Alida's Song

Alida's Song
Author: Gary Paulsen
Publisher: Yearling
Total Pages: 98
Release: 2008-12-24
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0307512169

A remarkable novel about one of the most important and loving relationships in Gary Paulsen's life. The wonderful grandmother seen through the eyes of a young boy in The Cookcamp reaches out to him at 14, offering him a haven from his harsh and painful family life. She arranges a summer job for him on the farm where she is a cook for Olaf and Gunnar, elderly brothers. Farm life offers the camaraderie and routine of hard work, good food, peaceful evenings spent making music together, even learning to dance. Life with Alida gives the boy strength and faith in himself, drawing him away from the edge and into the center of life.

Gary Paulsen

Gary Paulsen
Author: Mary Ellen Snodgrass
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2018-08-03
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1476631859

McFarland Companions to Young Adult Literature American novelist Gary Paulsen is best known for his young adult fiction, including bestsellers Nightjohn, Soldier's Heart, and Woods Runner. From his trenchant prose in The Rifle and The Foxman to the witty escapades of Harris and Me and Zero to Sixty, Paulsen crafts stories with impressive range. The tender scenes in The Quilt and A Christmas Sonata speak to his empathy for children, with characters who endure the same hardships that marred his own early life. This literary companion introduces readers to his life and work. A-to-Z entries explore themes such as alcoholism, coming of age, slavery, survival, and war. A glossary defines terms unique to his work. Appendices provide related historical references, writing, art, and research topics.

The Cookcamp

The Cookcamp
Author: Gary Paulsen
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 85
Release: 2014-06-24
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0545748259

Told through the eyes of a 5-year-old boy, this is a story of adventure and discovery in a cookcamp located in the Canadian woods during World War II.When?: World War IIWhere?: A cookcamp in the Canadian woodsWhy?: He's not really sure. One summer, a 5-year-old boy goes to live with his grandmother in a cookcamp. The camp is home to 9 men who are building a road through the woods. The boy misses his mother, but at the same time the camp becomes home--a special home where he learns to spit and rides the tractor. It's a wonderful summer, but then he lets slip to his grandmother about "Uncle Casey" and she writes seven letters to his mother. Seven letters that she mails "good and hard." A short while later, the boy returns home.

The Quilt

The Quilt
Author: Gary Paulsen
Publisher: Yearling
Total Pages: 98
Release: 2008-12-24
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0307543722

1944. Wartime. A six-year-old boy goes to spend the summer with his grandmother Alida in a small town near the Canadian border. With the men all gone off to fight, the women are left to run the farms. There’s plenty for the boy to do—trying to help with the chores, getting to know the dog, and the horses, cows, pigs, and chickens. But when his cousin Kristina goes into labor, he can’t do a thing. Instead, the house fills with women come to help and to wait, and to work on a quilt together. This is no common, everyday quilt, but one that contains all the stories of the boy’s family. The quilt tells the truth, past and future: of happiness, courage, and pain; of the greatest joy, and the greatest loss. And as they wait, the women share these memorable stories with the boy.

Gentle Reads

Gentle Reads
Author: Deanna J. McDaniel
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2008-06-30
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0313094519

This volume recommends some 500 positive, heart-warming stories for young readers—stories of the human spirit and what it can accomplish; stories of loving families surviving crises in positive ways; historical tales full of quick-witted people (especially girls); fairy tales with strong women; true stories of survival; and more. These gentle and uplifting reads span every genre—from science fiction and fantasy, to mysteries, realistic fiction, biographies, and nonfiction. They are Accelerated Reader titles, Reading Counts titles, and Junior Library Guild selections. Primarily intended for grades 5 to 9, this is a list of reading suggestions for the young adult who wants a great read but does not want to be offended. Grades 5-9.

Pictures of Hollis Woods

Pictures of Hollis Woods
Author: Patricia Reilly Giff
Publisher: Yearling
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2008-12-30
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0307542289

This Newbery Honor book about a girl who has never known family fighting for her first true home “will leave readers . . . satisfied” (Kirkus Reviews). Hollis Woods is the place where a baby was abandoned is the baby’s name is an artist is now a twelve-year-old girl who’s been in so many foster homes she can hardly remember them all. When Hollis is sent to Josie, an elderly artist who is quirky and affectionate, she wants to stay. But Josie is growing more forgetful every day. If Social Services finds out, they’ll take Hollis away and move Josie into a home. Well, Hollis Woods won’t let anyone separate them. She’s escaped the system before; this time, she’s taking Josie with her. Still, even as she plans her future with Josie, Hollis dreams of the past summer with the Regans, fixing each special moment of her days with them in pictures she’ll never forget. Patricia Reilly Giff captures the yearning for a place to belong in this warmhearted story, which stresses the importance of artistic vision, creativity, and above all, family.

Gary Paulsen

Gary Paulsen
Author: James B. Blasingame
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 181
Release: 2007-08-30
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0313344744

Gary Paulsen, a three-time Newbery Honor winner, has written over 175 books for young adults and adults for over twenty years. His stories of adventure and survival are beloved by readers, teachers, librarians, and critics. This volume examines a sample of the most widely-known and widely-studied books by Paulsen. A biographical chapter demonstrates how Paulsen's life experiences, notably the Iditarod, have influenced his writing. Each book is analyzed for plot, characterization, setting, and themes, written at a level that is accessible for young readers, yet providing in-depth information for older readers. Books analyzed in this volume include: -Brian's Winter -Dogsong -Hatchet -The Island -Winter Room

Mermaid's Song

Mermaid's Song
Author: Alida Van Gores
Publisher: New Amer Library
Total Pages: 396
Release: 1989-07-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780451161130

Through the ages, the balance between good and evil is maintained by the Seadragons. But only two dragons remain, and unless the people of the underwater caverns can find a true Merramaid to act as a Between, evil will prevail in the watery realm.

Belle Prater's Boy

Belle Prater's Boy
Author: Ruth White
Publisher: Yearling
Total Pages: 224
Release: 1996
Genre: Cousins
ISBN: 0440413729

When Belle Prater disappears, Belle’s boy, Woodrow, comes to live with his grandparents in Coal Station, Virginia. Woodrow’s cousin Gypsy is the town beauty, but she has hidden sorrows and secrets of her own. She wonders how Woodrow can accept his mother’s disappearance when she’s never gotten over her father’s death. That’s when Woodrow tells Gypsy the secret about his mother.

Liar, Liar

Liar, Liar
Author: Gary Paulsen
Publisher: Yearling
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2012-04-24
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0375866116

Kevin doesn't mean to make trouble when he lies. He's just really good at it, and it makes life so much easier. But as his lies pile up, he finds himself in big—and funny—trouble with his friends, family, and teachers. He's got to find a way to end his lying streak—forever.