Although he was never a dedicated student, Paulsen developed a passion for reading at an early age. After a librarian gave him a book to read—along with his own library card—he was hooked. He began spending hours alone in the basement of his apartment building, reading one book after another. Running away from home at the age of 14 and traveling with a carnival, Paulsen acquired a taste for adventure. A youthful summer of rigorous chores on a farm; jobs as an engineer, construction worker, ranch hand, truck driver, and sailor; and two rounds of the 1,180-mile Alaskan dog sled race, the Iditarod; have provided ample material from which he creates his stories. Paulsen and his wife, Ruth Wright Paulsen, an artist who has illustrated several of his books, divide their time between a home in New Mexico and a boat in the Pacific.
Series
Books
Successful Home Repair
When Not to Call the Contractor
1978
Alida's Song
1999
Iarna Lui Brian
2021
Hatchet
1987
The Monument
1991
Murphy's Gold
1988
Dunc's Halloween
1992
Tucket's Gold
1999
Amos's Killer Concert Caper
1994
The Foxman
1977
Amos and the Alien
1994
The Schernoff Discoveries
1997
Brian's Return
1999
Dunc and Amos Hit the Big Top
1993
Thunder Valley
1997
Dunc Breaks the Record
1992
Captive!
1995
Meteorite Track 291
1979
Brian's Hunt
2003
My Life in Dog Years
1997
Dunc and the Flaming Ghost
1992
The Night the White Deer Died
1978
Gone to the Woods
Surviving a Lost Childhood
2021
Harris and Me
1993
The Time Hackers
2005
Dunc and the Scam Artists
1993
Mudshark
2009
The Boy Who Owned the School
1990
The Rifle
1995
Skydive
1996
Gary Paulsen's World of Adventure
Danger on Midnight River AND Grizzly
1999
Compkill
1981
The Winter Room
1989
Sarny
1997
The Treasure of El Patron
1996
The Spitball Gang
1980
Soldier's Heart
Being the Story of the Enlistment and Due Service of the Boy Charley Goddard in the First Minnesota Volunteers
1998
The White Fox Chronicles
2000
The River
1991
The Grass Eaters
1976
The Wild Culpepper Cruise
1993
Murphy
1987
My Life in Dog Years
Ike
1997
Sailing
From Jibs to Jibing
1981
Winterdance
The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod
1994
Treasure Ship
1999
Vote
The Theory, Practice, and Destructive Properties of Politics
2013
The Gorgon Slayer
1995
Full of Hot Air
Launching, Floating High, and Landing
1993
The Haymeadow
1992
The Island
1988
The Cookcamp
1991
Flight of the Hawk
World of Adventure Series, Book 18
1998
The Legend of Bass Reeves
2006
Project
A Perfect World
1996
Martin Luther King
The Man Who Climbed the Mountain
1976
The Beet Fields
Memories of a Sixteenth Summer
2000
Canoe Days
1999
The Green Recruit
1978
The Voyage of the Frog
1989
Amos Binder, Secret Agent (Culpepper #28)
1996
Notes from the Dog
2009
The Transall Saga
1998
Dunc and Amos on Thin Ice (#29)
1997
The Tent
1995
The CB Radio Caper
1977
Kill Fee
1990
Woods Runner
2009
Dunc and Amos Go to the Dogs
1996
My Life in Dog Years
Fred
1997
Prince Amos
1994
Amos and the Chameleon Caper
1996
Tucket's Ride
1997
Culpepper's Cannon
1992
Call Me Francis Tucket
1995
The Curse ofthe Cobra
1977
Puppies, Dogs, and Blue Northers
Reflections on Being Raised by a Pack of Sled Dogs
1996
Amos Gets Married
1995
Canyons
1990
Dunc Gets Tweaked
1992
Nightjohn
1993
Masters of Disaster
2010
Super Amos
1997
Curse of the Ruins
1998
Lawn Boy
2007
Six Kids and a Stuffed Cat
2016
Crush
The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Love
2012
Brian's Winter
1996
Dunc's Doll
1992
Dancing Carl
1983
Christmas Sonata
1992
Family Ties
2014
Amos and the Vampire
1996
This Side of Wild
Mutts, Mares, and Laughing Dinosaurs
2015
The Fourteenth Summer
1992
Rodomonte's Revenge
1994
Tiltawhirl John
1977
Hatchet and The Return
2005
Sisters/Hermanas
1993
Madonna Stories
1882
The Car
1994
Paintings from the Cave
Three Novellas
2011
Tracker
1978
Danger on Midnight River
1995
Winterkill
1976
Flat Broke
The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Greed
2011
Worksong
1997
World of Adventure
2002
Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day
2004
Popcorn Days and Buttermilk Nights
1983
Dogteam
1993
Murphy's War
1990
Murphy's Stand
1993
Mr. Tucket
1994
Dunc's Undercover Christmas
1993
Road Trip
2013
Amos Goes Bananas
1995
The Sweeper
1981
Grizzly
1997
The Implosion Effect
1976
Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass
1992
Father Water, Mother Woods
Essays on Fishing and Hunting in the North Woods
1994
The Legend of Red Horse Cavern
1994
The Amazing Life of Birds
The Twenty-Day Puberty Journal of Duane Homer Leech
2006
Zero to Sixty
The Motorcycle Journey of a Lifetime
1997
Caught by the Sea
My Life on Boats
2001
The Glass Cafe
Or the Stripper and the State; How My Mother Started a War with the System That Made Us Kind of Rich and a Little Bit Famous
2003
Time Benders
1997
Eastern Sun, Winter Moon
An Autobiographical Odyssey
1993
Fishbone's Song
2016
Lawn Boy Returns
2010
The Crossing
1987
Coach Amos
1994
Northwind
2022
All Aboard Stage 5 Traditional Tales
Caribbean Tale: The Flying Turtle
2026
How Angel Peterson Got His Name
2003
The Seventh Crystal
1996
Money saving home repair guide
1981
Hook 'Em Snotty
1995
Dunc and the Greased Sticks of Doom
1994
Murphy's Herd
1989
The Case of the Dirty Bird
1992
Liar, Liar
The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Deception
2011
The Creature of Black Water Lake
1997
Murphy's Trail
1996
Tucket's Home
1998
Woodsong
1990
Night Rituals
1989
Dogsong
1985
The Tortilla Factory
1995
Canoeing, kayaking, and rafting
1979
Hitting, Pitching & Running Maybe
1976
Escape from Fire Mountain
1995
How to Train Your Dad
2021
Field Trip
2015
Guts
The True Stories Behind Hatchet and the Brian Books
2001
The Rock Jockeys
1995
La canzone dei ghiacci
2025
Murphy's Ambush
1995
The Winter
2025
Sentries
1986
Ice Race
1997
Beat the System
A Survival Guide
1982
The Quilt
2004
