Hatchet
By
Gary Paulsen
Born May 17, 1939, Gary Paulsen is one of America's most popular writers for young people. He is a three time Newbery Honor author. He has written more books in the Hatchet series, such as Brian’s Return and Brian’s Winter, Brian’s Hunt and the River. Running away from home at the age of 14 and traveling with a carnival, Paulsen acquired a taste for adventure. A youthful summer of rigorous chores on a farm; jobs as an engineer, construction worker, ranch hand, truck driver, and sailor; and two rounds of the 1,180-mile Alaskan dog sled race, the Iditarod; have provided ample material from which he creates his powerful stories. This would be an excellent choice for novel studies in my fourth grade English class. This book can be used to teach imagery, writing, predictions and visualization.
This book is a book that encourages imagination to visualize all that Brian goes through on this difficult journey. It’s an extremely well told story that kept me wanting to know what would happen next, and looking forward to the next book in the series. Brian Robeson, 13, is the only passenger on a small plane flying him to visit his father in the Canadian wilderness when the pilot has a heart attack and dies. The plane drifts off course and finally crashes into a small lake. Miraculously Brian is able to swim free of the plane, arriving on a sandy tree-lined shore with only his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother had given him as a present. In the book, Brian must deal with insane moose, and making a new friend; fire. Hunting and food gathering is a major part of the book, which makes it seem very realistic, but will Brian ever make it home alive? Paulsen effectively shows readers how Brian learns patience to watch, listen, and think before he acts as he attempts to build a fire, to fish and hunt, and to make his home under a rock overhang safe and comfortable.A highlight in this book for me was when Brian was out hunting, and had just dipped his bloody hands into the water. Something slight caught his attention and it came down on him like a speeding train. He just had time to see that it was a moose. He had only seen them in pictures. It took him and threw him in the lake and then went into the water after him to finish the job. She used her head to drive him down into the mud at the bottom of the lake. Insane, is what he thought. Once he was out of the water, he realized that he was severely injured, especially his ribs and shoulders.
Not only was he alone and hungry, now his health was also a complicating factor.Following his parent’s divorce, fourteen year-old Brian is on his way to visit his father when the single-engine plane in which he is flying crashes. Now, Brian is alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a tattered Windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present– and the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart since his parent’s divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self pity, or despair. It will take all his determination and courage to survive.
This book is a book that encourages imagination to visualize all that Brian goes through on this difficult journey. It’s an extremely well told story that kept me wanting to know what would happen next, and looking forward to the next book in the series. Brian Robeson, 13, is the only passenger on a small plane flying him to visit his father in the Canadian wilderness when the pilot has a heart attack and dies. The plane drifts off course and finally crashes into a small lake. Miraculously Brian is able to swim free of the plane, arriving on a sandy tree-lined shore with only his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother had given him as a present. In the book, Brian must deal with insane moose, and making a new friend; fire. Hunting and food gathering is a major part of the book, which makes it seem very realistic, but will Brian ever make it home alive? Paulsen effectively shows readers how Brian learns patience to watch, listen, and think before he acts as he attempts to build a fire, to fish and hunt, and to make his home under a rock overhang safe and comfortable.A highlight in this book for me was when Brian was out hunting, and had just dipped his bloody hands into the water. Something slight caught his attention and it came down on him like a speeding train. He just had time to see that it was a moose. He had only seen them in pictures. It took him and threw him in the lake and then went into the water after him to finish the job. She used her head to drive him down into the mud at the bottom of the lake. Insane, is what he thought. Once he was out of the water, he realized that he was severely injured, especially his ribs and shoulders.
Not only was he alone and hungry, now his health was also a complicating factor.Following his parent’s divorce, fourteen year-old Brian is on his way to visit his father when the single-engine plane in which he is flying crashes. Now, Brian is alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a tattered Windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present– and the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart since his parent’s divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self pity, or despair. It will take all his determination and courage to survive.
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