Brian has grown up in the city. That’s where he’s comfortable. But on his very first visit to his father following his parents divorce, the small plane he’s flying in crashes. Brian is alone in the Canadian wilderness. All he has with him is the hatchet his mum has given him when he left her. Brian’s thoughtful, careful tactics enable him to find food and shelter and to survive the scarier aspects of the forest, including coming face to face with a bear. But Brian’s survival is also an inner journey of self discovery which makes Hatchet a book of great depth as well as a great adventure.
Perfect for Reluctant Readers as well as keen readers. To view other titles we think are suitable for reluctant readers please click here.
Two years earlier Brian had been stranded alone in the Canadian wilderness for fifty-four days with nothing but a hatchet. Somehow, he had survived.
Now he can hardly believe it. He has been asked to return to the wilds, so that others can learn his skills. Only this time he won't be alone. This time he will be in control. But plans have a way of going wrong . . .
Born May 17, 1939, Gary Paulsen is one of America's most popular writers for young people. Although he was never a dedicated student, Paulsen developed a passion for reading at an early age. After a librarian gave him a book to read — along with his own library card — he was hooked. He began spending hours alone in the basement of his apartment building, reading one book after another. 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. Paulsen's realization that he would become a writer came suddenly when he was working as a satellite technician for an aerospace firm in California. One night he walked off the job, never to return. He spent the next year in Hollywood as a magazine proofreader, working on his own writing every night. Then he left California and drove to northern Minnesota where he rented a cabin on a lake; by the end of the winter, he had completed his first novel.
