GARY PAULSEN
Born May 17, 1939
Minneapolis,
Minnesota
Author
Picture and information taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Paulsen

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Ran away at age 14 to join a carnival
Did not enjoy school
Was given a library card at age 14 and began reading novels in the basement of his home
Writes adventure novels
He was a magazine proofreader in
California. He wrote his own material at his home at night
Competed in the race, the Iditarod, in 1983 and in 1985
Forced to give up racing as a result of an angina attack.

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He completed his first novel, The Special
War, at a cabin by a lake in Minnesota in
1966
Has written more than 175 books and more than 200 articles and short stories for young people.
Three of his books, Hatchet, Dogsong, and
The Winter Room, are Newbery Honor books
His wife, Ruth Paulsen, has been the illustrator for many of him books.
He currently lives in New Mexico, but spends much of his time with his wife on their boat in the Pacific Ocean.
He writes books of adventure, exploration, and comedy.

 http://www.webenglishteacher.com/pa ulsen.html
A website designed for the English teacher in mind. Website contains many activities to use with each of Paulsen’s most popular novels. Activities ranges from simple question and answer activities to webquests and reader’s theaters.

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 http://www.randomhouse.com/features/ garypaulsen/
The official Gary Paulsen website from his publisher.
http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/1070
This is another website with a collection of ideas, lesson plans, and information about a number of Gary’s most popular novels.

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Hatchet
Brian’s Winter
The Winter Room
Lawn Boy
Lawn Boy Returns
Harris and Me
The Amazing Life of Birds
The Schernoff Discoveries
The Monument
Mr. Tucket
Night John
How Angel Peterson Got His Name
Dogsong

Harris and Me is believed to be the true story of a part of Gary Paulsen’s life. The narrator of the story is shuffled much of his life between family because of alcoholic parents. He spends a summer on a farm ( for the first time) with Harris and his family. He is a city boy and learns many things about life on the farm from
Harris. He and Harris develop a true friendship and understanding for one another through the many escapades they experience together while living on the farm. This is a book that will surely tickle the funny boy of any boy ages 10-14.

The narrator in this story receives an old lawn mower for his birthday, but what he receives is more than he bargained for. He begins an idea of making some money during the summer to buy a new inter tube for his bike. Along his journey, he meets an investor and ends up starting his own business with his own employees. His business becomes a six figure success. He also is the proud sponsor of a prize fighter. All of this, he accomplishes without his parents even realizing it. This story is a wonderful example of how hard work will pay off. This book can be an excellent addition to any math class . Lessons on investing, interest, taxes and percents can be incorporated through the use of this story. Students will be learning difficult concepts through the life of this interesting and funny entrepreneur.

Duane is your typical teenage boy dealing with the issues that face boys his age. However he often feels he is the only one going through these trials and tribulations. He feels awkward in everything he does, hates his newly formed pimples, and finds it completely difficult to ignore certain parts of the opposite sex. This book chronicles a 21 day portion of Duane’s journey through puberty. Gary uses an odd metaphor in somehow relating the life of
Duane to the life of little baby bird living in a nest outside of Duane’s window. This book is quite different than others in that it is a journal of a boy’s life-something you don’t see or hear of often. It gives boys an insight into exactly what
Duane was thinking and going through during this difficult period of his life. I think reading this book can possibly make any boy more comfortable and at ease with the issues they face during this time of their lives.

Gary Paulsen is a well-known author. I think his novels are a true work of art because they inspire students, especially boys to read and write their own stories. I enjoy reading his books, and because of that I am able to suggest his books to any of the boys in my class. Rich, poor, black , white, athlete, or hunter- all of the boys enjoy his writing. While many girls love reading Paulsen’s novels as well, the boys often relate to his stories of adventure. They enjoy the adventurous worlds he takes them in his novels. He is able to take a book and relate it to almost any part of a boy’s life, whether it is hunting, farming, fishing or just the sheer mischief of the life of a typical boy.
Some of his stories are quite dramatic, while others are humorous. I cannot think of a single boy who has told me they did not enjoy a Gary Paulsen novel. It is not often that you can find an author that can relate to a particular group of students in such a manner.

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Create a milk cartoon mobile using four of your favorite scenes from the story. Write a short summary of each scene and draw an illustration for each scene. The milk carton should be completely decorated to match the theme of the story.
Create a new book jacket for the story. You may want to illustrate your favorite scene from the story. Don’t forget to place the title of the book and the author somewhere on your book jacket.
Create a double bubble map comparing and contrasting Harris to the narrator.
Create a Body Biography of one of the characters of your choice.
Create an open-mind portrait of the narrator.
Create a ten-entry journal from the perspective of the narrator .
The journal must document the “adventures” he faced while living with Harris and his family.

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 http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/aupaulsen-gary.asp
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianadams/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Paulsen