Dogsong

Dogsong, first published in 1985, is a young adult novel by American author Gary Paulsen, who wrote Dogsong while he was training his dog sled team for his first Iditarod run. It was awarded the Newbery Honor Award in 1986. Paulsen, who was a popular author of young adult and children’s contemporary literature, is best known for books in the coming-of-age genre, often dealing with surviving the wilderness and embracing nature. He authored more than 200 novels, as well as short stories, plays, and magazine articles including Northwind, The Voyage of the Frog, The Monument, and Masters of Disaster.

Paulsen was an avid outdoorsman who divided his time between Alaska, New Mexico, Minnesota, and the Pacific. He was author of three Newbery Honor titles—Dogsong, Hatchet, and The Winter Room—and the 1997 winner of the American Library Association’s Margaret Edwards Award for his lifetime work in writing for teens.

While the book uses the term “Eskimo” throughout to describe the protagonist’s indigenous Arctic culture, this guide instead uses the term “Inuit,” in line with modern usage.