Book Lists

Best Selling Books by Gary Paulsen

Gary Paulsen is the author of Hatchet (1987), The River (2001), Harris and Me (1993), Woodsong (2007), Northwind (2022), Brian's Return (2007).

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Hatchet

release date: Jan 01, 1987
Hatchet
Haunted by his parents'' divorce and the secret that caused it, young Brian Robeson, the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness, must draw on untested skills and strength to survive.

The River

release date: Nov 13, 2001
The River
The government sends Brian back to the Canadian wilderness in this beloved follow-up to the award-winning classic Hatchet from three-time Newbery Honor-winning author Gary Paulsen! Two years after Brian Robeson survived fifty-four days alone in the Canadian wilderness, the government wants him to head back so they can learn what he did to stay alive. This time Derek Holtzer, a government psychologist, will accompany him. But a freak storm leaves Derek unconscious. Brian''s only hope is to transport Derek a hundred miles down the river to a trading post. He''s survived with only a hatchet before--now can Brian build a raft and navigate an unknown river? For the first time it''s not only Brian''s survival that''s at stake. . . An IRA-CBC Children’s Choice A Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year “Vividly written, a book that will, as intended, please the readers who hoped that Paulsen, like Brian, would ‘do it again.’” —Kirkus Reviews Read all the Hatchet Adventures! Brian''s Winter The River Brian''s Return Brian''s Hunt

Harris and Me

release date: Jan 01, 1993
Harris and Me
Sent to spend the summer with his uncle and aunt on their farm, an eleven-year-old city boy meets his daredevil cousin Harris and is given an introduction to a whole new world.

Woodsong

release date: May 08, 2007
Woodsong
Three-time Newbery Honor author Gary Paulsen recounts the remarkable experiences that shaped his life and inspired his award-winning novels in this vividly detailed nonfiction middle grade book. Gary Paulsen is no stranger to adventure. He has flown off the back of a dogsled and down a frozen waterfall to near disaster and waited for a giant bear to seal his fate with one slap of a claw. He has led a team of sled dogs toward the Alaskan Mountain Range in an Iditarod—the grueling, 1,180-mile dogsled race—hallucinating from lack of sleep but determined to finish. Discover the true stories behind his thrilling books in this incredible book.

Northwind

release date: Jan 11, 2022
Northwind
The stunning New York Times bestseller from three-time Newbery Honor winner and survival story master Gary Paulsen, whose books have sold over 35 million copies worldwide. Set centuries ago along a rugged coastline, Northwind does for the ocean what Hatchet does for the woods, as it relates the story of a young person’s battle to stay alive against the odds, where the high seas meet a northern wilderness. “Wondrous . . . A grand and worthy journey.” —The New York Times Book Review ★ “Destined to become another Paulsen classic.” —School Library Journal, starred review When a deadly plague reaches the small fish camp where he lives, an orphan named Leif is forced to take to the water in a cedar canoe. He flees northward, following a wild, fjord-riven shore, navigating from one danger to the next, unsure of his destination. Yet the deeper into his journey he paddles, the closer he comes to his truest self as he connects to “the heartbeat of the ocean . . . the pulse of the sea.” With hints of Nordic mythology and an irresistible narrative pull, Northwind is Gary Paulsen at his captivating, adventuresome best. More Accolades and Praise for Northwind: A “Best Book of the Year” from The New York Times ● Wall Street Journal ● Kirkus Reviews ● Publishers Weekly ★ “Beautifully written, it’s classic Paulsen at his best.” —Booklist, starred review ★ “A timeless and irresistible adventure that has resilience at its heart.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review ★ “[A] mesmerizing modern-day epic.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review Don’t miss Gary Paulsen’s other acclaimed books from Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers: his riveting memoir Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood and the father-son comedy How to Train Your Dad.

Brian's Return

release date: Dec 18, 2007
Brian's Return
Brian returns to the wilderness to discover where he truly belongs in this follow-up to the award-winning classic Hatchet from three-time Newbery Honor-winning author Gary Paulsen! As millions of readers of Hatchet, The River, and Brian''s Winter know, Brian Robeson survived alone in the wilderness by finding solutions to extraordinary challenges. But now that''s he''s back to ordinary life, he can''t make sense of high school life. He feels disconnected, more isolated than he did alone in the north woods. How can Brian discover his true path in life, and where he belongs? The answer is to return. Gay Paulsen skillfully explores the meaning of belonging and purpose, and reminds us of a crucial rule of the wilderness: expect the unexpected. “Bold, confident and persuasive.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred “Paulsen bases many of his protagonist’s experiences on his own, and the wilderness through which Brian moves is vividly observed.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Read all the Hatchet Adventures! Brian''s Winter The River Brian''s Return Brian''s Hunt

Brian's Winter

release date: Jan 01, 2012
Brian's Winter
In Hatchet, 13-year-old Brian Robeson learned to survive alone in the Canadian wilderness, armed only with his hatchet. He was rescued at the end of the summer. Brian''s Winterbegins where Hatchet might have ended: Brian is not rescued, but must build

The Winter Room

release date: Jun 24, 2014
The Winter Room
A Newbery Honor Book by the New York Times–bestselling author of Northwind. "A compelling description of farming in a bygone time." — Publishers Weekly ALA/YALSA Best Book for Young Adults ALA Notable Book for Children Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children''s Literature Following the turn of the seasons, eleven-year-old Eldon traces the daily routines of his life on a farm and his relationship with his older brother Wayne. During the winter, with little work to be done on the farm, Eldon and Wayne spend the quiet hours with their family, listening to their Uncle David''s stories. But Eldon soon learns that, although he has lived on the same farm, in the same house with his uncle for eleven springs, summers, and winters, he hardly knows him. "It is the palpable awareness of place and character that is unforgettable. Paulsen, with a simple intensity, brings to consciousness the texture, the smells, the light and shadows of each distinct season. He has penned a mood poem in prose." — School Library Journal "More a prose poem than a novel, this beautifully written evocation of a Minnesota farm perhaps 40 years ago consists of portraits of each of the four seasons, along with four brief stories told by old Uncle David." — Kirkus Reviews

Gone to the Woods

release date: Jan 12, 2021
Gone to the Woods
A mesmerizing memoir from three-time Newbery Honor–winning author Gary Paulsen—whose books have sold over 35 million copies worldwide—giving readers a new perspective on the origins of his blockbuster contemporary classic Hatchet and other famed survival stories. “Leaves you gritting your teeth and clutching the pages . . . Haunted me as a reader.” —The New York Times Book Review ★ “This literary treasure is written for book lovers of any age.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review His name is synonymous with high-stakes wilderness survival adventures. Now, beloved author Gary Paulsen portrays a series of life-altering moments from his turbulent childhood as his own original survival story. If not for his summer escape from a shockingly neglectful Chicago upbringing to a North Woods homestead at age five, there never would have been a Hatchet. Without the encouragement of the librarian who handed him his first book at age thirteen, he may never have become a reader. And without his desperate teenage enlistment in the Army, he would not have discovered his true calling as a storyteller. An entrancing and critically lauded account of grit and growing up, perfect for newcomers and lifelong fans alike, Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood is literary legend Gary Paulsen at his rawest and realest. Don’t miss Gary Paulsen’s other acclaimed books from Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers: the father-son comedy How to Train Your Dad and the page-turning survival adventure Northwind.

Guts

release date: Dec 18, 2007
Guts
Guess what -- Gary Paulsen was being kind to Brian. In Guts, Gary tells the real stories behind the Brian books, the stories of the adventures that inspired him to write Brian Robeson''s story: working as an emergency volunteer; the death that inspired the pilot''s death in Hatchet; plane crashes he has seen and near-misses of his own. He describes how he made his own bows and arrows, and takes readers on his first hunting trips, showing the wonder and solace of nature along with his hilarious mishaps and mistakes. He shares special memories, such as the night he attracted every mosquito in the county, or how he met the moose with a sense of humor, and the moose who made it personal. There''s a handy chapter on "Eating Eyeballs and Guts or Starving: The Fine Art of Wilderness Nutrition." Recipes included. Readers may wonder how Gary Paulsen survived to write all of his books -- well, it took guts.

Nightjohn

release date: Jan 01, 1995
Nightjohn
"To know things, for us to know things, is bad for them. We get to wanting and when we get to wanting it''s bad for them. They thinks we want what they got . . . . That''s why they don''t want us reading." --Nightjohn "I didn''t know what letters was, not what they meant, but I thought it might be something I wanted to know. To learn." -- Sarny Sarny, a female slave at the Waller plantation, first sees Nightjohn when he is brought there with a rope around his neck, his body covered in scars. He had escaped north to freedom, but he came back--came back to teach reading. Knowing that the penalty for reading is dismemberment Nightjohn still retumed to slavery to teach others how to read. And twelve-year-old Sarny is willing to take the risk to learn. Set in the 1850s, Gary Paulsen''s groundbreaking new novel is unlike anything else the award-winning author has written. It is a meticulously researched, historically accurate, and artistically crafted portrayal of a grim time in our nation''s past, brought to light through the personal history of two unforgettable characters.

Dogsong

Dogsong
An arduous dogsled trek across the frozen Alaska wilderness becomes a journey of self-discovery for 14-year-old Russel Susskit. Newbery Honor Book; ALA Best Book for Young Adults; ALA Notable Book. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Sentries

release date: Jun 30, 2008
Sentries
Four teenagers--a Native American girl, an illegal Mexican immigrant, a sheepherder''s daughter and a gifted rock musician--share the hopes and promise of a future imperiled by the threat of nuclear war.

Woods Runner

release date: Jan 11, 2011
Woods Runner
Samuel, 13, spends his days in the forest, hunting for food for his family. He has grown up on the frontier of a British colony, America. Far from any town, or news of the war against the King that American patriots have begun near Boston. But the war comes to them. British soldiers and Iroquois attack. Samuel’s parents are taken away, prisoners. Samuel follows, hiding, moving silently, determined to find a way to rescue them. Each day he confronts the enemy, and the tragedy and horror of this war. But he also discovers allies, men and women working secretly for the patriot cause. And he learns that he must go deep into enemy territory to find his parents: all the way to the British headquarters, New York City.

Canyons

release date: Jul 01, 2009
Canyons
A novel for secondary school English classes with great writing and important themes.

Winterdance

release date: Jul 01, 2009
Winterdance
Biography, autobiography, and memoir is among the best ways to teach students to appreciate nonfiction reading.
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