The Non-Fiction Works of Gary Paulsen
We've broken out Paulsen's Non-Fiction books into a new post because our initial list was getting too cumbersome for users. (Who wants to scroll and scroll and scroll?!? Not us.)
This is a work in progress so... check back
The Tortilla Factory La Tortillería
A lyrical tribute to the Mexican farm workers as they plant and harvest corn that will be turned into tortillas.
Las tortillas son clásicas de la cultura mexicana, ¿cómo se hacen? ¿con qué se hacen? Conoce esto y más en este interesante y poético libro.
Our Comments & Review Here
Technical Stuff Our Comments & Review Here
- Paperback: 32 pages
- Publisher: Sandpiper
- ISBN-10: 0152016988
- Look Inside available
amazonamazon (espanol)
Word Count: 142
Interest Level: elementary
Accelerated Reading level: 2.7 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 18383 AR quiz: 18383 SP
Lexile: 510L
Full of Hot Air
A witty look at hot air ballooning.
- Pages: unknown
- Publisher: Delacorte Press
- ISBN-10: 0385308876
- amazon
Technical Stuff
Word Count: 782
Interest Level: elementary
Accelerated Reading level: 3.0 / points: 0.5 AR quiz: 7567
Worksong
Illustrations and rhyming text depict people doing all kinds of work.
- Paperback: 32 pages
- Publisher: Sandpiper (May 1, 2000)
- ISBN-10: 0152023712
- Look Inside available
amazon
Technical Stuff
Word Count: 177
Interest Level: preschool thru early elementary
Accelerated Reading level: 3.1 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 35675
Lexile: AD290L
Shelf Life: Stories By The Book
Paulsen, Gary, ed.
Ten short stories in which the lives of young people in different circumstances are changed by their encounters with books.
- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
- ISBN-10: 0689841809
- amazon
Technical Stuff
Word Count: 39,280
Interest Level: middle grade
Accelerated Reading level: 4.8 / points: 6.0
AR quiz: 70436
Lexile: 730L
The Beet Fields
The author recalls his experiences as a migrant laborer and carnival worker after he ran away from home at age sixteen.
- Paperback: 176 pages
- Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
- ISBN-10: 0375873058
- amazon
Technical Stuff
Word Count: 30,275
Interest Level: Young Adult
Accelerated Reading level: 5.5 / points: 5.0
AR quiz: 42979
Lexile: 1070L
My Life in Dog Years
This book is half dog-story book and half autobiography. Paulsen talks about his early life, and one catches glimpses of his life as an adult as he talks about the dogs that were his friends and companions.
The book is just as entertaining as anything that Gary has written, but the reader should know that Paulsen's life had it's dark moments. Everything from abusive drunk parents to bullies and poverty.
Good, quick read... Pam~
Technical Stuff
Word Count: 21,219 The book is just as entertaining as anything that Gary has written, but the reader should know that Paulsen's life had it's dark moments. Everything from abusive drunk parents to bullies and poverty.
Good, quick read... Pam~
- Paperback: 144 pages
- Publisher: Yearling
- ISBN-10: 0440414717
- amazon
Technical Stuff
Interest Level: middle grade and up
Accelerated Reading level: 5.6 / points: 3.0
AR quiz: 18778
Woodsong
This story features dogsledding adventures, capped by the story of the author's first Iditarod.
- Paperback: 144 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
- ISBN-10: 1416939393
- amazon
Technical Stuff
Word Count: 30,485
Interest Level: Young Adult
Accelerated Reading level: 5.6 / points: 5.0
AR quiz: 6950
How Angel Petersen Got His Name
Gary Paulsen relates tales from his youth in a small town in northwestern Minnesota in the late 1940s and early 1950s, such as skiing behind a souped-up car and imitating daredevil Evel Knievel.
- Paperback: 128 pages
- Publisher: Yearling
- ISBN-10: 0440229359
- amazon
Technical Stuff
Word Count: 20,562Interest Level: middle grade and up
Accelerated Reading level: 6.0 / points: 3.0
AR quiz: 65168
Lexile: 1180L
Puppies, Dogs and Blue Northers: Reflections on Being Raised by a Pack of Sled Dogs
Dog musher Gary Paulsen reflects on the growth - both his own and the puppies' - as man and animal discover the world.
- Paperback: 80 pages
- Publisher: Sandpiper
- ISBN-10: 0152061037
- amazon
Technical Stuff
Word Count: 15,107
Interest Level: tween and middle grade
Accelerated Reading level: 6.0 / points: 2.0
AR quiz: 14482
Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod
This book is an unforgettable account of the author Gary Paulsen's most ambitious quest -- to know a world beyond his knowing, to train for and run the Iditarod.
- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Mariner Books
- ISBN-10: 0156001454
- amazon
Technical Stuff
Word Count: 63,193
Interest Level: Young Adult
Accelerated Reading level: 6.0 / points: 10.0
AR quiz: 61234
Lexile: 1140L
Father Water, Mother Woods
Essays recounting the author's adventures in the wilderness, showing us fishing and hunting for pleasure, companionship, and as sources of life's deepest lessons.
- Mass Market Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: Laurel Leaf
- ISBN-10: 0440219841
- amazon
Technical Stuff
Word Count: 36,120
Interest Level: tween and middle grade
Accelerated Reading level: 6.2 / points: 6.0
AR quiz: 26657
Caught By The Sea: My Life On Boats
Gary Paulsen tells about his lifelong love of sailing, boats he has owned, and the storms, sharks, and peaceful lagoons he has experienced on his voyages.
- Hardcover: 112 pages
- Publisher: Laurel Leaf
- ISBN-10: 0440407168
- amazon
Technical Stuff
Word Count: 19,875
Interest Level: middle grades and up
Accelerated Reading level: 6.3 / points: 3.0
AR quiz: 58202
Zero to Sixty: The Motorcycle Journey of a Lifetime
(previously titled: Pilgrimage on a Steel Ride: A Memoir of Men and Motorcycles)
Nearing sixty, diagnosed with heart disease and feeling his mortality, Gary Paulsen buys his first Harley-Davidson and rides from his home in New Mexico to Alaska--and from the present into his past, through the landmarks of a singular life.
- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Mariner Books
- ISBN-10: 0156007045
- amazon
Technical Stuff
Word Count: 37,006
Interest Level: Young Adult
Accelerated Reading level: 6.3 / points: 6.0 AR quiz: 80963
Lexile: 1270L
Guts: The True Stories Behind Hatchet and the Brian Books
The author--a three-time Newbery Honor winner--relates special memories and incidents in his life and how they inspired parts of his books about the character, Brian Robeson. Reprint. From the Hardcover edition.
- Mass Market Paperback: 148 pages
- Publisher: Laurel Leaf
- ISBN-10: 0440407125
- amazon
Technical Stuff
Word Count: 23,486
Interest Level: middle grade and up
Accelerated Reading level: 6.5 / points: 4.0
AR quiz: 46280
Lexile: NC1230L
The 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 fiction.
- Paperback: 120 pages
- Publisher: Mariner Books
- ISBN-10: 0156551160
- amazon
Technical Stuff - unknown
Many of the following books have fallen into relative obscurity and will be hard to track down. Some can be had for a penny, others for over a hundred dollars. As time allows GoodBooksforKids will add to this database, but we don't believe we'll ever find reading level information for these offerings. For right now, you can click on the titles and see what info Amazon.com has to offer.
* The Small Ones (1976)
* Hitting, Pitching, and Running (1976)
* Martin Luther King: The Man Who Climbed the Mountain (1976)
* Dribbling, Shooting, and Scoring (1976)
* Careers in an Airport (1977)
* Tackling, Running, and Kicking (1977)
* Riding, Roping, and Bulldogging (1977)
* Farm: A History And Celebration of the American Farmer (1977)
* Running, Jumping, and Throwing (1978)
* Successful Home Repair: When Not to Call the Contractor (1978)
* Forehanding and Backhanding (1978)
* Hiking and Backpacking (1978)
* Downhill, Hotdogging and Cross-Country (1979)
* Facing Off, Checking and Goaltending (1979)
* Launching, Floating High and Landing (1979)
* Pummeling, Falling and Getting Up-Sometimes (1979)
* Track, Enduro and Motocross (1979)
* Canoeing, Kayacking, and Rafting (1979)
* Going Very Fast in a Circle (1979)
* Athletics: Focus On Sport (1980) currently unavailable
* Ice Hockey: Focus On Sport (1980)
* Motor Cycling: Focus On Sport (1980)
* Motor Racing: Focus On Sport (1980)
* Skiing: Focus On Sport (1980)
* Tennis: Focus On Sport (1980)
* T.V. and Movie Animals (1980) (with Art Browne, Jr) currently unavailable
* Money Saving Home Repair Guide: Successful Home Improvement Series (1981) * Sailing: From Jibs to Jibing (1981)
* Beat the System: A Survival Guide (1982)
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