Gary Paulsen

What can you infer about Paulsen’s childhood?

• Since he ran away, I can assume that as a child he was not very happy at home.

• Gary Paulsen had great things to say about his parents, so it was a great childhood.

• His childhood is not mentioned.

• He loved school and home so much that he never wanted to leave either.

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What was school like for Gary Paulsen?

• He always pursued academics with vigor.

• He was not a very dedicated student.

• School was his life.

• He loved it.

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What caused Paulsen to get interested in reading at a young age?

• Paulsen never became interested in reading.

• Paulsen preferred dog sled racing to reading.

• Paulsen developed a passion for reading at an early age. After a librarian gave him a book to read — he was hooked.

• Paulsen did not have a passion for reading. In fact, he started writing because all other books were not interesting.

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Before becoming a writer, Paulsen worked many odd jobs. Identify three.

• Marine, dog sled racer, farm owner

• satellite technician, farm hand, magazine proofreader

• engineer, acrobat, fast food worker

• military worker, cattle herder, magazine editor

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Identify three Newberry Honor Books Paulsen wrote.

• Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room

• Brian's Winter, The Hunt, Dogsong

• Roll of Thunder, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Hatchet

• Hatchet, The Yearling, Lob's Girl

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What is the Iditarod?

• the place were Paulsen grew up

• a plane used to carry supplies

• an 1,180-mile Alaskan dog sled race

• an Alaskan marathon

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When did Paulsen decide he wanted to be a writer?

• Paulsen only wrote for fun and has never really considered himself to be an author.

• AS a child, he discovered his love for reading and decided to write.

• He wrote for the fun of it, and, one day, someone decided to publish his work.

• It came suddenly when he was working as a satellite technician for an aerospace firm in California.

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Paulsen tells kids to read like a wolf eats. Explain what you believe he means.

• Paulsen knows that wolves eat aggressively. He wants everyone to read just like that. Read aggressively, like your life depends on it.

• Paulsen tells people to read like this because he believes that, like wolves, people need to sneak up on books and attack them before reading them.

• He tells kids to read like this so that they will only read the things that adults tell them to read.

• He tells kids to read like this because he thinks people should only read what they are interested in.

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How do you think Paulsen’s life experiences may affect the novel Hatchet?

• Paulsen uses all of his experiences with nature, survival, and his childhood to create the story in Hatchet.

• Paulsen used his knowledge from only the books he read to make the story in Hatchet.

• Paulsen created Hatchet without any references to his past experiences.

• Paulsen interviewed a kid who had the exact same experiences as Brian in Hatchet in order to create the story.

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