Woodsong

Published in 1991, the adventure biography Woodsong recounts novelist Gary Paulsen’s experiences as a dogsled driver, including his participation in the Iditarod race across Alaska. He describes the hard-won lessons he learns, the strange and wondrous things he witnesses, and the love and admiration he feels for the dogs he trains with.

Three-time Newbury Honor winner Paulsen wrote more than 200 works, most of them for middle-grade and young adult readers. His books often tell coming-of-age survival adventures. Woodsong describes many incidents that taught him the true meaning of wilderness.

The 2012 ebook edition forms the basis for this study guide. Readers are warned that some episodes in the story contain extreme violence involving wild animals.

Summary

Author Gary Paulsen lives an outdoor life, including lots of hunting, until age 40, when he witnesses a pack of wolves attack a deer and begin to devour it while it’s still standing. He realizes he doesn’t really understand the wilderness.

Paulsen begins a sledding career in Minnesota after the state hires him to catch beavers that swarm through the region and cause havoc. He learns dogsledding by doing; along the way, he makes painful mistakes and discovers profound lessons from nature.