Survival in the Canadian Wilderness: Hatchet and the Brian Books

This winter, fifth graders are taking a walk on the wild side, exploring 1988 Newbery Honor award-winner Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.

A page-turning adventure: After a traumatic plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days alone in the wilderness, learning to survive with courage, determination, and the aid of a hatchet given to him by his mother.  With no time for anger, self-pity, or despair, Brian's survival experience also begins to teach him how to deal with his parents' divorce.  Take a look at a world-premier fifth-grade performance of a dramatic scene from Chapter One:

Gary Paulsen, a Lafayette School favorite: Check out this "author interview," researched and performed by fifth-graders Shane C. and Sean A.

Reading Road Trippers have been creating and collecting all sorts of souvenirs from the Canadian wilderness!

Poster by Patrick S., Wooden Hatchet by Jared P., Paper Hatchet by Brian N.

“We want you to do it again.”  In The River, a sequel to Hatchet, the government asks Brian to return to the wilderness for fifty-four days-- so that astronauts and the military can study techniques that kept him alive during his original survival adventure. The project backfires, leaving Brian stranded with a wounded partner and a dangerous river to navigate.

What if?  In Brian's Winter, a companion book to Hatchet and The River, Gary Paulsen imagines what would have happened to Brian if he had not been rescued from the plane crash and had been forced to survive a winter in the wilderness with only his survival pack and hatchet.

Hatchet by Nicholas D.

Going back in: After his extraordinary experiences surviving alone in the harsh Canadian wilderness, sixteen-year-old Brian finds it increasingly difficult to live as a normal high school student and begins planning a dramatic return to the North-- the place where he feels he really belongs-- to seek his destiny. 

In the North woods: When Brian finds a wounded and whimpering dog one night, he senses danger and 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 growing sense of unease, he sets out to learn what happened. 

Hatchet by Sarah R.

We can create our own interactive symphony of wilderness sound with Nature's Orchestra from Canadian Geographic.

by Maxx U. and Josh S.