Brian's Winter [Mass Market Paperback]

Gary Paulsen (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 12, 1998

In Hatchet, 13-year-old Brian Robeson learned to survive alone in the Canadian wilderness, armed only with his hatchet. Finally, as millions of readers know, he was rescued at the end of the summer. But what if Brian hadn't been rescued? What if he had been left to face his deadliest enemy--winter?

Gary Paulsen raises the stakes for survival in this riveting and inspiring story as one boy confronts the ultimate test and the ultimate adventure.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First there was Hatchet, Paulsen's classic tale of a boy's survival in the north woods after a plane crash. Then came a sequel, The River, and, last year, Father Water, Mother Woods, a collection of autobiographical essays introduced as the nonfiction counterpart to Hatchet. Now Paulsen backs up and asks readers to imagine that Brian, the hero, hadn't been rescued after all. His many fans will be only too glad to comply, revisiting Brian at the onset of a punishing Canadian winter. The pace never relents-the story begins, as it were, in the middle, with Brian already toughened up and his reflexes primed for crisis. Paulsen serves up one cliffhanger after another (a marauding bear, a charging elk), and always there are the supreme challenges of obtaining food and protection against the cold. Authoritative narration makes it easy for readers to join Brian vicariously as he wields his hatchet to whittle arrows and arrowheads and a lance, hunts game, and devises clothes out of animal skins; while teasers at the ends of chapters keep the tension high ("He would hunt big tomorrow, he thought.... But as it happened he very nearly never hunted again"). The moral of the story: it pays to write your favorite author and ask for another helping. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-At the conclusion of Hatchet (Macmillan, 1987), Brian Robeson is rescued after surviving a plane crash and summer alone in the north Canadian woods. Now, in this second sequel, Paulsen shows what would have happened if the 13-year-old boy had been forced to endure the harsh winter. For a brief time, Brian lives in relative luxury, living off the contents of the recently recovered survival pack, which included a gun for hunting. Then, his freeze-dried food runs out and his rifle fails, and he realizes how careless and complacent he has become. Suddenly aware of the changing seasons, he works frantically to winterize his shelter, fashion warmer clothes from animal skins, and construct a more powerful bow and arrow. About the time he has mastered winter survival, he discovers a dog-sled trail that leads him to a trapper and final rescue. The same formula that worked before is successful here: the driving pace of the narration, the breathtaking descriptions of nature, and the boy who triumphs on the merits of efficient problem solving. The author's ability to cast a spell, mesmerize his audience, and provide a clinic in winter survival is reason enough to buy this novel. Although the plot is both familiar and predictable, Paulsen fans will not be disappointed.?Tim Rausch, Crescent View Middle School, Sandy, UT
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf; Reprint edition (January 12, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440227194
• ISBN-13: 978-0440227199
• Product Dimensions: 3.7 x 0.4 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (417 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #327,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gary Paulsen is one of the most honored writers of contemporary literature for young readers. He has written more than one hundred book for adults and young readers, and is the author of three Newberry Honor titles: Dogsong, Hatchet, and The Winter Room. He divides his time among Alaska, New Mexico, Minnesota, and the Pacific.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#45 in Books > Teens

#45 in Books > Teens

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brian's Winter, a wonderful book. January 15, 2001

A Kid's Review

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I first heard about Brian's Winter when my teacher gave every student a copy the day before winter break. I am not a very bookish person, so I only read books that I tremendously like from the first chapter. This book was one of the rare books that captivated me on the first page. Without warning, Brian was involved in a horrible plane crash. He sustained no injuries, and afterwards he also survived on the isolated lake grounds for a very long time. I was very interested in all of Brian's weapons, his Native American ways of survival, and his hunting skills. I had tried reading Hatchet but it didn't really interest me. A good strategy to get yourself reading more is to read the second book in a series to get all the excitment right away, then read the first in the series. I was really impressed by Brian's way of survival in the wilderness. It was very suspenseful and exciting when Brian had to put up somewhat of a fight against some of his larger prey. I just couldn't put the book down. I admired Brian's way of life so much, that now one of my favorite things to do is to hunt rabbits and set traps for birds. In conclusion, Brian's Winter was filled with excitement, suspense, and emotion.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW February 16, 2006

A Kid's Review

Format:Mass Market Paperback

In 6th grade i read the book before this and i thought wow that was ok. Then i was on a dry streak and never read a book for a year or two and i saw this book in my closet and remembered i read the one before this one. I beleive this book got me reading again and I suggest you get this book immediately because it draws you in and it makes you want to read more and more. I read this last week and after this i read all the other ones in the next week it was amazing and I hope you find this helpful.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The book that put you in the book February 20, 2007

A Kid's Review

Format:Paperback

The book Brian's Winter has to be one of the best books that I have read in a long time. I am not the biggest fan of Gary Paulsen but, this book made me feel like I was actually at the camp he built and could hear all the sounds of nature.

When Brian Robeson's plane crashed, he was stranded in the northern Canadian Woods. Since the pilot of the plane died, Brian was on his own. After surviving the summer, he found a survival kit with food, water, a rifle and other essentials for surviving. Unfortunately, the rifle was broken after so many uses. He had to settle for the bow he made.

Brian had lost track of the days and didn't realize that winter was coming! The sign in which he realized winter would arrive soon is that cold rain poured for days. He began to worry and his food supply was low. To his luck, he saw wolves coming back from the woods with food in their mouths. He went to the area where they came from and found a half eaten doe lying out in the open. Brian needed food so he carried the doe back to camp.

As the days went by, the air became very cold. His doe meat was running low. He knew that he needed a larger animal to survive. Brian's old bow would not be able to kill large animals. So he made a larger bow with larger arrows. Brian also made a lance when he needed the extra boost. When he went out hunting, he came across a moose. The moose was enormous! Brian shot his large bow and hit the mark, but it didn't kill the moose. The moose charged, but Brian used the lance and stabbed it. After taking the moose back to camp, he realized his tattered and torn clothes would not suffice. So he made a jacket out of fur from the deer and rabbit fur. He also made moccasins out of the same material.

One morning he woke up to find layers of snow covering the entire woods! Brian could go nowhere with this thick snow. He easily resolved the problem by making snowshoes. One night while he was asleep, he heard an explosion like a gun shot! He thought that someone was out in the woods. In the morning Brian investigated the trees by the lake. He realized that the sap in the trees expanded in the tree that caused so much pressure the trees exploded. Many days later, Brian went looking around the woods. He found a peculiar track leading on to the lake. Brian followed the track to find a trapper family! They were out there in the woods every mid-winter. They had a bush plane that came by every three weeks. One week later, the plane came back and Brian returned home.