Who are the characters in Andrew Clements' A Week in the Woods?

The two most important characters in Andrew Clements' A Week in the Woods are the two protagonists, Mark Robert Chelmsley and Mr. Maxwell. A protagonist is a character that battles the conflict, or problem, in the story and changes as the story progresses.Markis the kid of wealthy parents and has just moved from Scarsdale, New York, to a farmhouse his parents renovated into a mansion in New Hampshire. At first, having loved...

The two most important characters in Andrew Clements' A Week in the Woods are the two protagonists, Mark Robert Chelmsley and Mr. Maxwell. A protagonist is a character that battles the conflict, or problem, in the story and changes as the story progresses.

Mark is the kid of wealthy parents and has just moved from Scarsdale, New York, to a farmhouse his parents renovated into a mansion in New Hampshire. At first, having loved Scarsdale, Mark hates New Hampshire and is unimpressed by his surroundings and even more unimpressed by the public school he must now attend. Having been in elite private schools all his life, he knows far more than his fellow fifth graders at the public school. Since he hates his surroundings so much, he begins acting out. However, he begins exploring his surroundings, especially the woods around his new home. The more he explores the woods, the more he loves them. He also has a moment of self-realization:

I've been acting like  stuck-up jerk. (p. 66)

After this moment, he begins making friends and behaving differently in class.

Mr. Maxwell is Hardy Elementary School's fifth-grade science teacher. He's a true outdoorsman and loves teaching. Since he was an Eagle Scout in his youth, he is also passionate about motivation. Hence, when Mark arrives as the new kid at school and is very withdrawn socially and nonparticipatory in class, Mr. Maxwell is very quick to judge Mark: "This new boy was a slacker" (p. 21). Mr. Maxwell's premature and unforgiving judgements of Mark form the basis of the story's conflict, and both Mark and Mr. Maxwell grow as a result.

Another important character includes Jason, whom Mark befriends. Mark especially spends a lot of time with Jason at the camp during the "A Week in the Woods" event, and Jason accidentally gets Mark into trouble by showing Mark his multitool. Other important characters include Mark's wealthy parents, Robert and Eloise Chelmsley, who are hardly ever around, and Leon and Anya. Leon and Anya are a married Russian couple and the family's household employees, also given the responsibility of acting as Mark's caretakers. Leon is the Chelmsleys' handyman, while Anya is the housekeeper.