"Dan Bittner flawlessly narrates this matchless memoir, which captures writer Gary Paulsen's bittersweet life...The sublime narration and satisfying conclusion contribute to a rewarding listening experience." — AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner
A middle grade memoir from a living literary legend, giving listeners a new perspective on the origins of Gary Paulsen's famed survival stories.
His name is synonymous with high-stakes wilderness survival stories. Now, beloved author Gary Paulsen portrays a series of life-altering moments from his turbulent childhood as his own original survival story. If not for his summer escape from a shockingly neglectful Chicago upbringing to a North Woods homestead at age five, there never would have been a Hatchet. Without the encouragement of the librarian who handed him his first book at age thirteen, he may never have become a reader. And without his desperate teenage enlistment in the Army, he would not have discovered his true calling as a storyteller.
A moving and enthralling story of grit and growing up, Gone to the Woods is perfect for newcomers to the voice and lifelong fans alike, from the acclaimed author at his rawest and realest.
A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2 of 2 copies available
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
January 12, 2021 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781250779748
- File size: 194563 KB
- Duration: 06:45:20
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- Lexile® Measure: 1030
- Text Difficulty: 6-8
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Reviews
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Dan Bittner flawlessly narrates this matchless memoir, which captures writer Gary Paulsen's bittersweet life. (He calls his parents vipers.) Listeners will be shocked when, in 1944, 5-year-old Gary is taken from his mother after she dresses him in a tiny uniform to entertain soldiers in bars. Life improves when rural relatives give him love and attention, and teach him fishing, mushroom picking, cooking, and an appreciation of nature, especially animals. Bittner stirringly captures Gary's grief when his parents reclaim him and he has to use his survival skills when they deplorably neglect him. "Thought pictures" (Paulsen's words), cunning asides, and descriptions of confronting bullies, working for a carnival, and joining the military convey Paulsen's personal history. The sublime narration and satisfying conclusion contribute to a rewarding listening experience. S.G.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine -
October 26, 2020
In this third-person memoir told in five sections, Newbery Medalist Paulsen (Hatchet), best known for his riveting survival stories, shares the turbulent early life experiences that led to his writing career. After his mother finds munitions plant work in 1944 Chicago, “the boy,” then five, accompanies her to bars and “sing to draw men” for her. Scandalized, his grandmother arranges for him to stay at his loving aunt and uncle’s Minnesota farm. After a few idyllic months enjoying the outdoors, however, Paulsen’s mother insists they join his father,
stationed in Manila, but the overseas journey and witnessing brutal killings in the wake of WWII prove difficult. As a teen in North Dakota, Paulsen repeatedly runs away from his increasingly volatile parents and befriends a kind librarian, who encourages him to write. But it isn’t until he enlists in the military and is faced with inflicting the same brutality that he saw in Manila that he knows he wants something different in life. Told in the third person, Paulsen’s raw memoir renders “the boy” a curious and savvy protagonist who constantly forges ahead, resulting in a riveting, hopeful survival story about personal resilience amid trauma. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jennifer Flannery, Flannery Literary.
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