Month of January 2022: Young Reader’s Classics

READING LEVEL: 5.7 AR POINTS: 7.0
(Ages 10-14 years, grades 5-9)
Originally published in 1986.

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NOTE: Gary Paulsen has recently died just three months ago, on October 13, 2021. He had a heart-attack at his home in Tularosa, New Mexico, age 82.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. Okay. So, Paulsen began with a writing style of repeating his words or sentences over and over. It was a bit annoying! But, it’s only in the first chapter. Just get through it and the reading does get better.

The author seems to incorporate a few bits and pieces of his real life into this novel. His father was a career Army officer. And right after world War II, he sent for Gary and his mom to join him in the Philippines. While en route by ship, they really did witness a plane crash in the sea. His mother helped the ship’s hospital corpsman care for the ones that survived, and she ended up having an affair with the guy. Also, Gary claimed that between the ages of twelve and fourteen, his parents were too drunk to care about anything or anyone else or even stock the fridge or buy school supplies. He went out and worked several menial jobs to provide for himself and saved up for a .22 to hunt small game out in the woods for food. He later made his own bow and arrow to hunt deer.

This is a story of a young teen heading to Canada on a bush plane to stay with his father for a while. His mother was having a “secret” affair that his dad didn’t know about, but Brian knew. He saw his mother kissing this other man. [See the correlation?]

The pilot has a fatal heart-attack and Brian has to bring in this plane. He barely survives the crash into the lake in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by hills of trees. [Another correlation!]

Now, this isn’t the greatest adventure story ever told, but is told in a true “Boy Scout-ish” kind of way, in simple, step-by-step story form, that young kids reading this might walk away with a bit of real knowledge and self confidence to “think” they just might be able to survive a disaster. The first thing they will want, for sure, is a hatchet.

It’s good for kids to read these sorts of books. It doesn’t take a plane crash to be forced into survival mode. An economic collapse could also send people into survival mode, or like Gary, they may have out of touch parents. These are some good skills to know.

SERIES (Brian’s Saga)

1. Hatchet (1986)
2. The River (1991)
3. Brian’s Winter (1996)
4. Brian’s Return (1999)
5. Brian’s Hunt (2003)

NOTE: Not at the top of my wishlist, but I would consider reading more in the series if I come across them.

BOOK-TO-MOVIE

“A Cry in the Wild” (1990), starring Jared Rushton as Brian, Pamela Sue Martin as Brian’s mom, Stephen Meadows as Brian’s dad, and Ned Beatty as the pilot. ( )