Gary Paulsen is one of the best writers for young people. Although not a dedicated student, he developed a passion for reading at a young age. After running away from home at 14, he acquired a taste for adventures. Living in a cabin in the Minnesota woods, he entered two dogsled races. After an injury, he began focusing on writing, working 18+ hours a day. Three of his books - Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room - received Newbery Medals. Paulsen and his wife divide their time between homes in New Mexico and on their boat in the Pacific.

2. Born May 17, 1939, Gary Pauslen is one of the best writers
for young people. Although he was never a dedicated
student, Gary developed a passion for reading at a young
age. Because he ran away from home at the age of
fourteen, he acquired a taste for adventures, which shows
in his novels. Living in the Minnesota woods in a
cabin, Paulson entered in two dogsled races, both of them
were the Iditarod. After an injury in one of the races, he
began to be more focused on writing, working eighteen or
more hours a day. Three of Gary’s books have received
Newberry Medals: Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room.
Paulsen and his wife divide a home between New Mexico
and their boat in the Pacific.
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen/about.html

3. Hatchet begins when Brian is on a plane to go see his dad in
Canada. His parents are divorced and he visits his dad every
summer. Only Brian knows the secret that his mom had kept from
his dad, who only knows part of the secret., which is the reason for
the divorce. While Brian is on the plane, the pilot starts
screaming, saying that his chest was falling apart, and Brian
knows that the pilot is having a heart attack. With the pilot
unconscious or dead, the plane runs out of fuel and it crashes into
a lake. Brian winds up in a forest in the middle of nowhere. The
wilderness puts his survival skills to the test since he runs into
many wild animals and he has to find shelter, food, and water. He
stays positive by thinking that his parents will find out that he is
missing and come save him in a couple of days or so ( which will
not happen). Will Brian be rescued, or even survive to be rescued?
Read the book to find out!

4. ~Main Character
Brian- the main character, thirteen years old, boy, lives in New York City
with his mom, sort-of chubby, his parents are divorced, becomes very
skinny from not eating a lot of food, can be easily frustrated, learns to
appreciate nature.
~Supporting Character
The pilot-the pilot of the plane that Brian rides on, is quiet in the
beginning but later starts talking to Brian, lets Brian help fly the
plane, dies of a heart attack, sinks to the bottom of the lake with the
plane.

5. Introduction
• Brian rides on a plane to go visit his dad in Canada when the pilot has a heart
attack .
• The plane runs out of fuel and it crashes down into a lake.
Rising Action
• Brian is deserted in the wilderness with no supplies or anything to help him get
rescued.
• Brian finds a good shelter, but still gets attacked by the swarms of mosquitoes.
• Brian finds that he can drink the lake water, but cannot eat a type of berry that
makes him very sick.
• Brian finds raspberries and makes improvements to his shelter, like put-
ting a wall in the opening.
Climax
• Brian makes a bow and arrow and a spear to catch fish, which is
successful. Also, he creates fire and makes even better improvements
to his shelter.

6. Falling Action
• Brian hears a plane pass by and tries to signal it, but they don’t see him.
• Brian gets stampeded by a moose that just won’t stop beating him up.
• A tornado comes and destroys everything that Brian had made, and almost got
him too.
• Brian notices that the tip of the crashed plane was out of the water from the
tornado.
• Brian rebuilds everything that got destroyed, making the things stronger.
Conclusion
• Brian goes to the floating plane and finds a survival kit, full of all the
supplies he needs.
• A plane lands where Brian has made camp and the pilot tells Brian
that he had seen the plane and came down to get a better look. Then
he recognizes Brian and tells him that they have been searching for
him for two months.

7. Windbreaker- N. Used for a jacket made of wind-resistant material.
“Instead he picked more and put them in his windbreaker.” Pp. 47
Abated- V. To put an end to.
“When he opened his eyes again it was evening and some of the sharp pain
had abated.” Pp.26
Keening- V. To lament, mourn, or complain loudly.
“Worst was a keening throb that pulsed with every beat of his heart.” Pp. 27
Hordes- N. A teeming crowd or throng.
“With it came swarming hordes of mosquitoes.” Pp.28
Incessant- Adj. Continuing or following without interruption.
“Not to mention chasing away the incessant bugs.” Pp.96

8. The pilot played by:
Robin Williams
Brian played by:
Greyson Chance

9. “In the Frame of Wilderness”
The sky dressed in red by midsummer sunset,
lake so tranquil filled with the scarlet tears,
The dusk descends and sadly entwines the shades,
In the pale moonlight, full of whispers,
Over the forest creeping mist brings desires.
I picked this song because it accurately describes the wilderness
just like in the novel. Also, it mentions a forest and a lake like the
ones Hatchet has.

10. I am giving Hatchet four out of five stars because it was a very descriptive
novel, and I liked how the author told everything that the main
character, Brian, did to survive in the wilderness. The only thing that I didn’t
like was that sometimes it was a little hard to follow because at times it had
too many details. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes
nature, wilderness, adventure, and animals.