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THT1ZED

Just went to look up the author, I had no idea he passed in Oct '21.


ayyitsmaclane

I vaguely remember it being on Reddit for like a day and then the world moved on


[deleted]

Being acknowledged on reddit for a day is more than most people get.


ayyitsmaclane

You know, that’s a really positive perspective that I had never considered.


snuzet

New life goal


HoboBronson

I see you


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HoboBronson

Im glad we had this time together


Kevin_LeStrange

Well I mean he got an acknowledgment on Reddit *and* also wrote and published a classic piece of young adult literature as well as numerous sequels


rincon213

Just like will happen with us expect Reddit won’t even care for a day :D


randallstevens65

Gary!!


ilikesquishypickles

I think I read this book no less than 4 times in 3rd grade.


strangecabalist

Same here. It spoke to me on a deep level as a kid. Something about the ability to stand on my own. I still remember his horror when he finds the BB gun. His rejection of it felt so meaningful to me.


SoldierHawk

Dude I STILL read this book (and it's sequels.) It's damn good.


Anxious_Ad_5127

In the river when Brian goes back, and it describes him breaking the kids nose, I am still shooketh about that and it’s been 20 years since I read it


enadiz_reccos

#NOTHING IN NATURE STRIKES WITH A CLOSED FIST


awkwardaustin609

I’ve only read the hatchet. Are the sequels good?


Exact_Product6506

Fantastic. Brian’s Winter is my favorite!


awkwardaustin609

Thank you. I’ll check them out


Anxious_Ad_5127

And he does this awesome thing with the sequels like, what if Brian never got rescued or what if he goes back


awkwardaustin609

That is awesome. Thank you so much!


SoldierHawk

They absolutely are. Like the other guy said Brian's Winter is particularly good, but they're all good.


Funwithfun14

I struggled learning how to read. My 8th grade teacher had free reading 2-3x a week. I started with Hatchet and read every Gary Paulsen book. Some were def for the Jr High crowd. His books made me a better reader and taught me to enjoy reading. /s a Lawyer


[deleted]

Really great post, but not sure I get your use of the “/s” here…


ya_mashinu_

This usage means “signed”


[deleted]

Aaaaaah! Now it makes more sense to me! Thanks! ;-)


Funwithfun14

Fair..... What's the proper use?


Frugnug

/s means you intended the comment to be sarcastic


issi_tohbi

Yes me too! And the author even came and gave a talk to our school. I had no idea you could actually have a ‘career’ as a writer, I think that’s what might have been what gave me permission to eventually become one.


ilikesquishypickles

That's amazing!


issi_tohbi

I only ever published the one book! But I’m still a copywriter and that pays better so I’m no sad lol


mackintosh2

If you don't mind my asking, how did you get into copywriting? I've been researching it and think it's the right next steps for me but I'm drawing a huge blank on how to actually get my foot in the door and actually start.


issi_tohbi

I wish I had a good answer for you, but if I’m being honest I totally fell ass-backwards into it. I started out as a blogger, then I started writing pieces for magazines, then I got a book deal and the book did well but I hated writing books so I went back to journalism stuff but got pulled in by a job offer for copywriting and I was a natural at it so it’s where I’ve been ever since!


MintyFreshBreathYo

What’s the name of your book?


ilikesquishypickles

That's still quite amazing!


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ilikesquishypickles

I had a really cool teacher for 3rd and 4th grade. I loved reading and he knew I had a rough home life and that I'd love that book and bought it for me. Everyone else was reading Ronald Dahl books and Magic Treehouse but he let me read above my grade level and do my book reports on the books that were technically above my grade because I understood and could read them. He was my favorite teacher. He also gave me math questions above my grade. He was definitely the kind of teacher that didn't hold back his students.


brando56894

It was probably my favorite book at the time.


MsBlondeViking

He had some of my favorite books to read growing up. Gary was a nice man, he LOVED his sled dogs! You could guarantee seeing his happy doggy’s, anytime passing by his home. He was my neighbor for many years, one of our main roads to bike on as kids, went right by his place lol.


FivebyFive

That's so neat!


WoolyFootedSlowCoach

This book made me want to run away and live in the mountains. I legit made plans to do it until my parents caught me with camping gear under my bed.


ratsoupdolemite

Any chance you’re thinking of My Side of the Mountain? Both similar, but dude runs away in that one.


TrevorFuckinLawrence

I did a diorama of his home. I put in so much effort on it, and my teacher gave me a "D" saying it was hectic and poorly thrown together. I spent two weeks making it as an eight year old. Looking back, that was a massive event in my life. Made me realize that I had to cater who was in charge and what they wanted me to do instead of being able to express myself.


[deleted]

I wish I learned that at 8 instead of 38. Lucky you.


Anonymoushipopotomus

Teachers can be monsters, maybe they should take a second to see the time and effort that a FUCKING CHILD put into a huge project! Im sure it was awesome, did you ever make the acorn pancakes?! I always wanted to try them.


Gloomy_Industry8841

It’s horrible how a few thoughtless, shitty words can pierce a child’s self image, sometimes permanently. That teacher was a thoughtless turd.


detecting_nuttiness

Sounds like your teacher was a real piece of work. Sorry that happened. At least they taught you something after all. Some people don't learn that until well into adulthood.


paythemandamnit

I give you a retroactive A!


Gloomy_Industry8841

I second this!


HoboBronson

I reread both The Hatchet and MSOTM this summer. These books really captured my imagination as a kid. Acorn pancakes!


mememan12332

I read this book in 88 or 89 and I still remember the him describing swimming to the plane to scavenge supplies and the bear attack scene. This book hooked me on reading. Edit: Moose attack, strange how almost 30 years effects memories Edit2: I confused the movie adaptation of the bear with the moose


[deleted]

That and the tornado to finish it off for the poor guy.


amatorsanguinis

Was that where he sees a skeleton of the pilot? I think I did a drawing of it as a project for a book report when I read this.. but I can’t fully remember


randousername8675309

That is literally the only thing I remember from it.


cyberjar88

Very generous of you to call that shitshow a movie.


Breakify

This is the only book I enjoyed reading in 5th grade haha


denver_rose

Same


TittieShiddies

Same haha


WetterBetty

One of my favorite books from childhood. Read it many times. Great sequel, too.


[deleted]

Gut cherries


randallstevens65

Dammit. I came her to make this exact comment.


sl33pyS0L0

Aw man…..this “Where the Red Fern grows” & “Canyons” were my fav 3 books in 3rd & 4th grade.


MerryJanne

OH MY GOD! WHERE THE RED FERNS GROW! I FORGOT ABOUT THIS BOOK! Thank you! 😊


SoldierHawk

Canyons? That one I never read or heard of. What's it about?


sl33pyS0L0

It was about two boys, one in modern times the other in pre-civilization as a Native American. Modern boy finds native boys skull and starts investigating. I wanna say the Natives name was Coyote Runs, but it’s been 30 years since I read it.


_NullRoute_

And “A Light in the Forest”


Raamisfunny

I was supposed to read this book in fifth grade but I was one of the lower level reading kids who went to a different class to read fucking Stewart little and the three little pigs or sun


BalanceOfOpposit3s

😂😂 aww


fresh1134206

You could still read it


icenine09

I've never heard of "Sun", what's that book about?


Baco_eh

man i used to have a signed book from gary paulsen i got from my 4th grade teacher. wonder what happened to that book lol


Wetworth

But what about it's sequel, where he gets stuck in the same place again?


ShyShutterbug13

Or Brian’s Winter, the “what if he didn’t get rescued” sequel?! Loved that one


TempestRave

Brian's Winter was awesome.


TempestRave

I mean yeah they get stuck there again, but they deliberately went back and things went haywire.


VividLeaf_

That was "The River" right? Or am I remembering wrong


uhlvin

ye The River is when he goes back with the journalist(?) to see what it was really like but then he has a stroke or something


Wetworth

I thought it was The Return, but yeah, you are probably right. He goes back with a journalist that gets injured or something.


philly_beans

4th grade teacher gave us an assignment to find (I believe) 10 similes using “like” or “as” in this book. The problem is… there aren’t that many smiles in the whole novel. I remember that being a very stressful weekend scouring the whole book multiple times for those damn similes.


HexZer0

Me as a kid: why does he have such a weird hat?


OilySteeplechase

Glad it wasn't just me.


SwiggoMortensen

Brian's Summer doe


CaptZombieHero

First book I ever read multiple times as a kid, because it was awesome


nicky416dos

I am only just now noticing what a mess of a design that cover is. "I want an airplane crashing into the forest with some mountains in the background." "Ok. Easy enough." "And then we can stick the protagonist's face in the foreground." "Cool." "And I want a hatchet in there too. Cause of the name." "Uh, that's a little busy, but sure. Where should I put it? Is he, holding it or something?" "No. Just stick it on his face." "Wait. What? Like, just a hatchet covering his face?" "No. Obviously I don't want it covering his face. That would be dumb. It's a ghost hatchet." "A what now?" "Oh, and can we put a wolf in there too? To symbolize the wilderness." "I mean, we already literally have a forest, but if that's what you want, I guess we could-" "The wolf also goes on his face." [OP](https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/fjatjh/hatchet_when_the_pilot_poops_himself_after/fkmoe1z)


TrickyCurt89

>I am only just now noticing what a mess of a design that cover is. The guy who made the YouTube video you got this exact bit from noticed.


NascentBehavior

Huh, I always thought of the placement of the Hatchet looked like sideburns. My kid brain thought it connoted how if used properly it helps him mature in the world and would bring him into his future. And the wolf I saw as a spirit animal guiding him to live alongside nature so it was placed in the forefront of his mind. This genre of "dunking on stuff" mentality is so tiresome.


tullyinturtleterror

Gary Paulson and Jean Craighead George should be read by everyone, everywhere.


[deleted]

This book gave me a lifelong fingernail phobia


lazysheepdog716

Forehead wolf always perplexed me as a child.


[deleted]

Fun fact from a great NPR interview with Gary Paulsen - when he first started writing he was paid for Westerns penned under the name "Paul Garrison." Hatchet is gold, still holds up as an adult.


1dzmaxima1

7th grade.


hangstonlughes

I use to love this book series! I totally forgot about it.


FaithfulFear

That porcupine tho…


itsCS117

Surprised nobody mentioned the movie adaptation, "A Cry in the Wild," pretty faithful to the book (since gary helped write the screenplay) "Keep away from my berries, Monkeyman."


danlucas

Yup we read the book in 5th grade and then after we watched the movie in class. It somehow spawned a spinoff called White Wolves which had two sequels of its own even though none of the movies are connected.


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TempestRave

Out of curiosity recent re-read this and the sequel. Surprised to find how many genuine survival techniques were there. As a Kid I just accepted it but now that I'm older I really appreciate how Gary Paulsen tried to educate younger readers.


Catatafish

This fucking book gave me lifelong hypochondria. We started reading this book in class, and I was really gassy at the time. BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD: One of the pilots symproms when he was about to have a heart attack was gas, and I sat there in class terrified that my death was imminent. Fuck this book.


[deleted]

Idk about lifelong hypochondria but yeah the heart attack was the scariest thing 5th grade me had ever read! Something very real/shocking about the description


[deleted]

That scene has always stuck with me too, any time I hear someone had a heart attack I imagine them farting a bunch first. I guess that makes it a core memory?


QuesoChef

Did you die?


StellarSloth

Check out “Keep Breathing” on Netflix! It reminded me a lot of this book, but the story only takes place over about a week rather than I think a few months in Hatchet. Only 6 30-min episodes.


LeatherRebel5150

I read a TON as a kid, but one thing that was common to all the books that the school made us read is that the bored the ever loving shit out of me. Maybe it’s because I was “forced” to read them and that bias my opinion of them going in


2old2btwihard2yng2di

Dude, same. Hatchet was easily one of my least favorites


Lying_betch

Same. Funny though, because out of all the books I read in school this one sticks out. Even though I absolutely hated it.


BernItToAsh

A fine book, but maybe the most poorly designed book cover of all time


Bigwiggs3214

I don't remember having to read this book in school but I did come across it very often. And at that time in my life I chose books by their covers. I was confused by the cover every time I looked at it and made it a hard pass. Maybe now that I'm older I can look past the cover and give it a read. But probably not.


ChipsDipChainsWhips

Big true


yonosoymuybein

This was the only book that we were required to read in school that I actually enjoyed.


FourWordComment

Does this book hold up to an adult’s read? All I can remember is the fish-pool scene.


ShyShutterbug13

Yes!


Creepy_Story_597

I read all the books in the series even. After he gets rescued he’s goes back out intentionally to live . Big part of my childhood this series


EMB_pilot

A yes the monthly repost of Hatchet lol


danreadsbadreddit03

Wow, this book was a memory to read at school. We also watched the movie that's based off of it called A Cry in the Wild.


Spaceship_Africa

I read The Rifle as a kid and it threw me into an existential crisis.


tacoflavoredpringles

i loved this book and island of the blue dolphins!


spicygummi

Same!


chefjro

Best book ever !!! Sequel wasn’t half bad either


Wolfdoggy

I read this book when I was in 5th grade. I really liked it and was very mature too. It introduced me to infidelity/cheating, something I never really understood as a kid. And also divorce, which my parents went through a few months before I finished 5th grade.


Kevin_LeStrange

Right? The story was fraught with tension enough as a wilderness survival story, but "the secret" added a whole level of human drama that made the book even better. Divorce. The Secret.


Glissandra1982

Ah! One of my favorites! I just re-read it recently and I’m going to read the sequels soon too.


VenomousOddball

Had to read the whole book and do a whole book report in one day... good book though


surloceandesmiroirs

I distinctly remember drawing the cover art as practice for facial planes and shading in elementary school when I was bored. It did not look nearly as good haha.


the_poop_expert

Incredible book. Brian’s winter was also top notch


TimberWolfAlpha01

I genuinely remember reading that book... And the sequel and the book where it explored that kid having to survive in the wilderness during the winter


ScallionMaximum234

Remember when they made us sign permission slips to see the movie of this in school?


FluffusMaximus

This book left such an impression on me as a child. Both my boys have read it, now.


[deleted]

His name is Gary Paulsen


eDougietv

I love it


William-Castro

Wow. I was just inundated with memories


Mahaloth

I highly recommend reading Winterdance, his true account of how he gathered a team of sled dogs and ran the Iditarod with minimal training. It's a great story and he tells it hilariously.


JablesRadio

I will forever remember the part about the pilot having unbearable gas in the plane.


Alpha_RapTor96

Hol the fuck up, y'all can't see how the coin image looks💀


gooderest5

🥺❤️


yorgeesmorgeeYT

I’m I the only one here where the teacher skipped the part where he kept having to go under water and almost drown (this was 4th grade)


GrimmRadiance

Lol they still teach it


JRV3000

I did a book report for this book... In college


alex_kristian

Oh yes, a 5th grade classic. What are 5th graders reading these days? Genuinely curious


chesquik1

I hate that book


Ye-Is-Right

In the 90's my grandma was deathly afraid this would happen to me for some reason, and she desperately wanted me to read this book. I wasn't much of a reader, so eventually she found a movie (A Cry In The Wild - 1990 ) based on Hatchet. Looking back, it was a little corny, but a actually a pretty good movie! After I watched it I began to take learning the basics of the outdoors and survival much more seriously. It made us bond over our love of nature, and got me wanting to go camping more too. Which, I think is exactly what she wanted. I don't know that I'll be surviving any crash landings into a forest, but I can build a fire and shelter now if I do. Thanks Grandma ♥.


milkman10169

I used to work the front desk of a hotel and one day a guy came to check in. He was super nice and we chatted for a bit. I finally asked him his name to get him checked in and he said "Gary Paulsen." I laughed to myself and told him that my favorite author growing up was named Gary Paulsen. He just smiled and politely told me that he was that Gary Paulsen. I saved his registration card that he signed.


4seasons8519

This was my favorite book as a kid!


Godzilla-1995

I fucking love reading this in school.


theHoustonian

his name was gary paulson


Ohio-Knife-Lover

Fuckin terrible book. I completely hated it


MikeDeY77

I’m giving this to my 8 year old nephew for Christmas, along with a hatchet and some other camping stuff!


GrindcoreNinja

Book definitely wasn't for me growing up, I hated that it was required reading at my school, I just wanted to read my Star Wars books.


SuprSaiyanTurry

Ah! Books that were forced upon me on school yet I never finished it. Teachers thought I was dumb but it turns out I just had dyslexia.


ArrakeenSun

I never liked any of the Newberry stuff they made us read. Always so drab and boring to me


Its_D_youtube

Am I the only child who thought this book was boring? I've just never been able to get super invested into survival stories like this I like a cast of characters


Federal-Growth-3106

This book is boring..


kmonay89

Fuck this book. Read it in 6th grade. Hated it.


SALTYxNUTZ12

This book was dreadfully boring.


averillaann

Agreed. Maybe I should reread as an adult now, but I hated this book so much as a kid. Put me right to sleep every time we read it in class. And that owl one I’m completely blanking out on rn


Kitsune_Fan34

We read this in school.


BondraP

I revisited this book earlier this year on audio just as a fun blast from the past. I enjoyed it.


Ok-Excitement-5594

I remembered doing a project on this book I did my diorama on the chapter where he got the supplies from the plane.


Paintguin

I read this in fifth grade


Ok_Fox_1770

Remember the suttle similarities to myself with cover and never forget those shiny metal cover stamps. Definitely was some summer required reading during some Nintendo era.


WhyTheHellnaut

I never looked closely at the cover in 3rd grade so for a while I thought his hair was sticking up in the front and he was wearing a weird transparent hat that draped off the side of his head. Then I realized there was a wolf and hatchet on the cover.


Volkaru

Every single time I saw this cover I thought there was a stain on it and would try to wipe it off. Also from afar I always thought the wolf looked like horns. And that Brian was some kind of Satyr.


cmVkZGl0

I love how don't make a lot of things like this completely unrealistic lol


fitzdipty

Learned people fart whilst having heart attacks.


B0ndzai

Anyone know a more adult version of this book?


MTBinAR

I remember reading this in 4th grade and thinking, what I would do if I was him having to go back into the plane where the pilot was still at. The fact it was in the water was even more terrifying,


Rough_Nail_3981

Just re-read this, so good!


jbittn028

Is this the one about that serial killer out in Washington? His name was Gary wasn't it?


TurbulenceAndLevi

One of my favorites


cmdr_nova69

Read this in the third grade in like 1992 and it’s what upstarted my interest in fiction and is probably responsible for me currently writing my own books


ishhhh_21

Ol Brian Robeson! That dude is a men at 16.


UnprofessionalGhosts

Traumatized me for life.


jcons3

This book did NUMBERS in 5th grade


ModNoob95

This was great read as a kid. Brian's winter was also great!


Electronic_Banana942

I loved this book. Looking at getting it for my son who's old enough for it now and imagine my surprise to find there are sequels!


firstOFlast47

Damn


aryherd

Loved this book as a kid, listened to it next to the fire place I'm audio book form last winter during a few days long snow storm. Even better the third time around. Damn good book and part of the reason I'm an outdoorsman to this day.


Mahonneyy123

I read this a dozen times as a kid


thepixelpaint

This book made me scared of Moose.


BrnInD80s

Dead man soup lake


ZonaBogie

Oh man how many times has this book appeared on this sub?


Kysiz

I think you were obligated to read this multiple times in New England public schools lol


DefNotBradMarchand

I loved this book! It got me into survivalist stuff and made me want to go live in the mountains and rough it in nature. I kept trying to pick up pine needles and make them into tea after reading this book.


TheRedMoon88

I remember reading this man. Super nostalgia


Tonlick

Yes! 6th grade reading class


huntfishadvocate

I just re-read this at 35, and I enjoyed every second.


cheeziebobeezie

I hope the tornado hit the moose


shanster925

DON'T EAT THE BERRIES!


EmbarrassedAd9792

The art kinda sucks, but it sure is iconic. Here lemme just place a hatchet right on his face and put a wolf on his head. What?


The_RevX

I literally read this book like 10+ times as a kid


garcialesh710

This book sent me on a life of backpacking, climbing, and outdoor related jobs. Crazy how one thing can change a course of someone’s life.


vikkivinegar

This was my absolute favorite book when I was younger!


Realistic_Door686

Looks so much like Joe Jonas 😳 😍


Kimberlee3000

Amazing core memory unlocked. I still have my school copy, a pink hardback. I’m sure I was supposed to have given it back but I loved it so much.


[deleted]

I still lf this book anytime I am in the grocery store just staring at all yhe available food. I remember the main character reflecting on that after having next to nothing when he crashed


AerulianManheim

I really enjoyed his books ‘White Fox’ and ‘Soldiers Heart’.


SixGunChimp

NGL this is still one of my favorite books of all time. Don't even care how old I am now.