Hatchet

Bibliographic Information: Paulsen, G. (1987) Hatchet. New York: Simon & Schuster

Annotation: This is the story of 13 year old Brian. His parents recently got divorced. Brian is flying to northern Canada to visit his father when his plan crashes. Brian encounters many tough decisions along his journey. He only has a hatchet that his mother gave him and must survive on his own.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Grade Level: Varies (4-12th grade)

Readers who will like this book: Any reader that is interested in the outdoors and/or survival techniques. Children who have experienced struggles or have had difficult decisions to make.

Response/Rating: I think many children can make connections from this book. Survival techniques without technology may be hard for kids to believe but I think this story really shows that anything is possible. 3

Classroom questions: (opening) Have you ever been camping before? What resources did you have? (closing) Do you think you could have survived? Is there anything you would have done different? Do you think there was a theme in this novel?