious things to eat. He plays outdoors each day, and the huge men at the camp give him rides in their trucks and tractors. If only he had his mother. It's hard to be brave with his father fighting in the war and his mother far away in Chicago. Grandma understands his feelings. Can she find a way to help him to return home?