07.08.07
Gary Paulsen Books …. Summer Reading Blog Assignment
Gary Paulsen has written many short stories and novels for middle school students to include….
My Life in Dog Years
The Island
How Angel Peterson Got His Name
Lawn Boy — just released June 12th!!
If you’ve chosen to read one of Gary Paulsen’s books for your summer reading project, use your Summer Reading Blog Directions and click on the comment button below to write a blog entry. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email Mrs. Farnum at cpmfarnum@cox.net.
Happy Summer!
July 25, 2007 at 3:46 pm
I have finished reading Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen. I loved the whole book because in every chapter, Brian’s survival skills becomes better and better. My favorite part of the book is when a family rescued Brian from the wilderness. After the plane crash, Brian has been living in the wilderness for quite some time! He has hunted, built a shelter, and has made clothing. He has lived through the harsh winter in the wilderness.
He will finally see his family again. He does not have to hunt for his food. He will be safe at home and there will be no more wild animals attacking him. He will not need to look for a shelter or to make weapons for hunting. Besides seeing his family, he will also see his friends again. Living in the wilderness has gave Brian a good experience about survival on his own with no help. It is also a good test for Brian’s independence.
Brian’s experience in the wilderness has made me think if I was Brian, would I have survived? After all that Brian has gone through, I would be glad if I was rescued too!
August 23, 2007 at 5:27 pm
The book I chose was Hatchet; I liked the book so much that I could not stop reading it. It was exciting. Brian Robeson was the main character who had to make many treacherous decisions and had many risks to take when his pilot died of a horrid heart attack. I would recommend this book to everyone who likes survival stories, nerve-racking moments and great tips on how to survive in any kind of situation. If I could change the title, I would title it “STRANDED.” It would be a great title because it talks about a boy and the struggles he went through. One quote that caught my attention was when he said, “His legs were on fire and his forehead felt as if somebody had had been pounding on it with a hammer, but he could move”. If I could change one thing I would change when the pilot was killed by a heart attack and have him die when the plane crashed. My favorite part was when Brian had to survive on his own instincts.
August 26, 2007 at 4:01 pm
The book I read over the summer was Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. This book was so awesome I just couldn’t stop reading it. There was constantly conflicts in the main character, Brian’s life. Throughout this book every second would keep the reader guessing about the next. One quote that was very interesting was when Brian said, “So close he said so close” (pg 83). I would recommend this book to anyone who likes action-adventured and thrilling moments in novels. I would not change anything about this book because it is great just the way it is. If I had to change the title of the book it would be to “The heart of stomping Adventure,” because of all the heart pounding moments and adventures in the book. My favorite part of the book is when Brian meets the bear in the forest. Anyone could can the tension and thrill that is happening in the story at that moment. This book is so great I will never forget it.
August 28, 2007 at 5:52 pm
My favorite part of the book Hatchet was when the first rescue plane came and did not see Brian. That night he cried and felt sorry for himself. After he stopped crying, he learned the most important rule of survival which was feeling sorry for yourself didn’t work. He had to change the way he lived. Brian realized that he may be stuck in the forest forever. They might never come for him. The shelter was now his home, and he had to rely on himself for everything. I think it would be cool to try to live in the forest by yourself and survive with only a hatchet and your knowlegde.
August 28, 2007 at 10:45 pm
The book I read was Soldier’s Heart by Gary Paulsen. My favorite part was chapter five, the second phase of the battle of Bull Run. This part of the book was full of details on the battle, such as how the soldiers reloaded thier guns, and how high above their heads they shot thier guns. Other details described Union men marching in a straight horizontal line across a meadow to get to the Rebels.At the same time Confederates were hideing behind rocks and trees waiting for the Union. I also liked this chapter because it was the first battle the Union won in the book. I don’t think I could have gone through the stress and violence of war at the age of 15 like the main character Charley did. The death of his friends was very hard to handle. I enjoy reading about history and battles and this was an action packed battle.
August 31, 2007 at 11:22 am
Hatchet was a thrilling book full of adventure and action. It is about a boy who has to land a plane by himself, after the pilot dies, and then survive on his own in the wilderness. Even though I had read this book once before, I couldn’t stop reading it because of the author’s descriptions. He used great synonyms and metaphors, one is, “It was as if his hands and arms were lead.” I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the show Man vs. Wild. The show is about a man who is dropped out of a plane, not knowing where he is, and has to use survival techniques. Hatchet is a similar plot. Reading Hatchet was interesting because I kept comparing the man from Man vs. Wild with Brian. If I could name the book something else, I would name it On My Own. This would be a good title since Brian was on his own with nobody else to help him survive. There were many lines I liked throughout the book. Some of my favorites are, “I have a friend named Fire. Hello Fire…” another of my favorites is, “And the last thought he had that morning was: I hope the tornado hit the moose.” I thought these lines fit well with the situation, and when I read them they made me laugh. I love this book exactly the way it is. I wouldn’t change anything. My favorite part of the book was the crash. It kept me on the edge of my seat to see how Brian was going to land the plane on his own. I would recommend Hatchet to any of my classmates, especially if they like action-packed adventures. This would be a great movie!
September 3, 2007 at 1:19 pm
I couldn’t stop reading this book! What made me fee this way is that in the book they always had something going on. It was interesting to read about a kid survive in the woods alone. He had to figure out how to make weapons, get food and build shelter out of the materials around him. The book had interesting parts, for example when the moose charged Brian and kept raming him until he made it stop. I would recommend to my cousin Paul because he loves to read and write and he loves adventure stories.
If I had to give this book a different title, the title would be, “The Woods Are Alive.” I would name it this because Brian had to survive in the woods and learn to watch out for predators. My favorite part of the book was when Brian was rescued by the pilot because he was almost not found. This was a great book and I really enjoyed reading it.
September 3, 2007 at 10:07 pm
I didn’t love this book and I didn’t hate it. It was an ok book. I didn’t like it much because the start of the book was kind of boring; but near the end it got better. I think I would recomend Hatchet to my cousin Tyler. I would recomend it to him because he loves to go hunting with my uncle and he could relate to it by being in the wilderness and hunting like Brian did in the book. If I could rename the book I would call it “Stranded in the Wilderness”. I would call it this because brian crashes into the middle of the Canadian forest and is stranded for about two months and has to find a way to survive. After a tornado hit his shelter, Brian said,”I hope the tornado hit the moose.”That was one of my favorite lines. My favorite part of the book was when Brian ran into the bear and the coyote at the same time; it was a suspensful moment. This was a good book and I enjoyed readig it.
June 16, 2008 at 3:07 pm
The book Hatchet was an okay book. I didn’t hate it but it wasn’t a book that I enjoyed. Hatchet wasn’t an enjoyable book because there wasn’t enough cliff hangers. It was all ways he gets up, gathers fire wood, and then has a normal day. When Brain has the encounter with the bear it would be better and more suspenseful if the bear attacked him instead off just walking away. I was also very disappointed when he did not have to defend himself with the wolves.
If i could change anything in the book i would change the outcome with the bear and the wolves. I would’ve been pleazed if there was a battle between Brian and the animals. It would make the book better and there would be a chance that he wouldn’t survive. It was really weak when the moose attacked Brian but the bear and the wolves did not.
My favorite part of the book was when Brian went inside the sunken air plane to find the survival pack. It was my favorite part because when Brian opened the pack, it was amazing that he found food, a gun, first aid kit, and an emergency transmitter all in the small bag.
The book Hatchet lacked some things that I think a good book needs, and for this reason I would not recommend this to any of my friends.
August 23, 2008 at 12:55 am
The book I read was “Mr. Tucket” written by Gary Paulsen. It is a story about a fourteen year-old boy named Francis Tucket who is captured by indians and separated from his family while traveling west by wagon train. The book revolves around Tucket trying to get back to his family. It is an exciting book and I couldn’t stop reading once I started. I was interested in reading the book because it was filled with non-stop action and had a lot of interesting parts. The most exciting portions of the book involved Tucket fighting indians and hunting animals for food and clothing. The action kept my attention and made the book fun to read. One of my favorite parts of the book happened in the beginning chapters when Tucket was rescued from the Pawnees by a mountain man, Mr. Grimes. In my opinion, the only way the story could be better is if the author told the reader whether Tucket finds his family. If I had to give the book any other title, I would title it “Journey to a New World” because Tucket talked about how different living in the wilderness is throughout the book. In the book, Tucket explained that where he used to live, he never experienced death except when animals died from time to time, but now he shot at people. One line in the book that caught my attention was when Tucket was talking to an Indian and said “If you’re so tough, why do you have to steal rifles from boys?” I like this quote because it shows that Tucket stands up for himself, even when he is afraid. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves action and adventure. My friend Sean would love this book because he likes westerns and stories with a lot of action.
August 26, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I read the book Hatchet. I thought it was a pretty good book because I liked how the chapters ended with a little cliffhanger. This would sometimes keep me reading on. My favorite line in the book was near the end, right after he was attcked by the tornado and was talking about how insane the day was. Before he went to bed he said, “I hope the tornado hit the moose.” I thought that was really funny beacause it was a hard day for him. If I was Brian I would have laughed beacuase one good thing would have happened that day. One thing I would like to change about the book is the ending. I hated the ending beacuase he had just gotten the survival pack and then some random person finds him. Instead of Brian wanting to go, he asks the fur trader if he wanted to have something to eat. I would either have a sequal or have some more information about what happened when the guy brought the boy back.
August 28, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I read the book, Hatchet . My favorite part of the book was when Brian Robeson was having his worst day out of a very challenging experience . The day started out positively when Brian shot his first fool bird. He was frustrated because he missed twice before an arrow made a hit . He was so happy to have a bird to eat, but then everything turned bad.
As Brian was bending over to wash the blood off his hands, he found himself being attacked by a female moose. He was charged by the large cow not once, but twice. She used her horns, huge forehead, and monstrous hooves to push Brian further and further into the mud. This city boy found himself pounding the huge moose as his mouth filled with water. Finally, the cow walked away and Brian was badly injured in his ribs and shoulder.
As Brian tried to sleep off the pain the twenty-four hours got worse as a mysterious sound awoke him! He knew it was a bad sound, but couldn’t imagine what it meant. A powerful tornado had struck and destroyed his campsite, throwing Brian around like he was a rag doll. As Brian watched the wind move across the lake he realized he was left with nothing. This horrible day was my favorite part because it was so interesting to read. I imagined how I would feel if I was in that situation. I always like reading about bravery and adventure.
August 29, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Hatchet wasn’t the best book I’ve read, but Iiked it in some ways too. I didn’t like when in the beginning when he is about to crash, for three chapters he keeps explaining how he is about to die. It also happens constanly throughout the book. I like it becuase there are some lines and quotes in the book I think are entertaining and descrpitive, for example, “The flames cut the cool damp morning, crackled, and did much to bring his spirits up.” Another line was quite funny and interesting way to put it: “I flip some giant coin and he was the loser.”
August 29, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Coninued: I wouldn’t change anything about the book becuase it has an entertaining plot and vocabulary. I would change the title though. Hatchet would be renamed to The Secret. Why, you ask? Brian refers to it in the book and he would not have been flying to his dad and crashed if it wasn’t for the secrect, the divorce.
I would reccomend the book to my dad becuase he has read a survival book earlier in the year and loved it. It might be too small but has fasinating parts to it, which brings me to my next point. My favorite part was when Brian is looking for the survival kit in the sunken plane when he sees the dead pilot being eaten by fish while still straped in the seat. I could see the image inside my head real clearly.
August 29, 2008 at 6:55 pm
I read the book Hatchet. My favorite part of the book was when Brian was flying in an airplane and he discovered something was wrong with the pilot. The pilot had a heart attack and was dead. Brian started to panick, he didn’t know what to do. He ran to the front of the plane and took control. He was trying to commuciate with the tower to get some help, but nobody reponded to him. The gas was running out and Brian knew he had to try and land the plane into the lake below. When the plane hit the lake he had to get out of the plane before it sank. He was able to escape and swim to shore safely. With nothing but a hatchet his mother had given him, Brian had to survive until someone could rescue him.
August 30, 2008 at 12:27 am
I read the book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. I thought the book hatchet was a great book because it was well written and had many surprises. For example after Brian’s plane crash it took him a while or so but he learned how to make fire with just his hatchet and the things around him. I was also surprised that he could catch fish with his bow and arrow that he carved with his hatchet. I recommended this book to my brother because he is an Eagle Scout and likes adventure. If I gave this book another title, I would call it Stranded Alone. The reason I would call it Stranded Alone is because Brian is stranded alone in the Canadian oilfields with nothing but his hatchet. I liked when Brian thought “Oh you city boy with your city ways”. I thought it was funny because he was out in the middle of nowhere and he was used to having everything done for him. I could relate to that because I am a city boy too. My favorite part of the book was when he finally learned to make fire. I liked how the author had him discover how you can make fire. He discovered fire by accident when he threw the hatchet at the porcupine and it missed, hit the wall and sparked. I wouldn’t change anything about the book because it was very well written. I’m glad I chose this book.
August 30, 2008 at 6:44 pm
I read the book soilders heart.It was very interesting I love how almost every chapter left off with a cliffhanger.I also love how charlie who is the main charecter got shot in the leg and he still kept on fighting against the rebels.When charlie went in the war he was a boy,but when charlie came out he was nineteen he was a man said to have a “soilder’s heart”. i wouldnt have anything to change in the book i loved it.
September 1, 2008 at 3:31 pm
The book I read was Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen. It wasn’t one of my favorite books in the world but it was still pretty good. I liked that it was a book filled with adventure but must admit I got a little bored with the long descriptions of how Brian did things.
I would recommend this book to my friend Mossimo Perricone. He likes adventure books and learning about the outdoors so I’m guessing he’d find it interesting.
I would change the name of this book to “Survivor” because that is pretty much what Brian does the entire book. He gets up each day figuring out how to conquer the harsh wilderness by learning new survival techniques. One incident that comes to mind is when Brian spends weeks learning how to make a bow that he can then use to kill a moose for food.
One of my favorite quotes was when Brian said, “I’ve got a pet skunk who’s a terrorist. If I quit feeding him he’ll spray me. Just great” I liked that quote because I thought it was probably one of the funniest things he said in the entire book.
If I were able to change anything about this book I would take out some of the long descriptions. Last of all, my favorite part of the book was when Brian was about to be slaughtered by a bear but then Betsy, his pet skunk, came and sprayed the bear straight in the face sending the bear running and saving the day.
September 1, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Hatchet was a pretty good book ,but too many parts were slow for me. For example in the beginnig he kept talking about “the secret” and how his parents were divorced. I would recommend this book to my friend Jack. He loves survival stories and the wilderness. A different title for Hatchet could be Alone because he is alone for most of the book. He is always thinking of the piolt, his mother, and father. A line the I thought was funny was was when Brian said, “I hope the tornado hit the moose.” He said that because a moose just attacked him for no apparent reason then a tornado came. Another line was, ” I could see the reflectionsof the trees at the other end of the lake. Upside down in the water they seemed almost like another forest, an upside down forest to match the real one.” I thought this line was very well-written because I could paint a mental picture in my head with ease. My favorite part of the book was when Brian finnaly got the survival bag a took the frozen dinner out with the emergancy transmitter. When a piolt came to rescue him he was already cooking dinner so Brian offered him some food.
September 5, 2008 at 1:44 am
About a week ago I finished a book By Gary Paulsen called The Voyage of the Frog.This book was about a boy named David Alspeth who gets Traped in the ocean because a storm hits him and his small sailbaot.
The reason David was out there in the first place was because His Uncle Owen died of cancer. Owen wanted his ashes thrown in the open ocean because he loved the sea very much. Owen also took and taught David sailing. That is where David learned how to sail.
After the reparing the ship from the storm David finds himself in a helpless world. David has to survive on low food and water which won’t be easy. Also many bad things happen to David from sharks to killer whales and colliding with an oil tanker.
This book was very interesting. In way it felt as if I was really there experiencing David’s struggle for survival. I recommend this book to sailors and adventurers. Another name for book be “The Long Journey” because David’s journey was being traped in the ocean. One line caught my attention in the book it read, David shook his head. “I won’t leave her. I won’t leave the Frog.” That sentence really felt demanding and strong. My favorite part of the book was when David battled the first storm because during that part David was being very strong. Nothing in this book should be ever changed because it is great just the way it is.