Most Popular Books by Gary Paulsen

A teenager left on his own travels west in a kit car he built himself, and along the way picks up two Vietnam veterans, who take him on an eye-opening journey.

The year is 2057. Endless wars have torn the USA apart and enslaved Americans to the CCR, the Confederation of Consolidated Republics. Growing up in the wasteland of war has made 14-year-old Cody Pierce wise in survival skills, and now he''s the White Fox, rebel leader of the children''s barracks in a CCR prison camp. Once he escapes, life with the underground teaches him new skills in weaponry and strategy as he plays cat-and-mouse with the CCR. Every day brings him closer to capture, as well as to his goal: to return and liberate the children he left behind.

The lives of a 14-year-old Mexican prostitute, living in the United States illegally, and a wealthy American girl intersect in a dramatic way

Gary Paulsen World of Adventure series.

Father-and-son writing team Gary and Jim Paulsen pick up where their Road Trip left off. Ben has been invited to try out for a special hockey academy. But Dad wants Ben to catch up to the school field trip instead. So Ben, Dad, and their dogs, Atticus and Conor, jump into their truck. Ben concocts a secret plan to make the tryout, but Atticus and Conor are on to him. Ben and Dad’s road trip turns into a wacky adventure full of new friends and surprises.

An orphan reflects on the lessons he was taught by the wise old man who raised him in this lyrical novel that reads like poetry from three-time Newbery Honor–winning author Gary Paulsen. Deep in the woods, in a rustic cabin, lives an old man and the boy he’s raised as his own. This sage old man has taught the boy the power of nature and how to live in it, and more importantly, to respect it. In Fishbone’s Song, this boy reminisces about the magic of the man who raised him and the tales that he used to tell—all true, but different each time.

Francis Tucket and his adopted family, Lottie and Billy, are heading west in search of Francis''s parents on the Oregon Trail. But when winter comes early, Francis turns south to avoid the cold, and leads them right into enemy territory--the Mexican War of 1848. Francis and the children are captured by desperadoes, but loyalty, courage, and the element of surprise offer hope for survival.

"We want you to do it again."These words, spoken to Brian Robeson, will change his life. Two years earlier, Brian was stranded alone in the wilderness for fifty-four days with nothing but a small hatchet. Yet he survived. Now the government wants him to do it again--to go back into the wilderness so that astronauts and the military can learn the survival techniques that kept Brian alive.This time he won''t be alone: Derek Holtzer, a government psychologist, will accompany him to observe and take notes. But during a freak storm, Derek is hit by lightning and falls into a coma. Their radio transmitter is dead. Brian is afraid that derek will die of dehydration unless he can get him to a doctor. His only hope is to build a raft and try to transport Derek a hundred miles down the river to a trading post--if the map he has is accurate.

How corn is harvested and made into tortillas.

You ever open your locker and find that some joker has left something really weird inside? Seventh-grader Dorso Clayman opens his locker door to find a dead body. Thirty seconds later it disappears. It’s not the first bizarre thing that has appeared in his locker and then vanished. Something’s going on. Somebody has decided to make Dorso and his buddy Frank the target of some strange techno-practical jokes. The ultimate gamesters have hacked into the time line, and things from the past are appearing in the present. Soon, the jokes aren’t funny anymore—they’re dangerous. Dorso and Frank have got to beat the time hackers at their own game by breaking the code, before they get lost in the past themselves.

WHEN YOU GROW up in a small town in the north woods, you have to make your own excitement. High spirits, idiocy, and showing off for the girls inspire Gary Paulsen and his friends to attempt: • Shooting waterfalls in a barrel • The first skateboarding • Breaking the world record for speed on skis by being towed behind a souped-up car, and then . . . hitting gravel • Jumping three barrels like motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel, except they only have bikes • Wrestling . . . a bear? Extreme sports lead to extreme fun in new tales from Gary’s boyhood. A New York Times Bestseller

Survival in the wilderness--Gary Paulsen writes about it so powerfully in his novels Hatchet and The River because he''s lived it. These essays recount his adventures alone and with friends, along the rivers and in the woods of northern Minnesota. There, fishing and hunting are serious business, requiring skill, secrets, and inspiration. Luck, too--not every big one gets away. This book takes readers through the seasons, from the incredible taste of a spring fish fresh from the smokehouse, to the first sight of the first deer, to the peace of the winter days spent dreaming by the stove in a fishhouse on the ice. In Paulsen''s north country, every expedition is a major one, and often hilarious. Once again Gary Paulsen demonstrates why he is one of America''s most beloved writers, for he shows us fishing and hunting as pleasure, as art, as companionship, and as sources of life''s deepest lessons.

From the legendary author of Hatchet, a laugh-out-loud misadventure about a boy, his free-thinking dad, and the puppy-training pamphlet that turns their summer upside down. Twelve-year-old Carl is fed up with his father''s single-minded pursuit of an off-the-grid existence. His dad may be brilliant, but dumpster-diving for food, scouring through trash for salvageable junk, and wearing clothes fully sourced from garage sales is getting old. Increasingly worried about what schoolmates and a certain girl at his new school might think of his circumstances—and encouraged by his off-kilter best friend—Carl adopts the principles set forth in a randomly discovered puppy-training pamphlet to “retrain” his dad’s mindset . . . a crackpot experiment that produces some very unintentional results. This is a fierce and funny novel about family, green-living, and untangling some of the ties that bind from middle-grade master Gary Paulsen.

Although dismayed and embarrassed when his father takes him on the road to get rich preaching the word of God, fourteen-year-old Steven finds himself caught up in the money and the things it can buy.

Fourteen-year-old Francis Tucket is heading west on the Oregon Trail with his family by wagon train. When he receives a rifle for his birthday, he is thrilled that he is being treated like an adult. But Francis lags behind to practice shooting and is captured by Pawnees. It will take wild horses, hostile tribes, and a mysterious one-armed mountain man named Mr. Grimes to help Francis become the man who will be called Mr. Tucket.

Kevin Spencer has a history of big ideas going completely awry. This time around, it''s personal. Suddenly, he is kind of in charge of a double wedding in his backyard and a whole tribe of wacky relatives.

“Sometimes having company is not all it’s cracked up to be.” Fifteen-year-old Finn is a loner, living with his dad and his amazing dog, Dylan. This summer he’s hoping for a job where he doesn’t have to talk to anyone except his pal Matthew. Then Johanna moves in next door. She’s 10 years older, cool, funny, and she treats Finn as an equal. Dylan loves her, too. Johanna’s dealing with breast cancer, and Matthew and Finn learn to care for her, emotionally and physically. When she hires Finn to create a garden, his gardening ideas backfire comically. But Johanna and the garden help Finn discover his talents for connecting with people.

In this memoir of a World War II childhood, Paulsen paints a haunting self-portrait of a young boy drawn helplessly into the physical and emotional violence of the adult world. "An indelible account...hallmarked by Paulsen''s sinewy writing" (Kirkus Reviews).

She’s a master of disguises—able to change identities at will. She’s wanted in five states. They call her the Chameleon. Dunc thinks he and Amos are just about to crack the case wide open. And all they have to do is sneak into this dangerous felon’s apartment!

TODAY MOLLY Learned her wacky grandma was coming to spend the day at school with her; Lost her Notebook with Everything that Matters in it, including her homework; Got a black eye. Tore her skirt. And it’s only 9 a.m. Could things get any worse? You bet!

In June 1861, when the Civil War began, Charley Goddard enlisted in the First Minnesota Volunteers. He was 15. He didn''t know what a "shooting war" meant or what he was fighting for. But he didn''t want to miss out on a great adventure. The "shooting war" turned out to be the horror of combat and the wild luck of survival; how it feels to cross a field toward the enemy, waiting for fire. When he entered the service he was a boy. When he came back he was different; he was only 19, but he was a man with "soldier''s heart," later known as "battle fatigue."

Justin McCallister loves life on his aunt and uncle''s Montana sheep ranch...until a grizzly bear begins terrorizing the livestock, injuring Justin''s collie, Radar, and killing his pet lamb, Blue. Justin decides to take matters into his own hands and sets out to track down the bear. But things become more dangerous than Justin ever could have imagined when he comes face-to-face with the grizzly.

An account of the life of Bass Reeves, both real and imagined.

Opening this book is like sitting down in a canoe, taking up a paddle, and gliding out into the summer beauty of a hidden lake. In this picture book that is as refreshing and inviting as a perfect canoe day, a fawn peeks out from the trees as ducklings fan out behind their mother. Butterflies pause and fish laze beneath the lily pads. Ruth Wright Paulsen’s sunlit paintings and Gary Paulsen’s poetic text capture all the peace and pleasure of a day when water and sky are one.

Alone. Francis Tucket now feels more confident that he can handle almost anything. A year ago, on the wagon train, he was kidnapped from his family by a Pawnee hunting party. Then he escaped with the help of the mountain man, Mr. Grimes. Now that he and Mr. Grimes have parted ways, Francis is heading west on his Indian pony, crossing the endless prairie, trying to find his family. After a year with Mr. Grimes, Francis has learned to live by the harsh code of the wilderness. He can cause a stampede, survive his own mistakes, and face up to desperadoes. But when he rescues a little girl and her younger brother, Francis takes on more than he bargained for.

Gary Paulsen’s funny follow-up to Lawn Boy is full of big surprises and big laughs. Lawn Boy says: The summer I was twelve, mowing lawns with Grandpa’s old riding mower turned into big business. With advice from Arnold the stockbroker, I learned all about making money. Six weeks and hundred of thousands of dollars later, life got more complicated. You see, the prizefighter I sponsor, Joey Pow, won a big fight. And a TV interview made me famous. As Arnold says, “Capitalism plus publicity equals monster commerce.” Even my best friends wanted a piece of the action. Meanwhile, some scary guys showed up at Joey’s gym. . . .

Harold Schernoff, 14-year-old science whiz and social nerd, has a theory for every problem, from dating, to bullies, to making money, to sports, to how to buy a car when you''re underage. When he and his buddy team up to put his theories to the test, nothing goes according to plan. A ski lesson becomes: Mass x Acceleration x Slope of hill = eeeAAGGHHH. As for first dates, only Harold could mastermind such disaster. Only Harold could go fishing and get caught by the fish. And only Gary Paulsen could write such a wonderfully funny story of friendship.

Kevin doesn''t mean to make trouble when he lies. He''s just really good at it, and it makes life so much easier. But as his lies pile up, he finds himself in big—and funny—trouble with his friends, family, and teachers. He''s got to find a way to end his lying streak—forever.

Will veered to the left and ducked into one of the passages leading away from the palace room. Sarah stumbled and fell. Will pulled her up. They could hear the big man closing in on them. Will took another left turn and then another. Scarface’s footsteps echoed in their ears. Deep in the damp, dark caverns of the Sacramento Mountains, Will Little Bear Tucker and his friend Sarah Thompson discover the secret of an ancient Apache legend. But armed bandits are after them. A headless Indian brave haunts them. And when they lose their way, they may not escape the eerie underground maze alive.

When Amos wins a “Why I Love My Dog” Contest, he and Dunc are off on the Caribbean cruise of their dreams! But there’s something downright fishy about Amos’s suitcase, and before they know it, the two best friends wind up with more high seas adventure than they’d bargained for. Can Dunc and Amos figure out who’s out to get them and salvage what’s left of their vacation?

The rock wall above them was as smooth as polished black marble. There were no crevices and no ledges. They would have to fight for every inch. Rick looked at his friends. J.D. and Spud nodded silently. Rick stood up and started. His job would be to make the trail. Their job was to make sure he lived through it. High atop treacherous Devil’s Wall, The Rock Jockeys find much to explore. Sheer mountain cliffs. Wild woodland. Even a crashed B-17 bomber! But when they stumble upon a crew member’s diary—and underneath other eerie clues—the boys realize Devil’s Wall also holds a gruesome secret. That secret leaves The Rock Jockeys with a haunting question: If trapped on the mountain, would they do anything it takes to survive?

Brian, treize ans, est assis à côté du pilote d''un petit avion qui l''emmène vers le nord canadien où il doit retrouver son père pour l''été. Mais le pilote est victime d''une crise cardiaque et l''avion s''écrase en pleine forêt. Pour survivre, le jeune garçon va devoir déployer des trésors d''ingéniosité, de volonté et de courage.

The lives of a fourteen-year-old Mexican prostitute, living in the United States illegally, and a wealthy American girl intersect in a dramatic way.

Provides activities and discussion to be used with The rifle by Gary Paulsen.