Paulsen captures a vanishing way of life and offers a lyrical tribute to the american farm. "Paulsen's prose is realistic and down-to-earth....Ruth Wright Paulsen's paintings are an invitation to pause and imagine...a delight" (Christian Science Monitor). Illustrations by Ruth Wright Paulsen.

Gary Paulsen has owned dozens of unforgettable and amazing dogs, and here are his favorites--one to a chapter. Among them are Snowball, the puppy he owned as a boy in the Philippines; Ike, his mysterious hunting companion; Electric Fred and his best friend, Pig; Dirk, the grim protector; and Josh, one of the remarkable border collies working on Paulsen's ranch today. My Life in Dog Years is a book for every dog lover and every Paulsen fan--a perfect combination that shows vividly the joy and wisdom that come from growing up with man's best friend.

An adventurous story of a frontier boy raised by Indians, The Light in the Forest is a beloved American classic. When John Cameron Butler was a child, he was captured in a raid on the Pennsylvania frontier and adopted by the great warrrior Cuyloga. Renamed True Son, he came to think of himself as fully Indian. But eleven years later his tribe, the Lenni Lenape, has signed a treaty with the white men and agreed to return their captives, including fifteen-year-old True Son. Now he must go back to the family he has forgotten, whose language is no longer his, and whose ways of dress and behavior are as strange to him as the ways of the forest are to them.

Gary Paulsen, a three-time Newbery Honor winner, has written over 175 books for young adults and adults for over twenty years. His stories of adventure and survival are beloved by readers, teachers, librarians, and critics. This volume examines a sample of the most widely-known and widely-studied books by Paulsen. A biographical chapter demonstrates how Paulsen's life experiences, notably the Iditarod, have influenced his writing. Each book is analyzed for plot, characterization, setting, and themes, written at a level that is accessible for young readers, yet providing in-depth information for older readers. Books analyzed in this volume include: -Brian's Winter -Dogsong -Hatchet -The Island -Winter Room

Like J.G. Ballard's Empire of the Sun and Jerry Kosinski's The Painted Bird, Paulsen's startling, candid tale of innocence under siege provides a powerful vision of the routine horror of war (as) seen through a child's eyes and memory (Denver Post)--in this case, the author himself. Photos.

Find yourself in another world in The Transall Saga, the latest adventure from Gary Paulsen: Mark's solo camping trip to the desert begins as any other camping trip, until a mysterious beam of light appears. The trip turns into a terrifying and thrilling adventure when the light beam transports Mark into another time, and what appears to be another planet! Although he is searching for his way back to earth, in the meantime he is forced to make a life in this unknown world. He meets primitive tribes and shares the joy of human bonds, but this end of isolation in the new world also brings war and a struggle for power.

McFarland Companions to Young Adult Literature American novelist Gary Paulsen is best known for his young adult fiction, including bestsellers Nightjohn, Soldier's Heart, and Woods Runner. From his trenchant prose in The Rifle and The Foxman to the witty escapades of Harris and Me and Zero to Sixty, Paulsen crafts stories with impressive range. The tender scenes in The Quilt and A Christmas Sonata speak to his empathy for children, with characters who endure the same hardships that marred his own early life. This literary companion introduces readers to his life and work. A-to-Z entries explore themes such as alcoholism, coming of age, slavery, survival, and war. A glossary defines terms unique to his work. Appendices provide related historical references, writing, art, and research topics.