Image: Simon & Schuster
#tbt honors the passing of a children's literature great. Gary Paulsen died Wednesday at the age of 82. He was a three-time Newbery Honor winner and author of over 180 books. Perhaps his best known work was Hatchet, which was published in 1987 and won him his second Newbery Honor in 1988.
Hatchet tells the story of thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson, who is traveling by plane to the Canadian wilderness to visit his father for the first time since his parents' divorce. He is angry about the divorce, but mostly angry at his mother, whom he feels is to blame. Brian's mother gifts him with a hatchet before he boards the private plane that is ready to take off. Having no place to put the hatchet, he shoves it through his belt for the ride. Unfortunately, his pilot has a heart attack and the plane crashes into a lake leaving Brian alone in the wilderness with just the clothes on his back and the hatchet.
Mr. Paulsen tells a gripping tale of survival. He was a great outdoorsman who also raced sled dogs. He also wrote humorous stories about growing up as well. How Angel Peterson Got His Name is a slim, hilarious collection of connected short stories.
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