Making Meaning ® Teacher’s Manual Unit 8 WA4 © Center for the Collaborative Classroom Unit 1 Summary of A River Ran Wild The book A River Ran Wild by Lynne Cherry tells the story of the Nashua River, a river that ran wild through forests filled with animals. A group of native people settled near the river and named it Nash-a-way, which means River with the Pebbled Bottom. These people lived in peace until white settlers arrived and began taking more of the land for themselves. The two groups fought and the native people were driven from the land. Over the years, factories were built that polluted the river, killing the animals and turning the water murky and smelly. After years of neglect, two people decided to do something to save the Nashua River. Their efforts led to the passing of new laws that stopped factories from polluting the river. Slowly the Nashua’s current cleaned the river, and once again, a river runs wild.