 Book of the Month |
|
|
|
|
 |
Hatchet, By Gary Paulsen Summary | Reviews | In the Classroom | Related Readings | Bulletin Board
Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson, the sole passenger in a single-engine plane, is on his way to visit his father in the Canadian oil fields when his pilot suffers a heart attack. Alone and desperate, Brian guides the plane to a landing on an isolated lake. Now stranded with only the clothes on his back and the hatchet his mother gave him as a parting gift, Brian must find a way to survive the wilderness and his parents’ divorce. Sequels to Hatchet by Gary Paulsen: Brian’s Return, Brian’s Winter, The River Visit the Author’s Web site at http://www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen ReviewsFrom Publishers Weekly "A heart-stopping story….Poetic texture and realistic events are combined to create something beyond adventure." From Kirkus Review "A prototypical survival story….This is a spellbinding account….A winner." From School Library Journal "Paulsen's paramount skill in gripping even reluctant readers is nowhere more evident than in this suspenseful story of a boy surviving the Canadian wilderness." In the Classroom
The summer months are the perfect time to encourage your students to explore action and adventure stories -- both fiction and nonfiction. Have students read each other survival stories, (please see suggestions below) then compare and contrast Brian’s character to that of other protagonists like Matt Hallowell from Sign of the Beaver or Sam Gridley from My Side of the Mountain. Have students examine the coping and survival skills of each of the characters. As an extension activity have students list the tools and skills used by the characters during their ordeals. For fun, have student’s fashion their own survival tools made from items they find in nature. Related Readings of Adventure and SurvivalOut of the Dust By Karen Hesse Scholastic Trade, 227pp., Ages 9-12 In first-person free-verse poems, fourteen-year-old Billie Jo Kelby tells her story of a girl who struggles to help her family survive the dustbowl years of the Depression. Fighting against the elements on her Oklahoma farm, Billie Jo takes on even more responsibilities when her mother dies in a tragic accident. Julie of the Wolves By Jean Craighead George HarperTrophy, 170 pp., Ages 9-12 Newbery Medal Winner Protected by a wolf pack while lost on the tundra, a 13-year-old Eskimo girl begins to appreciate her heritage--and the oneness with nature that modern man is destroying. This 1973 Newbery Medal-winning book is "compelling . . . A thrilling adventure story." --School Library Journal
My Side of the Mountain By Jean Craighead George Penguin USA, 177 pp., Ages 9-12 Newbery Honor Book A young boy relates his adventures during the year he spends living alone in the Catskill Mountains including his struggle for survival, his dependence on nature, his animal friends, and his ultimate realization that he needs human companionship.
Island of the Blue Dolphin By Scott O’Dell Yearling Books, 184 pp., Ages 9-12 Newbery Medal Winner In an effort to escape Aleutian seal hunters in the early 1800s, the Indians of Ghalas-at board a ship to leave the Island of the Blue Dolphins. When 12-year-old Karana finds that her younger brother is not on board, she dives into the sea and swims back to the island in search of him. Years pass and Karana waits for the ship to return. In the meantime, she builds shelters, gathers food, makes clothing, fashions weapons, and conquers the wild dogs that killed her younger brother. Sign of the Beaver By Elizabeth George Speare Yearling Books, 135 pp., Ages 9-12 Newbery Honor Book Left alone to guard the family's wilderness home in eighteenth-century Maine, a boy is hard-pressed to survive until local Indians teach him their skills. Welcome to the Children's Literature Bulletin Board!Please share your lesson plan ideas, or read about how other educators are using From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler in their classrooms on our Book of the Month bulletin board. |
