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The following is a list of 8th grade novels that may be taught this
year. Others may be added.
Hatchet by
Gary Paulsen
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In Hatchet, 13-year-old Brian Robeson learned to
survive alone in the Canadian wilderness, armed with his
hatchet and resourcefulness. In three gripping companion
books, Brian again must survive in the woods. Meet Gary
Paulsen at:
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen/ |
| Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen
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In Hatchet, 13-year-old Brian Robeson learned to
survive alone in the Canadian wilderness, armed only with
his hatchet. Finally, as millions of readers know, he was
rescued at the end of the summer. But what if Brian hadn't
been rescued? What if he had been left to face his deadliest
enemy--winter? Gary Paulsen raises the stakes for survival
in this riveting and inspiring story as one boy confronts
the ultimate test and the ultimate adventure.
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Brian's Return by Gary Paulsen
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As millions of readers of Hatchet, The River,
and Brian's Winter know, Brian Robeson survived alone in
the wilderness by finding solutions to extraordinary challenges.
But now that he's back in civilization, Brian can't find a way
to make sense of ordinary daily life. He feels disconnected,
more isolated than he did alone in the North. The only answer is
to return to the woods, to "go back in," for only in the
wilderness can Brian discover his true path in life, and where
he really belongs.
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The River by Gary Paulsen
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| These words, spoken
to Brian Robeson, will change his life. Two
years earlier, Brian was stranded alone in the
wilderness for 54 days with nothing but a small
hatchet. Yet he survived.
Now the government wants him to go back into
the wilderness so that astronauts and the
military can learn the survival techniques that
kept Brian alive. Soon the project backfires,
though, leaving Brian with a wounded partner and
a long river to navigate. His only hope is to
build a raft and try to transport the injured
man a hundred miles downstream to a trading
post--if the map he has is accurate. |
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| The Hunt by Gary Pauslen (optional)
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| Brian Robeson is at home in the
Canadian wilderness. He has stood up to the
challenge of surviving alone in the woods. He
prefers being on his own in the natural world to
civilization.
When Brian finds a dog one night, a dog that
is wounded and whimpering, he senses danger. The
dog is badly hurt, and as Brian cares for it, he
worries about his Cree friends who live north of
his camp. His instincts tell him to head north,
quickly. With his new companion at his side, and
with a terrible, growing sense of unease, he
sets out to learn what happened. He sets out on
the hunt. |
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| Guts by Gary Paulsen
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Guess what — Gary Paulsen was being kind to Brian. In
Guts, Gary tells the real stories behind the Brian books,
the stories of the adventures that inspired him to write Brian
Robeson's story: working as an emergency volunteer; the death
that inspired the pilot's death in Hatchet; plane crashes
he has seen and near-misses of his own. He describes how he made
his own bows and arrows, and takes readers on his first hunting
trips, showing the wonder and solace of nature along with his
hilarious mishaps and mistakes. He shares special memories, such
as the night he attracted every mosquito in the county, or how
he met the moose with a sense of humor, and the moose who made
it personal. There's a handy chapter on "Eating Eyeballs and
Guts or Starving: The Fine Art of Wilderness Nutrition." Recipes
included. Readers may wonder how Gary Paulsen survived to write
all of his books — well, it took guts. |
| Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
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Author Wilson Rawls spent his boyhood much like the
character of this book, Billy Colman, roaming the Ozarks of
northeastern Oklahoma with his bluetick hound. A
straightforward, shoot-from-the-hip storyteller with a searingly
honest voice, Rawls is well-loved for this powerful 1961 classic
and the award-winning novel
Summer of the Monkeys. In Where the Red Fern Grows,
Billy and his precious coonhound pups romp relentlessly through
the Ozarks, trying to "tree" the elusive raccoon. In time, the
inseparable trio wins the coveted gold cup in the annual
coon-hunt contest, captures the wily ghost coon, and bravely
fights with a mountain lion. When the victory over the mountain
lion turns to tragedy, Billy grieves, but learns the beautiful
old Native American legend of the sacred red fern that grows
over the graves of his dogs. This unforgettable classic belongs
on every child's bookshelf. Meet Wilson Rawls at:
http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/rawls.html |
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The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton According to Ponyboy,
there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A
soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about
anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A
greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and
needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always
been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs
for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible night
when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under
Ponyboy's skin, causing his world to crumble and teaching him
that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser. Meet
S.E. Hinton at:
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/hinton.htm |
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