Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood

"A riveting, hopeful survival story." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

A mesmerizing memoir from a living literary legend, giving readers 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.

An entrancing account of grit and growing up, perfect for newcomers and lifelong fans alike, this is the famed author at his rawest and most real.

Author: Gary Paulsen
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Published: 01/12/2021
Pages: 368
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.97lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.40w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9780374314156
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.9
Point Value: 11
Interest Level: Middle Grade Plus
Quiz #/Name: 511602 / Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 10/26/2020
Kirkus Reviews 11/01/2020
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 12/01/2020
Booklist 12/01/2020 pg. 37
Shelf Awareness 01/15/2021
School Library Journal 02/01/2021 pg. 93
Horn Book Magazine 03/01/2021 pg. 123

About the Author
Gary Paulsen is the winner of the ALA Margaret Edwards Award for his contribution to young adult literature, and is a three-time Newbery Honor winner, for Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room. He lives in New Mexico.