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and course he has received hundreds of rewords.

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another fact is he joined the iditarod twice.

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also most of his books are on personal exsperen.

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did you know that Gary Paulsen used to work at a beet farm and a carnival before he became a writer.

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did you know that Gary Paulsen ran away when he was 14 because his parents were fighting.

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Read 1,183 reviews from the world’s largest community for readers. One day I was 12 years old and broke. Then Grandma gave me Grandpa’s old riding lawnmowe…

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When Gary Paulsen decided to write he took a job as a proofreader and wrote in his free time at night.

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Gary Paulsen is known to write for as many as 20 hours a day.

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simon & schuster books for young readers

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adventure stories (children's / teenage)

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juvenile fiction / action & adventure / general

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juvenile fiction / action & adventure / survival stories

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juvenile fiction / people & places / united states / general

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juvenile fiction/people & places - united states - native american

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people & places - united states - native american

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IN THE OLD DAYS THERE WERE SONGS Something is bothering Russel Susskit. He hates waking up to the sound of his father's coughing, the smell of diesel oil, the noise of snow machines starting up. Only Oogruk, the shaman who owns the last team of dogs in the village, understands Russel's longing fo...

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By Amanda Lynch, Published: January 26, 2009 The Children's Book Review

Gary Paulsen never ceases to amaze. He's done it all-from when he ran away at age 14 to join a carnival to competing in the Iditarod to winning awards for his writing. The author of over 200 books has two more coming out this year-and has another on the way! He took time out of his very busy schedule to answer some questions about his new historical fiction novel, Woods Runner.

Amanda: Mr. Paulsen, I'm thrilled to be able to interview you! I grew up reading Hatchet and The River, and am excited that you have come out with another historical fiction novel. What made you decide to write about the American Revolution?

Gary: I've been reading and researching various aspects of history-Dickens' London, Nelson's sea battles, Magellan's nautical explorations, the weapons and battles and key figures of the American Civil War-for most of my life. I pick up a book here or there or see a documentary or talk with an expert in the subject, and my curiosity about the one area of study and discovery always leads to another. So I can't rightly say where deciding to write about the American Revolution came from; I had bits and pieces of information about the war and about the country at that time that I'd collected over the years and, of course, I'm comfortable in the woods, so, finally, it just all feel into place.

Amanda: I couldn't help but notice that Samuel encounters a plight in Woods Runner similar to that of Brian in your earlier series: he's a boy alone in the wild having to fend for himself. What made you decide to go this route with the character of Samuel?

Gary: I am happiest in the brush and by myself-whether that's the woods of northern Minnesota or the wilds of Alaska behind a dogteam, picking through the foothills of the mountains by my ranch in New Mexico on horseback, or on the ship of my sailboat on the Pacific-so I guess it made sense to me that both Brian and Samuel would find their challenges and adventures, if that's what you call them, in the woods.

Amanda: What did you hope to convey to the reader about the nature of war through Samuel's story?

Gary: That the essence of war is insanity. Destruction, death, women widowed, children orphaned, lands plundered, property destroyed, lives decimated-it's all bad.

Amanda: How true to real life is Samuel's story?

Gary: As real as I could make it. He's a fictional character, of course, I made him up, but I tried to stay true to what his life would have been like at that time and what I know he would have experienced getting by in the woods.

Amanda: Did you always want to be a writer?

Gary: No. It was a sudden and unexpected change of heart. I'd been an engineer in aerospace and pushed back from the work desk one night and headed for Hollywood to find writers and learn how to write.

Amanda: You've written over 200 books. Where do you go to find your inspiration for new stories?

Gary: Personal inspection at zero altitude. The stories come from my life-if not my own experiences, then about topics and subjects that interest me.

Amanda: What other projects are you currently working on?

Gary: I'm working on a book about a kid who has a series of catastrophic, death-defying disastrous adventures that nearly kill him and his buddies. And another book about a kid who's a real smart aleck, things he has all the answers and knows everything when, in fact, he knows nothing and keeps getting in trouble for it. And I'm writing a book about animals-the wonderful way they let you share their lives. We make a mistake in thinking we own pets-the animals open their lives up and make us a part of them. I'm writing another book about a girl in a filthy bad mood, everything just irks her although she's really a good person at heart, just having a rough run. And a couple others that are too soon to talk about much.

Amanda: What are you doing when you're not writing books-if you have time outside of that?

Gary: I have my dog kennel in Alaska, and a horse in New Mexico at my ranch and my sailboat on the Pacific. I pick up my laptop and a bunch of notebooks and pencils and I go from one place to the other.

Add this book to your collection: Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen

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By Amanda Lynch, Published: January 26, 2009 The Children's Book Review Gary Paulsen never ceases to amaze. He's done it all-from when he ran away at age 14 to join a carnival to competing in the Iditarod to winning awards for his writing.

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THE STORY:
Brian Robeson lives with his mother after her parents divorced when his mother met a man she liked. The court had told Brian that he was to live with his mother, but his father could see him during the summer. Since it is summer, Brian is flying on a two-man jet to see his father in the northern Canadian woods. However, the pilot experiences a heart attack and dies, leaving Brian at the controls. Brian tries his best to control the airplane and crashes it into a lake. After making a lean-to and finding berries that made him sick, Brian wants to eat something different, and makes a fire that he never puts out in the process. However, one day, a search plane flies past Brian's camp, but does not see Brian. His faith that he will be rescued is ruined, so he attempts suicide by cutting himself with his hatchet. After surviving the attempt, Brian is determined to make the new Brian who will be positive. He teaches himself to make more weapons to hunt, and soon becomes more comfortable with living in the wild. One day, he decides to find the safety pack that he knows is in the plane. After a couple of days, he gets it and knows he can survive longer to await rescue.

MY OPINION:
The beginning of the book was a little confusing because I did not know where he was going and what situation he was in. However, the main storyline became very clear after his first few days of surviving on his own. I think that this book does not include the most interesting verbs, but had a point of transformation that I had never thought about. After thinking about it, I realized that a failed suicide attempt could easily change someone's ideas and thoughts about their life. I liked the plot a lot and can imagine all the details the author put in. The author put a lot of sensory detail that I liked. The book is relatively easy to understand and I would not recommend it for an eighth grader. Instead, I would recommend it to a sixth grader. I would give this book eight out of ten stars.
STUDY QUESTIONS AND VOCABULARY:
FIRST SECTION
1. Why is Brian going to Canada?
1a. Brian is visiting his father after his parents were divorced because of his father's visitation rights of his father.
2. Why is there a strong odor on the airplane?
2a. The pilot is not feeling well and will soon have a heart attack.
3. Why did Brian's parents divorce?
3a. His mother forced a divorce because she got to know another man.
4. How does Brian realize that it could be a long time before he is rescued?
4a. When Brian thinks back to the amount of time he spent flying in a possibly wrong direction, he knows the search crew will take a while to find his location.
5. Why does Brian start to build a lean-to?
5a. A long time ago, Brian and Terry had decided that lean-to is the best type of shelter.

turbulence (pg. 14)
wrenching (pg. 28)
abating (pg. 38)
pulverized (pg. 58)
ruefully (pg. 65)

MIDDLE SECTION
6. Why does Brian throw up one morning?
6a. He ate too many gut cherries.
7. What gives Brian a lot of pain in his calf?
7a. A porcupine had stumbled into his lean-to.
8. What prompted Brian to try to build a fire?
8a. Brian had a dream where his father and Terry told him to build a fire.
9. Why does Brian start to catch fish?
9a. From the stone bluff, he saw a lot of fish and realized that it was a consistent source of food.
10. Why does Brian lose most of his hope of being rescued?
10a. Brian saw a search plane that turned away without seeing him.

twinge (pg. 66)
tang (pg. 874)
kindling (pg. 87)
tendrils (pg. 85)
bluff (pg. 106)

LAST SECTION
11. What did Brian realize he needed to do to catch foolbirds?
11a. He needed to look for the outline of the bird.
12. How did Brian make his arrows fly straight?
12a. He used slivers of his windbreaker as the feathers on regular arrows.
13. How did Brian break his ribs?
13a. A moose rammed Brian into the lake.
14. Where does Brian find the survival pack?
14a. He makes a whole in the tail of the plane and finds it there.
15. How long had the searchers given up when he was rescued?
15a. It had been a month since the rescuers had given up, but he was eventually found by a pilot.

sulfurous (pg. 130)
pitchy (pg. 139)
crudely (pg. 162)
ruefully (pg. 166)
stymied (pg. 168)

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THE STORY: Brian Robeson lives with his mother after her parents divorced when his mother met a man she liked. The court had told Brian that he was to live with his mother, but his father could see him during the summer.

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Three-time Newbery Honor-winning author Gary Paulsen is one of the world's most popular authors for young readers, and has written over 200 books that generations of book-lovers have enjoyed. Hailed as "one of the best-loved writers alive" by The New York Times, Paulsen is a masterful storyteller, and has been the recipient of numerous starred reviews, awards, and accolades. With over 20 million copies of his books sold, Paulsen continues to publish quality literature that children, parents, and educators, can embrace.

Born May 17, 1939 in Minnesota, Gary Paulsen's life was never an easy road. After a librarian gave him a book to read-along with his own library card-he discovered a love of reading and learning, devouring book after book as a method of escape. As Paulsen grew up, he acquired a taste for adventure that would ultimately lead him to some of his favorite experiences, including running the Iditarod several times, and sailing his boat to remote destinations around the world. These experiences provide him with ample material from which he creates his incredible stories.

It is Paulsen's overwhelming belief in young people, along with his ability to tap deeply into the human spirit and to encourage readers to observe and care about the world around them that drives him to write. He has spent decades traveling around the country and speaking to children, educators, and parents about his writing, and his life as a writer. Perhaps his biggest message to his fans is "Read like a wolf eats."

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Gary Paulsen - Random House Speakers Bureau

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Three-time Newbery Honor-winning author Gary Paulsen is one of the world's most popular authors for young readers, and has written over 200 books that generations of book-lovers have enjoyed. Hailed as "one of the best-loved writers alive" by The New York Times, Paulsen is a masterful storyteller, and has been the recipient of numerous starred reviews, awards, and accolades.

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Gary Paulsen eventually decided that to write he needed to move to a remote cabin. He lived in a cabin in northern Minnesota.

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Gary Paulsen grew up in relative poverty due to his parent's alcoholism.

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Gary Paulsen graduated from high school in 1957 with only a D- average.