Gary Paulsen

Author Information
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  • Bibliography:
    159 Books (9 Series)
  • First Book:
    January 1966
  • Latest Book:
    January 2022
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About the Author

Gary James Paulsen (May 17, 1939 – October 13, 2021) was an American writer of young adult literature, best known for coming of age stories about the wilderness. He is the author of more than 200 books and has written more than 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all primarily for teenagers. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 1997 for his lifetime contribution in writing for teens.

Full Series List in Order

Alida

1 - The Cookcamp (Mar-1991)
2 - Alida's Song (1999)
3 - The Quilt (2004)

Brian's Saga

1 - Hatchet (Nov-1986)
2 - The River (1991)
3 - Brian's Winter (Jun-1996)
4 - Brian's Return (Jan-1999)
5 - Brian's Hunt (Dec-2003)

Culpepper Adventures

1 - The Case of the Dirty Bird (Jun-1992)
2 - Dunc's Doll (Jun-1992)
3 - Culpepper's Cannon (Jul-1992)
4 - Dunc Gets Tweaked (Aug-1992)
5 - Dunc's Halloween (Sep-1992)
6 - Dunc Breaks the Record (Oct-1992)
7 - Dunc and the Flaming Ghost (Dec-1992)
8 - Amos Gets Famous (1993)
9 - Dunc and Amos Hit the Big Top (1993)
10 - Dunc's Dump (1993)
11 - Dunc and the Scam Artists (1993)
12 - Dunc and Amos and the Red Tattoos (1993)
13 - Dunc's Undercover Christmas (1993)
14 - Wild Culpepper Cruise (1993)
15 - Dunc and the Haunted Castle (1993)
16 - Cowpokes and Desperadoes (1994)
17 - Prince Amos (1994)
18 - Coach Amos (1994)
19 - Amos and the Alien (1994)
20 - Amos Meets the Slasher (Dec-1993)
21 - Dunc and the Greased Sticks of Doom (1994)
22 - Amos's Killer Concert Caper (1994)
23 - Amos Gets Married (1995)
24 - Amos Goes Bananas (1995)
25 - Dunc and Amos Go to the Dogs (1996)
26 - Amos and the Vampire (1996)
27 - Amos and the Chameleon Caper (1996)
28 - Amos Binder, Secret Agent (1997)
29 - Dunc and Amos on Thin Ice (1997)
30 - Super Amos (1997)

Kevin

1 - Liar, Liar (Mar-2011)
2 - Flat Broke (Jul-2011)
3 - Crush (May-2012)
4 - Vote (May-2013)

Lawn Boy

1 - Lawn Boy (Jun-2007)
2 - Lawn Boy Returns (Apr-2010)

Murphy

1 - Murphy (Jan-1987)
2 - Murphy's Gold (Mar-1988)
3 - Murphy's Herd (May-1989)
4 - Murphy's War (Dec-1990)
5 - Murphy's Stand (Oct-1993)
6 - Murphy's Ambush (May-1995)
7 - Murphy's Trail (Sep-1996)

Tucket

1 - Mr. Tucket // Chance for Escape (1968)
2 - Call Me Francis Tucket (Jan-1995)
3 - Tucket's Ride (Feb-1997)
4 - Tucket's Gold (Sep-1999)
5 - Tucket's Home (2000)

The White Fox Chronicles

Escape // Return // Breakout (Jun-2000)

World of Adventure

1 - The Legend of Red Horse Cavern (Sep-1994)
2 - Rodomonte's Revenge // Video Trap (Nov-1994)
3 - Escape from Fire Mountain (Jan-1995)
4 - The Rock Jockeys // Devil's Wall (Mar-1995)
5 - Hook 'Em Snotty! (Jun-1995)
6 - Danger on Midnight River (Jul-1995)
7 - The Gorgon Slayer (Sep-1995)
8 - Captive! (Nov-1995)
9 - Project: A Perfect World // Perfect Danger (Jan-1996)
10 - Treasure of El Patron (Mar-1996)
11 - Skydive! (May-1996)
12 - The Seventh Crystal (Jul-1996)
13 - The Creature of Black Water Lake (Jun-1997)
14 - Time Benders (Aug-1997)
15 - Grizzly (Oct-1997)
16 - Thunder Valley (Dec-1997)
17 - Curse of the Ruins (Feb-1998)
18 - Flight of the Hawk (Apr-1998)

Book List in Order: 159 titles

  • The Special War

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

  • Some Birds Don't Fly

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

  • Mr. Tucket // Chance for Escape

    Tucket - 1

    Fourteen-year-old Francis is heading west in a wagon train on the Oregon Trail when he’s kidnapped by Pawnees. His adventures during the two-year search for his family teach him how to live by the harsh code of the wilderness, and give readers an e...

  • The Grass Eaters

  • The Small Ones

  • The Death Specialists

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

  • The Implosion Effect

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

  • C.B. Jockey // The C.B. Radio Caper

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

  • The Curse of the Cobra

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy



  • Foxman

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    Carl and his cousin are lost and getting desperate when they find the shack hidden in the woods. It's their only chance for shelter--but who could be living way out there? Then they see the Foxman. As he welcomes the boys, he grabs his mask--too late...

  • The Golden Stick

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

  • Tiltawhirl John

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    You have to take sides to survive -- even if the choice tears you apart. From the Newbery Honor winning author of Hatchet,

    His uncle wants him to stay home and work the farm, but the boy knows there's a world out there he has to see. Yet bein...

  • Winterkill

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

  • The Green Recruit

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

  • The Night the White Deer Died

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    An Indian brave stands poised to shoot a white deer drinking from a pool of water in the moonlight. It is only a dream -- a recurring nightmare that haunts fifteen-year-old Janet Carson -- but it is a dream that will change her forever. Janet, one o...

  • Meteorite Track 291

    A SEARING MEGATON OF DOUBLE-EDGED DISASTER Monstrous, unstoppable, the meteorite hurtled toward a major American City. Within hours its journey would end in a flaming inferno of terror and death. As Foreman, veteran satellite tracker, raced against...

  • The Spitball Gang

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

  • The Sweeper

    Raven House Mysteries - 20

    He killed quietly, quickly and without any remorse They called him The Sweeper. Entire families were wiped out as he cut a swath of terror through the quiet Chicago suburb. No one knew why he killed. His victims were peaceful and law-abiding. T...

  • Compkill

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy



  • Clutterkill

    Raven House Mysteries - 47

    A sniper was loose on the Chicago strip. And the city was running scared. He killed from the rooftops, swiftly, terribly and at random. He shot secretaries, tourists, even policemen - anyone who came within range of his high-powered rifle. And he van...

  • Dancing Carl

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    Once in a lifetime someone truly out of the ordinary comes along -- and your world will never be the same. He appeared with the hockey season in 1958, and that winter dancing Carl was king of the rinks. Some said he looked like a drunk and a bum i...

  • Popcorn Days and Buttermilk Nights

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    "Paulsen (a Newbery Honor author) adds another affecting and realistic title to his pantheon of stories about outsiders learning how to become more positive forces in the world."--SLJ

    From the city Carley learned rage -- can the country bring ...

  • Tracker

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    IF I TOUCH THE DEER, DEATH WILL BE CHEATED For John Borne's family, hunting has nothing to do with sport or manliness. It's a matter of survival. Every fall John and his grandfather go off into the woods to shoot the deer that puts meat on the table...

  • Dogsong

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    In the Old Days There Were Songs Something is bothering Russel Susskit. He hates waking up to the sound of his father's coughing, the smell of diesel oil, the noise of snow machines starting up. Only Oogruk, the shaman who owns the last team ...

  • Sentries

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    HOW DOES IT ALL END? They are four different people with four separate lives: Sue, a young woman distanced from her native roots; David, a traveler in search of a dream; Laura, a student seeking her parents' understanding; and Peter, a rock star...

  • Hatchet

    Brian's Saga - 1

    Thoughts of his parents' divorce fill Brian Robeson's head as he flies in a single-engine plane to visit his father in the Canadian wilderness. When the pilot suffers a massive heart attack and dies, Brian must somehow land the plane by himself and t...

  • Murphy

    Murphy - 1

  • The Crossing

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    From the Newbery Award"winning, New York Times"bestselling author of Northwind. “A stark, moving portrait of Mexican poverty and street life.” -- School Library JournalFourteen-year-old Manny is an orphan in Juarez, Mexico. He competes with ...

  • The Island

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    Every morning fifteen-year-old Wil Neuton gets up, brushes his teeth, leaves the house, and rows away from shore. He's discovered the island -- a place where he can go to be alone and learn to know nature -- and himself. On the island he watches the ...



  • Murphy's Gold

    Murphy - 2

  • The Voyage Of The Frog

    ONE BOY'S TALE OF SURVIVAL ON AN UNFORGIVING SEA.... Fourteen-year-old David was only trying to fulfill his uncle's last wish when he set sail on the Frog. He wasn't ready for the way the world seems to disappear out on the ocean, and he certainly wa...

  • Murphy's Herd

    Murphy - 3

  • Night Rituals

    Right on the heels of his first adult novel (Murphy's Herd, a 1989 western, not reviewed) comes this skilled but derivative cops-vs.-serial-killer story from Paulsen, a prolific and two-time Newbery-winning children's author. Paulsen trumpets his new...

  • The Winter Room

    Following the turn of the seasons, eleven year old Eldon traces the daily routines of his life on a farm and his relationship with his older brother Wayne. During the winter, with little work to be done on the farm, Eldon and Wayne spend the quiet ho...

  • Canyons

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    Two boys, separated by the canyons of time and two vastly different cultures, face the challenges by which they become men. Coyote Runs, an Apache boy, takes part in his first raid--the one that will usher him into manhood. He is to be a man for but...

  • The Boy Who Owned The School

    From Newberry Honor winner Gary Paulsen comes the tale of a boy who must survive . . . high school.Jacob Freisten's goal in life is to go about unnoticed. He's perfect at gliding past the jocks' lockers and sneaking into his English class. That was, ...

  • Kill fee

    When journalist Tally Janrus and his muckraking colleague Kyle Paring investigate a child molestation-murder case, they uncover a worldwide string of child murders, crimes involving millionaire businessmen in a vicious child-buying cartel...

  • Woodsong

    For a rugged outdoor man and his family, life in northern Minnesota is a wild experience involving wolves, deer, and the sled dogs that make their way of life possible. Includes an account of the author's first Iditarod, a dogsled race across Alaska....

  • Murphy's War

    Murphy - 4



  • The River

    Brian's Saga - 2

    "We want you to do it again." These words, spoken to Brian Robeson, will change his life. Two years earlier, Brian was stranded alone in the wilderness for fifty-four days with nothing but a small hatchet. Yet he survived. Now the government wants h...

  • The Cookcamp

    Alida - 1

    In 1944 a little boy is sent to stay with his grandmother. Grandma cooks for nine men who are building a road from Minnesota to Canada. Living in the forest is a great adventure. The little boy helps his grandmother, who gives him her love and del...

  • The Monument

    It all begins when Rocky follows Mick Strum around town while he sketches its people, animals and graveyard. Mick has been commissioned by Rocky's Kansas town to create a memorial to their war dead.As Rocky learns to respect Mick and his talents, he ...

  • A Christmas Sonata

    "It comes on everybody at a certain time in their life to not believe in Santa Claus," says the narrator of A Christmas Sonata. For him it came when he was a small boy during the Second World War and stumbled across his neighbor putting on a Santa su...

  • The Haymeadow

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    Fourteen-year-old John Barron is asked, like his father and grandfather before him, to spend the summer taking care of their sheep in the haymeadow. Six thousand sheep. John will be alone, except for two horses, four dogs, and all those sheep. Joh...

  • The Case of the Dirty Bird

    Culpepper Adventures - 1

    A tired old parrot in the pet store spells adventure for Dunc Culpepper and Amos when they learn that the parrot speaks four languages and has outlived ten of its owners....

  • Dunc's Doll

    Culpepper Adventures - 2

    Dunc Culpepper and his accident-prone friend, Amos, are up to their old sleuthing habits once again. This time they’re after a band of doll thieves! When a doll that once belonged to Charles Dickens’s daughter is stolen from an exhibition at the ...

  • Culpepper's Cannon

    Culpepper Adventures - 3

    While researching a Civil War cannon, Dunc and Amos discover a time portal that transports them back to downtown Culpepper on March 8, 1862--the day before the historic clash between the Monitor and the Merrimac....

  • Dunc Gets Tweaked

    Culpepper Adventures - 4

    Best friends Dunc and Amos meet up with a new buddy named Lash when they enter the radical world of skateboard competition. When somebody “cops” -- or steals -- Lash’s prototype skateboard, the boys are determined to get it back. After all, Las...

  • Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass

    Paulsen captures a vanishing way of life and offers a lyrical tribute to the american farm. “Paulsen’s prose is realistic and down-to-earth....Ruth Wright Paulsen’s paintings are an invitation to pause and imagine...a delight” (Christian Scie...



  • Dunc's Halloween

    Culpepper Adventures - 5

    Dunc and his best friend, Amos, are planning the best route to get the most candy on Halloween. But their plans change when Amos is slightly bitten by a werewolf. he begins scratching himself and chasing UPS trucks: He's become a werepuppy!...

  • Dunc Breaks the Record

    Culpepper Adventures - 6

    Best friends for life Dunc and Amos have a small problem when they try hang gliding -- they crash in the wilderness. Luckily, Amos has read a book about a boy who survived in the wilderness for 54 days. Too bad Amos doesn’t have a hatchet. Things g...

  • Dunc and the Flaming Ghost

    Culpepper Adventures - 7

    Dunc's not afraid of ghosts, although Amos is sure that the old Rambridge house is haunted by the ghost of Blackboard the Pirate. Then the best friends meet Eddie, a meek man who claims to be impersonating Blackbeard's ghost in order to live in the h...

  • Tasting the Thunder

    He knew he wouldn't learn much staying on the farm. Being a runaway meant excitement and knowledge. Then, after one terrifying night with the carnival people, he wondered whether growing up so fast and knowing so much, was the best way to keep ahead....

  • Amos Gets Famous

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 8

    Deciphering a code they find in a library book, best friends for life Amos and Dunc stumble onto a burglary ring. The burglars' next target is the home of Melissa, the girl of Amos's dreams (who doesn't even know that he's alive). Amos longs to be a ...

  • Dunc and Amos and the Red Tattoos

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 12

    Dunc and Amos head for camp and face two weeks of fresh air -- along with regulations, demerits, KP, an inedible food. But where these two best friends go, trouble follows. They overhear a threat against the camp director and discover that camp funds...

  • Dunc and Amos Hit the Big Top

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 9

    In order to impress Melissa, the girl of his dreams, Amos Binder decides to perform on the trapeze at the visiting circus. Look out below! But before his best friend for life Dunc Culpepper can talk him out of his plan, the two stumble across a myste...

  • Dunc and the Haunted Castle

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 15

    When Dunc and Amos are invited to spend a week in Scotland, Dunc can already hear the bagpipes a-blowin'. But when the boys spend their first night in an ancient castle, it isn't bagpipes they hear. It's moans! Dunc hears groaning coming from inside ...

  • Dunc and the Scam Artists

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 11

    Best friends for life Dunc Culpepper and Amos Binder are at it again. Some older residents of their town have been bilked by con artists, and the two boys want to look into these crimes. They meet elderly Betsy Dell, whose nasty nephew Frank gives th...

  • Dunc's Dump

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 10

    Polluters are putting toxic waste in the school dumpster. Dunc and Amos set out to find these environmental criminals, and Amos even begins to glow in the dark....

  • Dunc's Undercover Christmas

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 13

    It's Christmastime! And Dunc, Amos, and Amos's cousin, T.J., hit the mall for some serious shopping. But when the seasonal magic is threatened by some disappearing presents and Santa Claus himself is a prime suspect, the boys put their celebration on...

  • Harris and Me

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    This summer will be different. That's for sure. When an eleven-year-old city boy is dropped off to stay on a farm with relatives, he doesn't know what to expect. His cousin Harris soon takes care of that. Harris is rude and crude and finds trouble at...

  • Wild Culpepper Cruise

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 14

    When Amos wins a “Why I Love My Dog” Contest, he and Dunc are off on the Caribbean cruise of their dreams! But there’s something downright fishy about Amos’s suitcase, and before they know it, the two best friends wind up with more high seas ...

  • Eastern Sun Winter Moon

    In this memoir of a World War II childhood, Paulsen paints a haunting self-portrait of a young boy drawn helplessly into the physical and emotional violence of the adult world. “An indelible account...hallmarked by Paulsen’s sinewy writing” (Ki...

  • Full of Hot Air

  • Murphy's Stand

    Murphy - 5

    Grieving over the death of his beloved Midge, Al Murphy, former sheriff of Cincherville, gets a new lease on life when his investigation into murder and intrigue involving a lucrative government contract leads to a struggle for survival...

  • Madonna Stories

    In this collection of stories that reveal the strength and frailty of the human spirit, the award-winning author offers up the subject of human vulnerability with a spareness of language and an intensity of emotion that are the hallmarks of his ficti...

  • Amos Meets the Slasher

    Culpepper Adventures - 20

    Why is mild-mannered Amos Binder dressed in leather with slicked- back hair, strutting around the cafeteria and going by a phony name? Could it be because of that new kid, Slasher, who’s promised to eat Amos for his lunch? Or has Amos secretly gone...

  • Sisters/Hermanas

    Told in both English and Spanish, Sisters/Hermanas tells of Rosa, a fourteen-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico City, and Traci, a fourteen-year-old from the suburbs of Houston. “Paulsen has done a masterful job of creating two well-developed, ...

  • Amos and the Alien

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 19

    When Amos and his best friend Dunc have a close encounter with an extraterrestrial named “Girrk,” Dunc thinks they should report their findings to NASA. But Amos has other plans. Not only does he promise to help Girrk find a way back to his plant...

  • Amos's Killer Concert Caper

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 22

    Amos is desperate. He’s desperate for two tickets to the romantic event of his young life . . . the Road Kill concert! He’ll do anything to get them because he heard from a friend of a friend of a friend of Melissa Hansen that she’s way into Ro...

  • Coach Amos

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 18

    Amos and Dunc have their hands full when their school principal asks them to coach the local T-ball team. For one thing, nobody on the team even knows first base from left field, and the season opener is coming right up. And then there’s that sinis...

  • Cowpokes and Desperadoes

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 16

    Git along little doggies! Dunc and Amos are bound for Uncle Woody Culpepper’s Santa Fe cattle ranch for a week of fun. But when they overhear a couple of cowpokes plotting to do Uncle Woody in, the two sleuths are back on the trail of serious actio...

  • Dunc and the Greased Sticks of Doom

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 21

    Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . .  Olympic superstar Francesco Bartoli is about to hurl  himself down the face of a mountain in another  attempt to clinch the world slalom speed record.  Cheering fans...

  • Prince Amos

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 17

    When their fifth-grade class spends a weekend interning at the state capital, Dunc and Amos find themselves face-to-face with Amos’s walking double -- Gustav, Crown Prince of Moldavia! His Royal Highness is desperate to uncover a traitor in his ran...

  • The Car

    A 14-year-old boy takes a road trip in search of family -- and discovers adventure -- in this YA novel by the Newbery Award-winning author.At fourteen, Terry Anders finds himself abandoned by both of his parents. Left alone in their home, he has noth...

  • Night John

  • The Legend of Red Horse Cavern

    World of Adventure - 1

    Will veered to the left and ducked into one of the passages leading away from the palace room. Sarah stumbled and fell. Will pulled her up. They could hear the big man closing in on them. Will took another left turn and then another. Scarface’s foo...

  • Nightjohn

    "To know things, for us to know things, is bad for them. We get to wanting and when we get to wanting it's bad for them. They thinks we want what they got . . . . That's why they don't want us reading." -- Nightjohn"I didn't know what letters was, no...

  • Rodomonte's Revenge // Video Trap

    World of Adventure - 2

    As Brett watched, one hand slipped loose, then the other. Tom dropped, screaming, into the flames. His body, all red and bubbled, boiled up once to the surface, then was gone. PLAYER ONE HAS ONE LIFE REMAINING. GAME CONTINUES. Flaming fire river...

  • Call Me Francis Tucket

    Tucket - 2

    Francis Tucket now feels more confident that he can handle just about anything. A year ago, on the wagon train, he was kidnapped from his family by a Pawnee hunting party. Then he escaped with the help of the mountain man Mr. Grimes. Now that he and ...

  • Escape from Fire Mountain

    World of Adventure - 3

    Thirteen-year-old Nikki Roberts tries to help two children trapped by a forest fire but finds her efforts blocked by poachers who want her to become one of the fire's victims....

  • Amos Gets Married

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 23

    Everybody knows Amos Binder is crazy in love with Melissa Hansen. Only Melissa hasn’t given any indication that she even knows Amos exists as a life-form. That is, until now. Suddenly, things with Melissa are different. A wave, a wink-an affec...

  • Amos Goes Bananas

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 24

    Amos has more than a monkey on his back. It’s a gorilla. Her name is Louise. And she’s in love with him. Dunc isn’t much help. He’s convinced that Louise is the key to solving a really big-time case involving some assassins and a respected se...

  • The Rifle

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    A treasured antique rifle gets into the wrong hands in this YA novel by the Newbury Award-winning author: “a truly mesmerizing tale, from beginning to end” (Publishers Weekly).   In 1768, gunsmith Cornish McManus painstakingly crafted his ma...

  • The Tortilla Factory

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    In clear and eloquent language, Gary Paulsen pays tribute to a cycle of life--from seed to plant to tortilla. Workers till the black soil, operate the clanking machinery of the factory, and drive the trucks that deliver the tortillas back into the ha...

  • Winterdance

    "An incredible sled-dog race through the Alaskan wilderness??—??a stunning journey of discovery and survival.

    Fueled by a passion for running dogs, Gary Paulsen entered the Iditarod??—??the eleven-hundred-and-eight-mile sled-dog ...

  • Father Water, Mother Woods

    Survival in the wilderness--Gary Paulsen writes about it so powerfully in his novels Hatchet and The River because he's lived it.  These essays recount his adventures alone and with friends, along the rivers and in the woods of northern Minnesota. ...

  • The Rock Jockeys // Devil's Wall

    World of Adventure - 4

    The rock wall above them was as smooth as polished black marble. There were no crevices and no ledges. They would have to fight for every inch. Rick looked at his friends. J.D. and Spud nodded silently. Rick stood up and started. His job would be to ...

  • Murphy's Ambush

    Murphy - 6

    When a rancher rides into town half dead, Sheriff Al Murphy finds the man's wife and daughters murdered on his ranch and sets out after the murderers--but soon discovers that he has now become the prey....

  • The Tent

    Teenage Steven and his father, Corey, take to the road with a Bible, an old army tent, and less than the best of intentions. Tired of being poor, Steven's father is certain that preaching the Word of the Lord is the easy way to fame and fortune. But ...

  • Hook 'Em Snotty!

    World of Adventure - 5

    "I've had enough..." Alex let go of her horse and hit Bobbie like a tigress, driving her back and knocking her on her rear. "Now we'll see if you have problems with your rump." Bobbie leapt to her feet. Her lips were tight. She stalked past Alex a...

  • Danger on Midnight River

    World of Adventure - 6

    Slow learner Daniel Martin escapes peer teasing by spending most of his time outdoors, and when a van crash plunges him and a gang of bullies in the river, Daniel must choose between saving himself and risking his life to save the others....

  • The Gorgon Slayer

    World of Adventure - 7

    A horrid shriek erupted from behind the stairs, and clammy, leathery wings exploded into Warren’s face. He slammed his eyes shut and beat the Gorgon off, hearing Rick’s sword swish through empty air. Warren dove back, rolled on his shoulder, and ...

  • Captive!

    World of Adventure - 8

    Something loud crashed over their heads, and they could hear gravel and dirt hitting the top of the truck. It happened again and again. The last sound they heard was the scrape of a shovel picking up more dirt. Then it was quiet.“Where do you think...

  • Dogteam

    On a moonlit winter night, a team of dogs pulls a sled, taking the narrator and readers on a wondrous ride through the snow, into and out of the woods. It is a ride you'll wish would never end.Through this exquisite prose poem, Gary Paulsen shares th...

  • Project: A Perfect World // Perfect Danger

    World of Adventure - 9

    When Jim Stanton’s family moves to Folsum, New Mexico, everyone but Jim is happy. The townspeople are just too polite, and they’re all eerily obedient to Jefferson Kincaid, the president of Folsum National Laboratories. Then Jim meets a mysteriou...

  • Amos and the Chameleon Caper

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 27

    She’s a master of disguises -- able to change identities at will. She’s wanted in five states. They call her the Chameleon. Dunc thinks he and Amos are just about to crack the case wide open. And all they have to do is sneak into this dangerous f...

  • Amos and the Vampire

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 26

    Amos's big sister Amy is always dating rejects. But this time, her boyfriend was rejected by the grave! He's got pale skin, dark hair, mesmerizing eyes, an annoying tendency to disappear, and he wants to have the Culpeppers over for a late night Hall...

  • Dunc and Amos Go to the Dogs

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 25

    Anyone who knows Amos knows that in his case, dogs are definitely not man's best friends. Even his own dog growls and shows his teeth whenever Amos is around. Amos isn't exactly fond of Scruff either. It's a dog-eat-dog world. But when Scruff gets mi...

  • Treasure of El Patron

    World of Adventure - 10

    Tag pointed his flashlight into the hole and peered inside. It was impossible. The inside was hollow, like an underwater cave. Something shiny lay near the opening and reflected the beam from his light. He reached inside and pulled it out. A pew...

  • Skydive!

    World of Adventure - 11

    Jesse Rodriguez has a pretty exciting job for a 13-year-old, working for his friend Buck at a small flight and skydiving school near Seattle. But he still can't wait to turn 16 and finally be old enough to make his first free-fall jump from a plane. ...

  • Brian's Winter

    Brian's Saga - 3

    In Gary Paulsen's classic novel Hatchet, thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is stranded in the Canadian wilderness. To survive, he must rely on his intelligence, his instincts, and one tool: a hatchet. Finally, as millions of readers know, he is rescued...

  • The Seventh Crystal

    World of Adventure - 12

    Chosen One, The ancient palace lies in the Valley of Zon. It is imperative that you come immediately. You are my last hope. Look for the secret path. The stars will lead the way. Take care. The eyes of Mogg are everywhere. As if school bullies we...

  • Murphy's Trail

    Murphy - 7

    WesternLarge Print EditionSheriff Al Murphy had no jurisdiction in the Arizona territory, but that didnt matter because Risa needed his help and he owed her. Risas husband was a lawyer and a leader in their small Mexican community. A few weeks ago he...

  • Amos Binder, Secret Agent

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 28

    It’s spy vs. spy when Amos is mistaken for a government double agent and give a top-secret assignment. He’s got the trench coat, he’s got the dark sunglasses, he’s go that smooth and debonair James Bond way about him. Now all he needs is Dunc...

  • Dunc and Amos on Thin Ice

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 29

    Best buddies Dunc and Amos are at the winter sports events. A pretty skater needs their help to defect from North Korea, but suddenly Kim Su-Yong doesn't seem to remember asking the boys for their help. In fact, she's downright hostile. Does she have...

  • Sarny

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    Many readers of Nightjohn have wanted to know what happened to Sarny, the young slave whom Nightjohn taught to read. Here is Sarny's story, from the moment she leaves the plantation in the last days of the Civil War, suddenly a free woman in search o...

  • Super Amos

    • / Action Adventure
    • Buy Buy
    Culpepper Adventures - 30

    Dunc thinks Mr. Smith is just an old man who owns a junkyard and a mean junkyard dog. But Amos is convinced Mr. Smith is Lightning Man, a retired superhero, and the dog is his super sidekick. Meanwhile, Mr. Smith's sinister new neighbor, Professor Br...

  • Tucket's Ride

    Tucket - 3

    Fourteen-year-old Francis is heading west in a wagon train on the Oregon Trail when he’s kidnapped by Pawnees. His adventures during the two-year search for his family teach him how to live by the harsh code of the wilderness, and give readers an e...

  • The Schernoff Discoveries

    Harold Schernoff, 14-year-old science whiz and social nerd, has a theory for every problem, from dating, to bullies, to making money, to sports, to how to buy a car when you're underage. When he and his buddy team up to put his theories to the test, ...

  • The Creature of Black Water Lake

    World of Adventure - 13

    Thirteen-year-old Ryan Swanner and his mom just moved to the mountain resort of Black Water Lake. The locals say that beneath the lake's seemingly calm surface, a giant, ancient creature lives. But Ryan's new friend Rita tells him that's just hogwash...

  • Time Benders

    World of Adventure - 14

    Super-brain Zack Griffin and hoops fan Jeff Brown wouldn't normally hang together. But when both boys win trips to a famous science laboratory, they find out they do have one thing in common: curiosity. They discover that one of the machines in the l...

  • Grizzly

    World of Adventure - 15

    Justin McCallister loves life on his aunt and uncle's Montana sheep ranch...until a grizzly bear begins terrorizing the livestock, injuring Justin's collie, Radar, and killing his pet lamb, Blue. Justin decides to take matters into his own hands and ...

  • Thunder Valley

    World of Adventure - 16

    Twins Jeremy and Jason Parsons are helping their grandma run the Thunder Valley Ski Lodge while their grandfather recuperates from a broken hip. When Grandma Parsons joins their grandfather at the hospital, the boys are left to take care of the lodge...

  • Curse of the Ruins

    World of Adventure - 17

    “A few hundred yards ahead there is a long wooden bridge that the donkeys will be afraid to cross. But do not worry. After you cross the bridge, the ruins will not be far away.” Cousins Kate, Sam, and Shala quickly see why the donkeys are so...

  • Flight of the Hawk

    World of Adventure - 18

    When Andy Hawkes's parents are tragically killed by a hit-and-run driver, Andy is sent to live with his mysterious grandfather. Andy has only met Grandfather Hawkes once, at his parents' funeral. The old man seemed frail and sickly, and a little bit ...

  • The Transall Saga

    Mark's solo camping trip in the desert turns into a terrifying and thrilling odyssey when a mysterious beam of light transports him to another time on what appears to be another planet. As Mark searches for a pathway back to his own time on Earth, he...

  • Soldier's Heart

    IN JUNE 1861, when the Civil War began, Charley Goddard left his farm and enlisted in the First Minnesota Volunteers. He was fifteen. He didn't rightly know what a "shooting war" meant, or what he was fighting for. All he knew was that he didn't want...

  • Brian's Return

    Brian's Saga - 4

    Brian returns to the wilderness to discover where he truly belongs in this follow-up to the award-winning classic Hatchet from three-time Newbery Honor-winning author Gary Paulsen!   As millions of readers of Hatchet, The River, and Brian's Wint...

  • Alida's Song

    Alida - 2

    A remarkable novel about one of the most important and loving relationships in Gary Paulsen's life.The wonderful grandmother seen through the eyes of a young boy in The Cookcamp reaches out to him at 14, offering him a haven from his harsh and painfu...

  • Tucket's Gold

    Tucket - 4

    Fourteen-year-old Francis is heading west in a wagon train on the Oregon Trail when he’s kidnapped by Pawnees. His adventures during the two-year search for his family teach him how to live by the harsh code of the wilderness, and give readers an e...

  • The Beet Fields

    • / General Fiction
    • Buy Buy

    For a 16-year-old boy out in the world alone for the first time, every day’s an education in the hard work and boredom of migrant labor; every day teaches him something more about friendship, or hunger, or profanity, or lust -- always lust. He lear...

  • Tucket's Home

    Tucket - 5

    Fourteen-year-old Francis is heading west in a wagon train on the Oregon Trail when he’s kidnapped by Pawnees. His adventures during the two-year search for his family teach him how to live by the harsh code of the wilderness, and give readers an e...

  • Escape // Return // Breakout

    The White Fox Chronicles

    The year is 2057. Endless wars have torn the USA apart and enslaved Americans to the CCR, the Confederation of Consolidated Republics. Growing up in the wasteland of war has made 14-year-old Cody Pierce wise in survival skills, and now he's the White...

  • Worksong

    The talented Paulsens celebrate the work ethic with sensitivity and grace as they remind readers of the quiet dignity that exists in everyday lives. Provide(s) a song of praise to the unsung heroes in every child's world and to the simple satisfactio...

  • Canoe Days

    Opening this book is like sitting down in a canoe, taking up a paddle, and gliding out into the summer beauty of a hidden lake. In this picture book that is as refreshing and inviting as a perfect canoe day, a fawn peeks out from the trees as ducklin...

  • The White Fox Chronicles

    The year is 2057. Endless wars have torn the USA apart and enslaved Americans to the CCR, the Confederation of Consolidated Republics. Growing up in the wasteland of war has made 14-year-old Cody Pierce wise in survival skills, and now he's the White...

  • The Glass Cafe

    THE STORY IS all true and happened to me and is mine.Tony’s mom, Al, is a terrific single mother who works as a dancer at the Kitty Kat Club. Twelve-year-old Tony is a budding artist, inspired by backstage life at the club. When some of his drawing...

  • Shelf Life

    Newbery Honor author Gary Paulsen has long been an ardent supporter of books, reading, and literacy programs. To further the cause of ProLiteracy Worldwide, he asked prominent authors to write an original story; the only restriction was that each sto...

  • Brian's Hunt

    Brian's Saga - 5

    Millions of readers of Hatchet, The River, Brian's Winter and Brian's Return know that Brian Robeson is at home in the Canadian wilderness. He has stood up to the challenge of surviving alone in the north woods. He prefers being on his own in the nat...

  • The Quilt

    Alida - 3

    1944. Wartime. A six-year-old boy goes to spend the summer with his grandmother Alida in a small town near the Canadian border. With the men all gone off to fight, the women are left to run the farms. There’s plenty for the boy to do -- trying to h...

  • Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day

    Today, Molly - Learned her wacky grandma was coming to spend the day at school with her. - Lost her Notebook with everything that matters in it, including her homework. - Got a black eye - Tore her skirt And it’s only 9 a.m. Could things get a...

  • The Time Hackers

    You ever open your locker and find that some joker has left something really weird inside?Seventh-grader Dorso Clayman opens his locker door to find a dead body.Thirty seconds later it disappears. It’s not the first bizarre thing that has appeared ...

  • The Legend of Bass Reeves

    Born into slavery, Bass Reeves became the most successful US Marshal of the Wild West.Many "heroic lawmen" of the Wild West, familiar to us through television and film, were actually violent scoundrels and outlaws themselves. But of all the sheriffs ...

  • Lawn Boy

    Lawn Boy - 1

    One day I was 12 years old and broke. Then Grandma gave me Grandpa's old riding lawnmower. I set out to mow some lawns. More people wanted me to mow their lawns. And more and more. . . . One client was Arnold the stockbroker, who offered to teach me ...

  • Puppies, Dogs, and Blue Northers

    An experienced Iditarod racer, Gary Paulsen celebrates his lead dog and longtime companion, Cookie, in this intimate essay. Paulsen takes readers inside the kennel as Cookie’s last litter of pups grow and learn to pull sleds across the snowy fronti...

  • Guts

    Guess what -- Gary Paulsen was being kind to Brian. In Guts, Gary tells the real stories behind the Brian books, the stories of the adventures that inspired him to write Brian Robeson's story: working as an emergency volunteer; the death that inspire...

  • The Amazing Life of Birds

    Zit monster.Puberty Werewolf.Potty Boy.Doo Doo Rules!I’m Duane. Duane Homer Leech. Don’t ask.I’m 12. And one week. What I want to know is, where is this whole puberty thing going? So far it’s just something put on earth to destroy me.And I do...

  • Mudshark

    Mudshark is the go-to guy for any mysteries that need solving. Lost your shoe? Can't find your homework? Ask Mudshark. That is, until the Psychic Parrot takes up residence in the school library and threatens to overturn Mudshark's position as the guy...

  • World of Adventure Omni

    In three stories -- Escape from Fire Mountain; Hook ’Em, Snotty!; and Danger on Midnight River -- the characters meet danger at every turn in the great outdoors and learn to face their fears head on. From a forest fire to a raging river to a scary ...

  • Notes from the Dog

    "Sometimes having company is not all it's cracked up to be." Fifteen-year-old Finn is a loner, living with his dad and his amazing dog, Dylan. This summer he's hoping for a job where he doesn't have to talk to anyone except his pal Matthew. Then Joha...

  • Woods Runner

    Samuel, 13, spends his days in the forest, hunting for food for his family. He has grown up on the frontier of a British colony, America. Far from any town, or news of the war against the King that American patriots have begun near Boston. But the...

  • Lawn Boy Returns

    Lawn Boy - 2

    Gary Paulsen’s funny follow-up to Lawn Boy is full of big surprises and big laughs. Lawn Boy says: The summer I was twelve, mowing lawns with Grandpa’s old riding mower turned into big business. With advice from Arnold the stockbroker, I lear...

  • Masters of Disaster

    Roped into wacky attempts to break world records, imitate scenes from books, and other inspired ideas, Riley and Reed follow their fearless leader Henry into the wilderness, the bull-riding ring, a haunted house, cataclysmic collision with explosive ...

  • Liar, Liar

    Kevin - 1

    Kevin doesn't mean to make trouble when he lies. He's just really good at it, and it makes life so much easier. But as his lies pile up, he finds himself in big -- and funny -- trouble with his friends, family, and teachers. He's got to find a way to...

  • Flat Broke

    Kevin - 2

    As a punishment for lying, Kevin has lost his allowance. He doesn't lie now, but he's broke. He's got to find a way to make money. Lots of it, so he can impress Tina Zabinski, the World's Most Beautiful Girl, and ask her on a date. So Kevin gets c...

  • Crush

    Kevin - 3

    Kevin gets serious about Tina Zabinski, the Most Beautiful Girl in the World. Finally, finally, he's worked up his courage -- he's going to ask her out. Or will his trademark scheming get in his way?...

  • Paintings from the Cave

    Jake, Jojo, and Jamie, all 12-year-olds. Jake lives in a neighborhood controlled by violence and fear. He meets a sculptor across the street, and his eyes are opened to another world. Jojo is closer to her three dogs than to her foster family. When ...

  • Road Trip

    Dad and Ben haven't been getting along recently and Dad hopes a road trip to rescue a border collie will help them reconnect. But Ben is on to Dad's plan and invites Ben's thuggish buddy, Theo. The family dog, Atticus, comes along too and the story i...

  • Vote

    Kevin - 4

    Some people lead and some people get out of the way. It's a universal rule. A cosmic inevitability. Kevin Spencer is one lucky guy. Tina Zabinski, the World's Most Beautiful, Most Perfect, Best-Smelling Girl, is finally his girlfriend. But now that h...

  • Family Ties

    Family fun takes center stage in three-time Newbery Honor winner Gary Paulsen’s hilarious novel for middle-school boys. Kevin Spencer is the glue that holds his family together. When his wacky relatives decide to have a double wedding in the backya...

  • Field Trip

    Father-and-son writing team Gary and Jim Paulsen pick up where their Road Trip left off. Ben has been invited to try out for a special hockey academy. But Dad wants Ben to catch up to the school field trip instead. So Ben, Dad, and their dogs, Atticu...

  • This Side of Wild

    The Newbery Honor-winning author of "Hatchet" and "Dogsong" shares surprising true stories about his relationship with animals, highlighting their compassion, intellect, intuition, and sense of adventure. Gary Paulsen is an adventurer who compete...

  • Six Kids and a Stuffed Cat

    From three-time Newbery Honor author Gary Paulsen comes a laugh-out-loud novel about six wacky misfits who get stuck together in a school restroom and discover friendship. It seemed like a normal school day, until a horrible storm forced the very ...

  • Fishbone's Song

    An orphan reflects on the lessons he was taught by the wise old man who raised him in this lyrical novel that reads like poetry from three-time Newbery Honor-winning author Gary Paulsen. Deep in the woods, in a rustic cabin, lives an old man and t...

  • How Angel Peterson Got His Name

    WHEN YOU GROW up in a small town in the north woods, you have to make your own excitement. High spirits, idiocy, and showing off for the girls inspire Gary Paulsen and his friends to attempt:• Shooting waterfalls in a barrel• The firs...

  • Gone to the Woods

    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 fa...

  • How to Train Your Dad

    From the legendary author of Hatchet, a laugh-out-loud misadventure about a boy, his free-thinking dad, and the puppy-training pamphlet that turns their summer upside down.Twelve-year-old Carl is fed up with his father's single-minded pursuit of an o...

  • Northwind

    This stunning New York Times Bestseller from the survival story master, set along a rugged coastline centuries ago, does for the ocean what Hatchet does for the woods, as it relates the story of a young person’s battle to stay alive against the odd...

Award-Winning Books by Gary Paulsen

Brian's Winter
1998 Iowa Teen Award -- Young Adult
1999 Volunteer State Book Award -- Young Adult
Harris and Me
1997 Iowa Teen Award -- Young Adult
Hatchet
1990 Iowa Teen Award -- Young Adult
1991 Georgia Children's Book Award -- Children's Book
1991 Young Hoosier Book Award -- Grades 6-8
Masters of Disaster
2014 Land of Enchantment Book Award -- Children's
Nightjohn
1997 Young Hoosier Book Award -- Grades 6-8
The Transall Saga
2002 Iowa Teen Award -- Young Adult


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Gary Paulsen has published 159 books.

Gary Paulsen does not have a new book coming out soon. The latest book, Northwind, was published in January 2022.

The first book by Gary Paulsen, The Special War, was published in January 1966.

Yes. Gary Paulsen has 9 series.
Author Series
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