Module 6/SLIS 5420: Realistic Fiction (Younger Readers)

Hatchet

Written by Gary Paulson

1988 Newbery Honor
1990 William Allen White Children's Book Award
1990 Young Hoosier Book Award







Bibliography

Paulson, Gary. Hatchet (reprint). Simon & Schuster Children's, 2007. ISBN: 1416936475

Summary

Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is the only passenger on a plane, when the pilot dies of a heart attack. Suddenly, Brian must somehow land the plane and find a way to survive in the Canadian wilderness until somebody can find him. The only things he has are the clothes on his back and a hatchet his mother gave him before he took off. As Brian struggles to survive, he learns to be patient, trust his instincts, and not give in to despair.

My impressions

The story of Brian's survival in the wilderness is gripping and intense. The problems Brian faces and overcomes in Hatchet are improbable, but realistic. Brian’s character is easy to relate to because he keeps thinking about his divorced parents, and stumbles around the wilderness before he finally figures out how to survive. I especially like how Brian comes to terms with his situation and allows himself to become part of his surroundings. To "understand and use it-- the woods, all of it." After he finds the survival pack and is rescued, he manifests a deep understanding of his place in nature, and a deep appreciation of what he has. Having been involved with Cub and Boy Scouts for many years, I love these books-- and I know my boys do, too.

Reviews

When the pilot of a small, two-person plane has a heart attack and dies, Brian has to crash land in the forest of a Canadian wilderness... This is a heart-stopping story: it seems that at every moment Brian is forced to face a life-and-death decision, and every page makes readers wonder at the density of descriptive detail Paulsen has expertly woven together. Poetic texture and realistic events are combined to create something beyond adventure, a book that plunges readers into the cleft of the protagonist's experience (Publishers Weekly).

Brian Robeson, 13, is the only passenger on a small plane flying him to visit his father in the Canadian wilderness when the pilot has a heart attack and dies. The plane drifts off course and finally crashes into a small lake. Miraculously Brian is able to swim free of the plane, arriving on a sandy tree-lined shore with only his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother had given him as a present... An epilogue discussing the lasting effects of Brian's stay in the wilderness and his dim chance of survival had winter come upon him before rescue adds credibility to the story. Paulsen tells a fine adventure story, but the sub-plot concerning Brian's preoccupation with his parents' divorce seems a bit forced and detracts from the book. As he did in Dogsong (Bradbury, 1985), Paulsen emphasizes character growth through a careful balancing of specific details of survival with the protagonist's thoughts and emotions. (Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie for Library School Journal).

Activities

Have the students build a diorama or model of Brian's camp and the lake.

Give the students lessons on basic wilderness survival, and have them make their own tools. Here are some great websites that have nice lessons on wilderness survival:

http://www.e-scoutcraft.com/activities/wilderness_survival.html

http://bcadventure.com/adventure/wilderness/survival/

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/

http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Falls/9200/wilderness_survival.html

http://www.usscouts.org/safety/safe-desert.asp