audiobooks

Brian's Winter is a book based on a real life situation. If you like to read realistic and survival books, Brian's Winter is a great book for you!
Brian Robeson is a 13-year-old boy and is stuck in the wilderness for over 4 months because his plane crashed. All he is left with is the emergency pack from the plane and his thoughts and ways of surviving. Hunting, building shelter and a fire, making clothing out of animal skin, making better bows and arrows, listening to natures signals, and playing the visiting game, are all ways this thirteen year old boy survives. Coming up with the "visiting game" was very clever for Brian to do. When playing the visiting game you are to imagine that a relative, friend, spouse, rock star, whoever, is in front of you. You then talk to them and tell them how you are feeling and what is going through your mind at that time. I think this was very helpful to Brian because it helped him cope with what he was going through.
Being at the age 13, and stuck in the wilderness all alone may lead to some difficulties as well. Brian often makes the mistake by ignoring nature's calls. The weather often changes and Brian notices it, but doesn't really do much about it. He also makes the mistake of trying to become friends with some of the animals. He makes one friend named Betty, she's a skunk and then tries to make another friend, but this is a big mistake. Brian tries to become friends with a bear and it doesn't work out the way he wants it to. Brian also makes the mistake by trying to build a fire in his shelter when it is airtight.
On a scale from 1-10, I rate this book a 9. It gives you a lot of details of what Brian sees, feels, hears, and different conflicts Brian has. It just amazes me how a 13-year-old boy can think of so many different ways to survive on his own. What would you do if you were stuck in the wilderness?

This book offers an alternate ending to Paulsen's previous book, Hatchet. The story disregards Brian Robeson's rescue in Hatchet and continues his story of survival in the Canadian wilderness. Brian has found a survival kit on the plane that gives him more than just a hatchet to use for survival. However, Brian still has to be creative in finding ways to survive.

His days are filled with hunting, gathering wood, and doing what it takes to survive. When Brian realizes winter is quickly approaching, he knows to survive the winter he must have shelter, warmer clothes, and food. Brian begins to make preparations for the coming of freezing weather. Brian must also survive encounters with many wild animals, such as wolves, bears, elks, and even a skunk. While many things go wrong, Brian continues to learn from his surroundings, and uses that knowledge to survive.

Readers will find Brian creative and his adventures in the wild fun to read. While this book will probably be mostly enjoyed by boys, it can be enjoyed by girls, too. The best recommendation I can give, perhaps comes from my 13 year old son, who rarely reads for enjoyment. He only reads when the book totally captures him. He picked up Brian's Winter while stuck in the backseat of the car during a two hour trip and began to read it. He kept saying, "Mom, this book is really good!" I had to make him give me the book, so I could get it read and reviewed for a class assignment. That tells me this is a book that is worth reading and is an excellent book to keep in my classroom library.

This was a great book. I loved that we were able to find out about Brian after the summer. Gary Paulsen responded well to his readers comments.