Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood

By Gary Paulsen

Book Overview

A mesmerizing memoir from three-time Newbery Honor-winning author Gary Paulsen--whose books have sold over 35 million copies worldwide--giving readers a new perspective on the origins of his blockbuster contemporary classic Hatchet and other famed survival stories.

"Leaves you gritting your teeth and clutching the pages . . . Haunted me as a reader." --The New York Times Book Review

★ "This literary treasure is written for book lovers of any age." --Shelf Awareness, starred review

His name is synonymous with high-stakes wilderness survival adventures. 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 and critically lauded account of grit and growing up, perfect for newcomers and lifelong fans alike, Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood is literary legend Gary Paulsen at his rawest and most real.

Don't miss Gary Paulsen's other acclaimed books from Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers: the father-son comedy How to Train Your Dad and the page-turning survival adventure Northwind.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374314152
• ISBN13: 9780374314156
• Release Date: January 2021
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.07 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.4" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9