Below I’ll give you my selections for the best Gary Paulsen books by a few categories. I will cover these and other great books more in depth later.
- 1. Hatchet (2006)
- 2. Complete Hatchet Set (Hatchet~The River~Brian’s Winter~Brian’s Return~Brian’s Hunt) (1996)
- 3. Woodsong (2007)
- 4. The River (A Hatchet Adventure) (2012)
- 5. Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod (1995)
- 6. Brian’s Return (A Hatchet Adventure) (2012)
- 7. Canyons (2011)
- 8. The Gary Paulsen Collection: Dancing Carl; Dogsong; Hatchet; Woodsong (2013)
- 9. Woods Runner (2011)
- 10. Brian’s Winter (Custom Book Bundles) (2012)
- 11. Brian’s Hunt (A Hatchet Adventure) (2012)
- 12. Harris and Me (2007)
- 13. Tracker (2007)
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1. Hatchet (2006)
Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson, haunted by his secret knowledge of his mother’s infidelity, is traveling by single-engine plane to visit his father for the first time since the divorce. When the plane crashes, killing the pilot, the sole survivor is Brian. He is alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother had given him as a present. At first consumed by despair and self-pity, Brian slowly learns survival skills—how to make a shelter for himself, how to hunt and fish and…
2. Complete Hatchet Set (Hatchet~The River~Brian’s Winter~Brian’s Return~Brian’s Hunt) (1996)
the five books in the Hatchet series….
3. Woodsong (2007)
Gary Paulsen, three-time Newbery Honor author, is no stranger to adventure. He has flown off the back of a dogsled and down a frozen waterfall to near disaster, and waited for a giant bear to seal his fate with one slap of a claw. He has led a team of sled dogs toward the Alaskan Mountain Range in an Iditarod — the grueling, 1,180-mile dogsled race — hallucinating from lack of sleep, but he determined to finish. Here, in vivid detail, Paulsen recounts several of the remarkable experiences that shaped his life and inspired his award-winning writing. A School Library Journal Best Book A…
4. The River (A Hatchet Adventure) (2012)
Two years after Brian Robeson survived fifty-four days alone in the Canadian wilderness, the government wants him to head back so they can learn what he did to stay alive. This time Derek Holtzer, a government psychologist, will accompany him. But a freak storm leaves Derek unconscious. Brian’s only hope is to transport Derek a hundred miles down the river to a trading post. He’s survived with only a hatchet before–now can Brian build a raft and navigate an unknown river? For the first time it’s not only Brian’s survival that’s at stake. . . An IRA-CBC Children’s…
5. Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod (1995)
Paulsen and his team of dogs endured snowstorms, frostbite, dogfights, moose attacks, sleeplessness, and hallucinations in the relentless push to go on. Map and color photographs….
6. Brian’s Return (A Hatchet Adventure) (2012)
As millions of readers of Hatchet, The River, and Brian’s Winter know, Brian Robeson survived alone in the wilderness by finding solutions to extraordinary challenges. But now that’s he’s back to ordinary life, he can’t make sense of high school life. He feels disconnected, more isolated than he did alone in the north woods. How can Brian discover his true path in life, and where he belongs? The answer is to return. Gay Paulsen skillfully explores the meaning of belonging and purpose, and reminds us of a crucial rule of the wilderness: expect the unexpected. “Bold, confident…
7. Canyons (2011)
Two boys, separated by the canyons of time and two vastly different cultures, face the challenges by which they will become men.Coyote Runs, an Apache boy, takes part in his first raid. But he is to be a man for only a short time.More than a hundred years later, while camping near Dog Canyon, 15-year-old Brennan Cole becomes obsessed with a skull that he finds, pierced by a bullet. He learns that it is the skull of an Apache boy executed by soldiers in 1864. A mystical link joins Brennan and Coyote Runs, and Brennan knows that neither boy will find peace until Coyote Runs’ skull is carried back to an…
8. The Gary Paulsen Collection: Dancing Carl; Dogsong; Hatchet; Woodsong (2013)
This collectible boxed set of beloved titles from acclaimed author Gary Paulsen includes Dancing Carl, Dogsong, Hatchet, and Woodsong. In Dancing Carl, a teen’s terrible secret becomes a fragile expression of hope and the healing power of love. In the Newbery Honor Book Dogsong, Russel, driven by a strange, powerful dream, takes a team of dogs on an epic journey of self-discovery that will change his life forever. In the Newbery Honor Book Hatchet, Brian Robeson must survive fifty-four harrowing days following a plane crash, stranded in the desolate wilderness with only his instincts—and his hatchet. And in…
9. Woods Runner (2011)
Samuel, 13, spends his days in the forest, hunting for food for his family. He has grown up on the frontier of a British colony, America. Far from any town, or news of the war against the King that American patriots have begun near Boston.But the war comes to them. British soldiers and Iroquois attack. Samuel’s parents are taken away, prisoners. Samuel follows, hiding, moving silently, determined to find a way to rescue them. Each day he confronts the enemy, and the tragedy and horror of this war. But he also discovers allies, men and women working secretly for the patriot cause….
10. Brian’s Winter (Custom Book Bundles) (2012)
In the Newbery Honor-winning Hatchet, thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson learned to survive alone in the Canadian wilderness, armed only with his hatchet. As millions of readers know, he was rescued at the end of the summer. But what if that hadn’t happened? What if Brian had been left to face his deadliest enemy–winter? Brian Paulsen raises the stakes for survival in this riveting and inspiring story as one boy confronts the ultimate adventure. “Paulsen picks Hatchet’s story up in midstream; read together, the two books make…
11. Brian’s Hunt (A Hatchet Adventure) (2012)
Brian Robeson has stood up to the challenge of surviving the wilderness in Hatchet, The River, Brian’s Winter, and Brian’s Return. Now, while camping alone on a lake in the woods, he finds a wounded and whimpering dog. As Brian treats her wounds, he worries about who or what did this to her. His instincts tell him to head north, quickly, to check on his Cree friends. With his new companion at his side, he sets out on the hunt. Gary Paulsen expertly delivers a riveting story that brilliantly combines two of his great themes: the human animal’s…
12. Harris and Me (2007)
A young boy spends his tenth summer on his aunt and uncle’s farm, where he is constantly involved in crazy escapades with his cousin Harris. “On the Larson farm, readers will experience hearts as large as farmers’ appetites, humor as broad as the country landscape and adventures as wild as boyhood imaginations. All this adds up to a hearty helping of old-fashioned, rip-roaring entertainment.”–Publishers Weekly…
13. Tracker (2007)
For John Borne’s family, hunting has nothing to do with sport or manliness. It’s a matter of survival. Every fall John and his grandfather go off into the woods to shoot the deer that puts meat on the table over the long Minnesota winter. But this year John’s grandfather is dying, and John must hunt alone. John tracks a doe for two days, but as he closes in on his prey, he realizes he cannot shoot her. For John, the hunt is no longer about killing, but about life….
Best Gary Paulsen Books You Must Read
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Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood
Author(s): Gary Paulsen
ID: 2887122, Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), Year: 2021, Size: 9 Mb, Format: epub
An Introduction to Polysaccharide Biotechnology
Author(s): Stephen E. Harding, Michael P. Tombs, Gary G. Adams, Berit Smestad Paulsen, Kari Tvete Inngjerdingen, Hilde Barsett
ID: 1679497, Publisher: CRC Press, Year: 2017, Size: 6 Mb, Format: pdf
Gary Paulsen
Author(s): Jill C. Wheeler
ID: 1346746, Publisher: ABDO Publishing Company;ABDO;Checkerboard Library, Year: 2014, Size: 8 Mb, Format: pdf
Please note that this booklist is not definite. Some books are absolutely record-breakers according to Washington Post, others are drafted by unknown writers. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant books you could recommend? Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the list.