Gary Paulsen Websearch
PLEASE PRINT THIS so that
you can turn in your answers.
Go to http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/paulsen.htm
1.
Gary
Paulsen was born on _______________ in Minnesota. During the first few years of
his life, he was raised by his g___________ and several aunts because his
father was stationed in Europe during _____________.
2. He was constantly moving
because of his father's m________ career. His parents were a___________ and
eventually Gary had to move out and live with r___________ and be self
supporting.
3.
He
found security and s_________ from his grandmother and aunts, but he also found
c________ in b_________. He read constantly, even as much as a b______ a day.
Ever since he was f________, he worked many j_______ to support himself.
4.
He
attended Bemidji C_________, now Bemidji State University, in Minnesota, paying
his tuition by being a t__________. He also spent some time in the a______.
5.
He
published his first book, ____________, in 1966. His career was
interrupted by a l_________ in 1977 over W_________. During that time he
picked up the h________ of d______ s__________ which because the s_________ of
some of his future works, like D________.
6.
His
novels are excellent examples of the p______ vs n________ plot in young adult
n________. His action stories about s___________ including obstacles such as
alcoholism, d______ or surviving in the w________. He is very v________ in his
writing style and uses s_______ effectively and realistically. Most of his main
characters are not from p_______ families and usually find someone such as a
m_________ of the extended f________ to turn to.
7.
His
novels don't always end n_________ and h_________ ever after, but usually
o_______ ended. He challenges his readers to p________ knowledge and treats his
audience as h______ b_______. Some of his novels are about r______ of passage.
Some have only _____ character, such as Hatchet and Voyage of the
Frog.
1. Go to the 2nd
paragraph. Running away from h______ at
the age of _____ and traveling with a c______, Paulsen acquired a taste for
a__________. A youthful summer of rigorous c________ on a f______; jobs as an
e__________, construction w_______, ranch h________, truck d_______, and
s________; and two rounds of the ________-mile Alaskan dog sled race, the
Iditarod; have provided ample m________ from which he creates his powerful
s_______.
2. Go the the 5th
paragraph. It is Paulsen's overwhelming
b_______ in young people that d______ him to write. His intense d_______ to tap
deeply into the human s_____ and to encourage r______ to observe and c_____
about the w______ around them has brought him both enormous p__________ with
young people and critical a________ from the children's book community. Paulsen
is a master s________ who has written more than ______ books and some ______
articles and short stories for children and adults. He is one of the most
important writers of young adult literature today and three of his n________ —
Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room — were N________ Honor Books.
Scroll halfway down to just below the red line. When
he was y______, Paulsen was not a good r_______. He even flunked _____ grade.
One cold n_____ he went into the local public l_________ just to get w_______.
When the librarian a________ if he would like a library c______, Paulsen says,
"the most astonishing thing happened. This silly little card with my
_______ on it gave me an I_______ I had not had. I felt I had b_________
somebody." Over the next _____ years, the librarian g______ Paulsen many
kinds of books to read. He's been h_______ on reading ever since.
Go to http://www.carr.lib.md.us/mae/paulsen/paulsen.htm
In the last paragraph, WHY does Paulsen say he writes? Use your own words.
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