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.

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.

Gary Paulsen is an American writer of young adult literature who has won the Margaret Edwards Award for his lifetime contribution in writing for teens. A prolific writer, he is the celebrated author of more than 200 books. This thoughtful biography exposes his early encouragements through interviews with the author and his family. Readers are given a peak into his professional influences while his greatest artistic inspirations are revealed.

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.

Describes the life and accomplishments of the author known for his tales of adventure and survival, including "Hatchet" and "Dogsong."

During World War II, a little boy is sent to live with his grandma, a cook in a camp for workers building a road through the wilderness.

Jimmy hasn't seen his father in nine years.

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

Much of Gary Paulsen’s life has been lived close to the natural world. A three-time Newbery Honor winner, Paulsen writes adventure stories, such as Dogsong, Hatchet, and Woods Runner, where his young main characters struggle to survive in the natural world. Other stories touch on family visits to Minnesota, as in The Winter Room and Harris and Me, or science fiction, as in Time Hackers. Recently, Paulsen and his son, Jim, collaborated on two books involving a boy, his father, and their dogs. In 1997, Paulsen won the Margaret A. Edwards Award for his lifetime contribution to young adult literature.

Whether two teachers are covering the same topic in separate classes, or designing a thematic unit with the school librarian, this handy guide to nearly 800 award-winning historical fiction for Kindergarten through 8th grade will assist all parties in the selection of high quality literature.