Introduction.
Gary paulsen was born on may 17,1939 in minneapolis, minnesota. his dad was ins the army and his mom was a ALCOHOLIC. he did not see his dad tell he was 9 years old. later he got into reading to get away from his parents. he started off slow then he started to rip though a book everyday. gary said that the librarian keeped him out of PRISON, she showed him the power of reading. in 1959 he forged his parents signature and went into the army, he later became a certified field engineer. He was tracking a mariner space probe when he DECIDED to become a writer. at that time he was very poor, he lived in a shack with no pluming or electricity. the paulsen's made everything to save money they ate game meat to survive. he made $ 2,000 a year for checking traplines, he got a couple of dogs from a guy, the dogs became their transportation.
gary paulsen's childhood.
HE WAS BORN ON MAY 17, 1939 HIS FATHER LEFT TO GO FIGHT IN WORLD WAR 2. HE LIVED IN CHICAGO WHEN THE WAR WAS GOING ON. GARY DIDN'T SEE HIS DAD TILL HE WAS 7 YEARS OLD, HIS MOM'S JOB WAS TO MAKE AMMO AT A FACTORY. PAULSEN HAD A ROUGH CHILDHOOD, HIS MOM WORKED LATE, BABYSITTER JUST DRANK WINE AND SWORE TO HER RADIO, HE HAD TO GO OUTSIDE TO THE BATHROOM. ONE NIGHT HE WENT TO THE BATHROOM OUTSIDE AND SOME GUY GRABBED HIM, HIS MOM CAME OUTSIDE AND BEAT THE GUY UP. HE WOULD GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY WITH ARMY TOYS IN HIS FREE TIME. HE AND HIS MOM WENT TO HIS COUSINS HOUSE IN NORTHERN MINNESOTA, THEY FOUND OUT HIS COUSIN WAS VERY SICK. LATER GARY'S MOM SENT HIM TO HIS GRANDMA'S HOUSE, WHEN HE GOT THERE HIS GRANDMA ASKED ALOT OF QUESTIONS. SHE LATER SENT A LETTER TO GARY'S MOM SAYING THAT GARY NEEDS HER. GARY'S GRANDMA LIVED IN THE WOOD,AND HE FOUND HIS LOVE FOR THE WILDERNESS BUT HE ONLY STAYED THERE 1 YEAR. WHEN HE WENT BACK TO HIS MOTHER HE SANG AT THE BAR TO MAKE MONEY FOR DINNER. IN 1945 WORLD WAR 2 ENDED AND HIS DAD CAME HOME. BUT HE WENT DIRECTLY TO THE PHILIPPINES TO HELP REBUILD. PAULSEN AND HIS MOM WENT TO SAN FRANCISCO TO BOARD A SHIP TO GO TO THE PHILIPPINES. HE GOT CHICKEN POX AND HE COULD NOT BOARD THE SHIP BUT THE CAPTAIN SMUGGLED HIM ON THE BOAT.
WHAT WAS gary paulsen's adult life like?
THE PAULSENS LIVED IN MINNESOTA THEY WERE VERY POOR THEIR HOUSE WAS A LITTLE MORE THAN A SHACK, IT HAD NO PLUMBING OR ELECTRICITY. HIS SON'S NAME IS JIM. TO GET TO SCHOOL JIM HAD A 5 HOUR BUS RIDE TO GET THERE. THEY MADE THEIR OWN FOOD AND ATE BEAVER AND OTHER GAME TO SURVIVE. HE ALSO TRAPPED ANIMALS FOR THE GOVERNMENT, HE MADE $2,000 A YEAR. GARY LOVED TO WRITE, HE WANTED TO LEARN, HE LISTENED TO OTHER WRITERS, SPEAKING, AND TAUGHT WRITING. A MAN JUST GAVE GARY 4 DOGS AND A SLED BUT THE DOGS DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO LEAD. HE LATER HITCHED HIMSELF TO THE SLED TO TRY TO TEACH THEM. HE EVENTUALLY GOT A NEW LEAD DOG "COOKIE". IN 1980 PAULSEN FELL THROUGH THIN ICE, COOKIE DRAGGED HIM OUT WHICH SAVED HIS LIFE. GARY SAID THAT "THERE WERE MANY TIMES WHEN MY DOGS HELPED ME OUT OF DANGER." HE WANTED TO START STUDYING ANIMAL BEHAVIOR. HE REALIZED ANIMALS COULD PLAN AND THINK, HE COULDN'T HURT THEM ANYMORE, HE AND HIS WIFE BECAME VEGETARIANS.
WHAT EDUCTION OR EXPERIENCES DID GARY HAVE?
GARY PAULSEN DECIDED TO RACE IN THE 1983 IDITAROD ACROSS ALASKA. HE BEGAN BUYING AND SELLING DOGS TRYING TO FIND THE PERFECT ONES. GARY INTERACTED WITH HIS DOGS, HE EVEN LIVED IN THE KENNELS WITH THEM. TO RACE THE IDITAROD PAULSEN WOULD NEED $14,000. HIS HOME TOWN OF BEMIDJI HELPED HIM RAISE MONEY. IT TOOK HIM 17 DAYS TO FINISH THE IDITAROD, HE PLACED 42 OUT OF 70 TEAMS. HE WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO DOCUMENT THE RACE WITH PICTURES AND A JOURNAL, HE LATER WROTE 5 BOOKS ABOUT THE RACE. HIS EDUCTION WAS SPOTTY, HE DIDN'T HAVE ALOT OF FRIENDS, PLAYED HOOKY ALOT, MISSED MOST OF THE 9TH GRADE AND HAD TO REDO IT.HE SPENT MOST OF HIS TIME WITH RELATIVES BECAUSE HIS PARENTS FOUGHT ALOT. A LIBRARIAN WAS IMPORTANT IN HIS EDUCTION, SHE GAVE HIM BOOKS, AND HELPED HIM WITH READING. HE GRADUATED FROM LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL WITH HIS GRADE IN THE D-MINUS RANGE IN 1957. HE TRIED COLLEGE FOR 2 YEARS AND FAILED. IN 1959 GARY JOINED THE ARMY AND TOOK ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY COURSES. PAULSEN GOT MARRIED AND HAD 2 KIDS. HE LEFT THE ARMY IN 1962 AND WENT INTO ELECTRONICS. GARY GOT DIVORCED AT 26, DECIDED TO BECOME A WRITER.
WHAT WERE PAULSEN'S MAJOR LIFE EVENTS?
IN 1945 PAULSEN MOVED TO THE PHILIPPINES AFTER WORLD WAR 2. HE BARELY GRADUATED FROM LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL IN 1957. IN 1959 HE FAILED COLLEGE AND JOINED THE ARMY. IN 1965 HE DECIDED TO BECOME A WRITER AND HE MOVED TO HOLLYWOOD. IN 1966 HE SOLD HIS FIRST TWO BOOKS. IN 1971 GARY GOT REMARRIED TO RUTH ELLEN WRIGHT, THEY WOULD LATER HAVE A KID WHO THEY NAMED JIM. THE PAULSENS LIVED IN POVERTY IN COLORADO IN 1976. IN 1986 PAULSEN GOT A NEWBURY HONOR AWARD FOR DOGSONG. ONE YEAR LATER HATCHET WAS PUBLISHED IT GOT A NEWBURY AWARD IN THE NEXT YEAR. HE RODE MOTORCYCLE FROM NEW MEXICO TO ALASKA IN 1993. 1994-1998 HE RECEIVED MANY AWARDS AND IN 1999 HE HAD PUBLISHED MORE THAN 200 BOOKS. HE CONTINUES TO VISIT BOOKSTORES AND IS STILL WRITING BOOKS.
what was the time period like in which gary lived?
GARY WAS BORN IN 1939 WORLD WAR 2 WAS GOING ON AND HIS DAD WAS FIGHTING IN IT. IT WAS A ROUGH TIME FOR GARY, HIS MOM WORKED LATE MAKING AMMO. AFTER THE WAR GARY WENT THE PHILIPPINES, HE COULD NOT GET ON THE BOAT BECAUSE HE HAD CHICKEN POXS. HE READ COMIC BOOKS, CAPTAIN MARVEL, SUPERMAN, AND DONALD DUCK. BACK THEN THAT'S THE ONLY THING HE COULD DO. BACK THEN THERE WERE LIBRARIES AND LIBRARY CARDS. THE BOOKS WOULD MOSTLY BE CLASSICS LIKE MOBY DICK. THERE WAS NO MINIMUM WAGE, HE GOT PAYED $1.05 AN HOUR FOR PACKING BOXES OF BIRDS EYE FROZEN FOOD. GRADE STANDARDS FOR COLLEGE WERE LOW, HE GRADUATED WITH A D-MINUS GRADE RANGE.
WHAT WAS GARY'S FAMILY LIKE?
HIS MOM WORKED ALOT AND SHE WAS A ALCOHOLIC AND HIS DAD WAS A WAR VETREN IN WORLD WAR 2, ALSO A ALCOHOLIC. HIS PARENTS DIDN'T PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO HIM, THEY WOULD HAVE ARGUMENTS WITH EACH OTHER. HIS GRANDMA AND AUNT WERE IMPORTANT IN HIS LIFE, THEY WERE NICE AND HE LEARNED FROM THEM. LATER HE MET A WOMEN NAMED RUTH ELLEN AT A POST OFFICE, SHE LATER BECAME HIS WIFE. HER HOBBY LATER IN LIFE WAS PAINTING. HE HAD A KID NAMED JIM. WHEN JIM WAS A KID HE HAD A 5 HOUR BUS RIDE TO SCHOOL. IN 1988 JIM PLANNED TO GO TO COLLEGE, BUT HE ANNOUNCED THAT HE HAD ENLISTED IN THE ARMY INSTEAD.
what connections does gary have to minnesota?
HE WAS BORN IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA. HE ALSO WAS A MINNESOTA WOODSMAN. HE MOVED ALOT BUT CAME BACK TO MINNESOTA MANY TIMES. HE WROTE "FATHER WATER, MOTHER WOODS, ESSAYS ON FISHING AND HUNTING" IN THE NORTH WOODS, THE BOOK WAS ON HIS YEARS IN THE WOODS OF NORTHERN MINNESOTA. HATCHET WAS INSPIRED ON GARY'S LOVE FOR THE WOODS. HE PLOWED FIELDS, HARVESTED, AND FED ANIMALS ON HIS UNCLE'S FARM IN MINNESOTA. HE GRADUATED FROM THIEF RIVER FALLS IN MINNESOTA AND HE WENT TO BEMIDJI COLLEGE IN MINNESOTA TOO. HE PUBLISHED AMOST 40 BOOKS AND 200 ARTICLES AND STORIES WHILE LIVING IN MINNESOTA. IN 1992 HE WAS MOVING BETWEEN NEW MEXICO AND MINNESOTA, HE DECIDED IT WAS TOO COLD IN MINNESOTA SO HE MOVED TO NEW MEXICO INSTEAD.
WHAT ARE PAULSEN'S MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS?
HE WENT INTO THE U.S ARMY AND BECAME A SERGEANT. HE DRANK FOR 6 YEARS AND STOPPED IN 1973. IN 1983 HE RAN IN HIS FIRST IDITAROD. HE PUBLISHED HATCHET IN 1987, HE GOT A NEWBURY HONOR AWARD FOR IT IN 1988. RECEIVED THE REGINA MEDAL FROM THE CATHOLIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION AND THE MARGARET A. EDWARD AWARD IN 1997. PUBLISHED MORE BOOKS IN THE CULPEPPER ADVENTURES AND WORLD OF ADVENTURE SERIES BOOKS IN 1998. HE WROTE BRIAN'S RETURN, OF THE BRIAN SERIES IN 1998 ALSO. BY 1999 HE HAD WRITTEN MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED BOOKS.
HOW IS GARY REMEMBERED TODAY?
GARY PAULSEN IS REMEMBERED TODAY AS A GREAT WRITER. HE WROTE OVER 2 HUNDRED BOOKS AND ARTICLES. HE IS REMEMBERED AS A GREAT WRITER OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS SUCH AS HATCHET, THE RIVER, AND BRIANS RETURN. GARY IS REMEMBERED FOR RACING IN THE IDITAROD MANY TIMES. PAULSEN IS ALSO REMEMBERED TODAY AS A GREAT ADVENTURER AND OUTDOORSMAN. HE IS REMEMBERED TODAY FOR A GREAT AUTHOR FROM MINNESOTA.