Gary Paulsen (Teen Reads: Student Companions to Young Adult Literature)

180 Pages·2007·0.69 MB·English

by  James B. Blasingame

Gary Paulsen

Gary Paulsen
James B. Blasingame
TeenReads: Student Companions toYoungAdult Literature
Greenwood Press
Westport, Connecticut •London
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Blasingame, James.
GaryPaulsen /James B.Blasingame.
p.cm.— (Teenreads : studentcompanions to young adult literature)
Includesbibliographical referencesand index.
ISBN-13:978-0-313-33532-7 (alk.paper)
ISBN-10:0-313-33532-X (alk. paper)
1.Paulsen, Gary—Juvenileliterature. 2.Authors, American—20th
century—Biography—Juvenile literature. 3.Children’s stories—
Authorship—Juvenile literature. 4.Young adultfiction—Authorship—
Juvenile literature. 5.Adventure and adventurers—United States—
Biography—Juvenile literature. 6.Dogowners—United States—
Biography—Juvenile literature. I. Title.
PS3566.A834Z57 2007
8130.54—dc22
[B] 2007021446
BritishLibrary Cataloguing in Publication Data isavailable.
Copyright (cid:2)C 2007 byJames B.Blasingame
All rightsreserved. Noportion of thisbook may be
reproduced, byany process ortechnique, without the
express writtenconsent of thepublisher.
Library of Congress Catalog CardNumber: 2007021446
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-33532-7
ISBN-10: 0-313-33532-X
ISSN: 1553-5096
First published in 2007
Greenwood Press,88 Post Road West,Westport, CT 06881
Animprint of Greenwood Publishing Group,Inc.
www.greenwood.com
Printed inthe UnitedStatesof America
Thepaper used inthis book complieswith the
Permanent PaperStandard issued by theNational
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Margaret Blasingame (1928–1986), who believed that all
children are special and all children can learn

Contents
Series Foreword ix
by James B. Blasingame
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Chapter One
Dogsong:The Life That Inspired the
Stories of Gary Paulsen 1
Chapter Two
The Writer and His Craft 37
Chapter Three
It All Started with a Hatchet:
The Brian Robeson Books 49
Chapter Four
Puppies, Dogs, and Gary Paulsen: His Life
in Dog Years 81
Chapter Five
Minnesota Boy: Growing Up in Minnesota 105
Chapter Six
Paulsen Looks at the Past: Historical
Fiction and Fact 131
viii CONTENTS
Chapter Seven
Life at Sea and Other Subjects for the
Pen of Gary Paulsen 149
Bibliography of Sources 157
Index 163
Series Foreword
W
hen young readers first find a book they love, the result is
magical. A whole new universe opens up to them with possi-
bilities as limitless as their own young imaginations. Finding
a favorite author brings with it a powerful curiosity about that author as
person and a thirst for more books from him or her. The Teen Reads se-
ries brings to young readers just the information they need to satisfy their
curiosity and slake their thirst. Chapters about the authors’ lives reveal to
the young reader that this person was once young, too, with all the trials
and tribulations of young people today. Sometimes, young readers will be
surprised to find that their favorite author had a very difficult journey in
life, and the admiration they hold for that author will grow even more
with one wonderful benefit: the realization that challenges create the peo-
ple we become and adversity does not equal failure in life.
We have chosen six of the most popular and accomplished of
authors who write for young adults: Joan Bauer, Sharon Creech, Chris
Crutcher, Walter Dean Myers, Gary Paulsen, and Tamora Pierce. These
six authors represent a priceless wealth of life experience, distilled
through an author’s heart and soul and poured out onto the page in sto-
ries of adventure, challenge, love, hardship, and triumph, some set in the
Old West, some on another planet, and some right here and now. Each
book in the Teen Reads series will delight young readers with connec-
tions between their favorite authors’ books and the events in their lives
that led them to this vocation in life and sometimes even to the specific
settings, characters, and events in their stories.
For each important novel or series of novels, readers will find synop-
ses of the setting, characters, plots, themes, and literary techniques, along
with interesting information that sheds light on how and why the author
chose to write these books as he or she did. Using this series will help
young readers to make connections with themselves, the world, and other