Writer Gary Paulsen leads children into the wilderness – and leaves them there. The three-time Newbery Award Winner has written more than 200 books for young adults, many of them about characters who grow up quick as a means of survival. His most popular (and award-winning) title, Hatchet, follows a young boy who’s stranded in the Canadian woods with only a hatchet after a plane crash. In Paulsen’s latest book, Woods Runner, a 13-year-old fights his way through the battlegrounds of the Revolutionary War in order to save his family.
Paulsen says the dangers his characters face in the outdoors symbolize what children encounter today in society. “As it is now, they are the victims. If they’re going to survive, we have to give them the best tools we can,” says Paulsen. (And, no he doesn’t mean a hatchet.) “The main thing is to build a lust for learning – to want to know more, to understand more about everything.” That’s a trait his characters often display. Paulsen will discuss and sign Woods Runner today as part of Inprint’s Cool Brains! Reading Series. 3 p.m. Pershing Middle School, 3838 Blue Bonnet. For information, call 713-521-2026 or visit www.inprinthouston.org. Free.
Sun., April 18, 3 p.m., 2010
This article appears in Apr 15-21, 2010.