"Hatchet" Book Talk

Paulsen, G., & Coyote, P. (1992). Hatchet. Old Greenwich, CT: Listening Library.

Thirteen year old Brian Robeson, thought he'd been through the worst event of his young life, his parents divorce. Not only was he living in the wreckage of his parents' split, but he knew the secret behind it all, and had no idea what to do with the information. This was weighing heavily on his mind as he rode in a small Cessna airplane to visit his father in the oil-fields of Northern Canada. This was until the pilot of his small plane has a heart attack and Brian has to crash land the airplane in the rugged wilderness of Canada. Brian is all alone with nothing but a tattered windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him before he left. He faces many challenges including hunger, angry insects and animals, and severe weather. What will he do? Will he manage to survive? Will his parents come looking for him? Will he be able to stay alive long enough for the search party to find him? This intense survival story showcases that with strength and perseverance you can do much more than you ever imagined. Make sure to read the book, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, to find out how Brian stays alive and if he will ever return to his life as he knew it.