Woodsong
Encyclopedia
Woodsong is a book of memoirs by Gary Paulsen
. It is divided into two halves. The first half consists of Paulsen's early experiences running sled dogs in Wisconsin and then in Alaska, and the latter half describes the trials he faces in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
kill and devour a live doe in the woods. This event revealed the raw, unfabricated realities of nature to him. He then recounts how he was once a beaver trapper in Minnesota
, earning barely enough money from the job to support his wife and son, and that there was no method of transportation to aid him. His neighbors assisted him by giving him a few older sled dog
s, which he gradually learns to properly run, and begins running the trapline with them. Paulsen recounts many incidents he has undergone with his dogs on their runs, including times he has been carried to safety by his sled dogs after breaking his knee on the trail, became violently ill in the midst of extreme cold conditions, and a variety of mysterious happenings in the Alaskan wilderness. In all of their adventures, he bonds closely with his dogs, particularly one named "Storm". Storm was an ideal dog that taught Paulsen many life values, including that of death. His experience running his sled dogs taught him much about nature and life.
Part One closes, and Part .Two begins with Paulsen entering a team of fifteen of his dogs in the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, an approximately 1,153 mile-long sled dog race from Anchorage, Alaska
to Nome, Alaska
. The race proves to be long and arduous. Extreme cold conditions and difficult terrain put both he and his team to the test. He is repeatedly afflicted by lifelike hallucinations caused by extreme sleep deprivation, such as a man with a trench coat talking about educational grants, and hallucinating about a man hallucinating. But Gary is spurned onward by the beauty of the race and his devotion to the team. During the race, Gary experiences a unique feeling when he is running with his dogs. After nearly seventeen days, he at last crosses the finish line in Nome. He places last in the race, but the accomplishment and adventure is all that matters to him.
Gary Paulsen
Gary James Paulsen is an American writer who writes many young adult coming of age stories about the wilderness. He is the author of more than 200 books , 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all primarily for young adults and teens.-Biography:Gary Paulsen was born in...
. It is divided into two halves. The first half consists of Paulsen's early experiences running sled dogs in Wisconsin and then in Alaska, and the latter half describes the trials he faces in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Plot summary
Paulsen opens his book with a vivid retelling of a story in which he watched brush wolvesCoyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
kill and devour a live doe in the woods. This event revealed the raw, unfabricated realities of nature to him. He then recounts how he was once a beaver trapper in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, earning barely enough money from the job to support his wife and son, and that there was no method of transportation to aid him. His neighbors assisted him by giving him a few older sled dog
Sled dog
Sled dogs, known also as sleigh man dogs, sledge dogs, or sleddogs, are highly trained types of dogs that are used to pull a dog sled, a wheel-less vehicle on runners also called a sled or sleigh, over snow or ice, by means of harnesses and lines.Sled dogs have become a popular winter recreation...
s, which he gradually learns to properly run, and begins running the trapline with them. Paulsen recounts many incidents he has undergone with his dogs on their runs, including times he has been carried to safety by his sled dogs after breaking his knee on the trail, became violently ill in the midst of extreme cold conditions, and a variety of mysterious happenings in the Alaskan wilderness. In all of their adventures, he bonds closely with his dogs, particularly one named "Storm". Storm was an ideal dog that taught Paulsen many life values, including that of death. His experience running his sled dogs taught him much about nature and life.
Part One closes, and Part .Two begins with Paulsen entering a team of fifteen of his dogs in the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, an approximately 1,153 mile-long sled dog race from Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
to Nome, Alaska
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
. The race proves to be long and arduous. Extreme cold conditions and difficult terrain put both he and his team to the test. He is repeatedly afflicted by lifelike hallucinations caused by extreme sleep deprivation, such as a man with a trench coat talking about educational grants, and hallucinating about a man hallucinating. But Gary is spurned onward by the beauty of the race and his devotion to the team. During the race, Gary experiences a unique feeling when he is running with his dogs. After nearly seventeen days, he at last crosses the finish line in Nome. He places last in the race, but the accomplishment and adventure is all that matters to him.