Hatchet

BOOK ENTRY FORMAT FOR GENRE PROJECT


Information for students
Author: Gary Paulsen Title: Hatchet
Book Genre: Realistic Fiction Publishing Info:

Summary: Thirteen-year old Brian Robeson is flying through the Canadian wilderness to visit his father when the only pilot of his small plane has a heart attack and dies. It is up to Brian to fly the plane but when it runs out of gas, the plane crash lands in a lake. Somehow, Brian survives the crash and is now all alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but the clothes on his back and a hatchet on his belt, which was a gift from his mother. Brian builds a shelter and eventually learns how to find food and build a fire. However, Brian faces many challenges, including encounters with wild animals and surprise storms. When the tail end of the plane finally floats up to the water’s surface, Brian is able to retrieve the survival pack and unwittingly turns on the emergency transmitter that allows help to arrive and rescue him

Personal rating: ****

Rationale: well-written plot, believable characters and situations, interesting story

Information for teachers
Reading level: 6.3 Interest level: 6th-8th

Thematic Areas: adventure, survival, family, relationships, values, secrets, change, courage

Content Areas: science, nature, geography

Potential Problems or Difficulties: references to characters swearing

Possible use in classroom: determine the location of the plane at the time of the heart attack and again at the place where the plane went down; make a guidebook to help others identify animals and/or plants in the Canadian wilderness, be sure to include fish, bear, grouse, choke cherries, porcupines, snapping turtles, skunks and moose; build a model of Brian's shelter out of natural materials such as rocks, sticks, leaves, and dirt; research how long a person can go without food and water and research the possible reasons for drinking the lake water; make a tornado using soda bottles; make a 'missing person' poster for Brian and include such important information as his physical description and where he was last seen; sketch a map of the area and label locations mentioned in the story (i.e., site of crash, where first shelter built).