Paulsen’s stories are truly fascinating. I was already a dog person but have a new appreciation after this quick read. It’s amazing how many different kinds of dogs have impacted his life in so many interesting ways. The story of his year with Ike—and the reason why such a well-trained dog had no obligations to another human at the time—was my favorite. Its ending was remarkable and heartwarming.

Tags:
Memoir
Dogs
Sled dogs, farm dogs, street dogs, family dogs
Childhood
Absentee parents
Life abroad
Alaska
Minnesota
The Philippines
Bullies
Friendship
Luck
Life and death
Feel-good stories
Sadness

One of the best books I've read in months. Not just for animal lovers.

4-6 NONFICTION
Title: My life in dog years Author: Gary Paulsen

How would you describe the plot? This book takes readers through each book Gary Paulsen has owned throughout his life.

How would you describe the characters? A variety of dogs that Gary has owned throughout his entire life.

What is the main conflict? There are multiple small conflicts as he tells the story of each dog.

What is the main theme? Dogs as companions

How would you describe the author’s style? Immersive and heartwarming

What point of view does the author use? first person

Share your thoughts on the design and layout of the book.
This book is colorful and fun to read while also being full of facts that students can learn from.

What lessons could you teach with this text? This would be a great book for kids to read and then use as a creative writing project. They could write about their own animals and how they impacted their lives.

Please provide at least two of the Arkansas State Standards you would use in a lesson.

W.5.3 Text Types and Purpose. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

W.5.1 Text Types and Purposes. Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting the opinion with reasons and information.

What is your overall assessment of the book? This book is a heartwarming look into the author's life that can provide students with a great example on how to write creatively.

this book was pretty good i just would have added more dogs.

I imagine all of us dog lovers (or cat or horse lovers) could write a book like this about the special dogs in our life, but Paulsen actually did it in his wonderfully humorous way. I wish this guy had been publishing juvenile books when I was a kid, but finding him later in life is good too, because he assumes his audience is intelligent enough to understand. Not as smart as some of these dogs however.

Novels about dogs that I've read always involved a great positive impact on the protagonist that rejuvenates them on life. This novel is like an anthology series of this same aspect with varying degrees of positive impact. This is such a great way to frame someone's life, and I never lost interest in any of the stories. A great book for dog lovers, it encapsulates varying experiences someone has with their pupper.

Picked this us right after I finished Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod. I love Paulsen's writing and this was just sweet geared more towards children. It still made me chuckle a few times. Quick read for adults.

I love this book so much, and the more I think about it the more I love it. Writers are excellent observers and at assigning/interpreting a significance to life events. No one showcases this quality better than Gary Paulsen in this autobiography of sorts. He is a master storyteller who speaks with impact and meaning in the simplest language. I feel like some of the earlier stories capture a very specific time in American culture...an odd, unstable time which is fascinating. These stories have stuck with me since I was a very little girl. If you are only familiar with Paulsen’s fiction, I highly recommend you pick up some of his non-fiction. I would almost say it’s better than his fiction.

There is nothing wrong with this book. We all know Gary Paulsen is a great writer, and you have to love a dog lover! However, I started to read this aloud to my fifth graders and we only made it through the second chapter. I thought it would be a bit more fun-loving and heartwarming. It is, like the first story about Cookie. But as we progressed into the second story, he talks about his life in the Philippines and how he (as a 7 year old) witnessed people strangling dogs to eat them, and rummaging around human skeletons left from WWII. Then I perused the book a bit more, and saw mention of his alcoholic parents, being a street kid, detailed accounts of hunting/shooting animals ... it's just not what I want to read to my class. Perhaps we are a bit too "California" to relate to his adventures. In any case, I applaud Paulson's love for dogs, but this book is a little too cringe-worthy for me.

Best-selling, award winning YA author Gary Paulsen has always been at his best when in his element - in the wilderness, away from the hustle of the big city, and side by side with his beloved dogs. With their own unique personalities, dogs are more than man’s best friends. Dogs have heart and heartfelt feelings. Some have a sense of humor, sneaky plans, comedic instincts, but always undying loyalty. Ultimately, readers can only draw the conclusion that dogs are just like humans, only better.

Gary Paulsen, penulis buku 'Hatchet', khusus menceritakan kisah hidupnya bersama anjing² kesayangannya di buku ini. Kecintaannya terhadap hewan yang satu ini bener² bikin saya kagum dan berpikir, "kok bisa sih suka miara anjing?" secara saya paling tidak suka hewan peliharaan. Mo itu ikan mas, kucing, apalagi anjing.

Tapi di buku yang dia tulis dengan gaya bertutur yang asik ini, anjing bagi dia benar² 'a man's best friend'. Tiap chapter menceritakan anjing yang berbeda dengan kisahnya masing². Jelas tampak bagaimana dia sangat-sangat-sangat mencintai anjing²nya.

Saya tertawa dan terharu ketika membaca kisah Snowball, anjing pertama yang dia dapatkan ketika dia berusia 7 tahun. Waktu itu dia dan keluarganya sedang di Philipina, dan dia melihat seekor anak anjing. Dia langsung menggendong anak anjing tersebut, dan berkata ke ibunya:

"This one," I said. "I want this one."
"This one," I said again. "I want to save this one."
"Save?" Mother asked
"They eat them," I said
"Dogs?"
I nodded. "I want to save this one and take it home."
She looked from me to the headman, back to me, then nodded and turned back to the headman. "How much?"

Dan ibunya yang hobby menawar langsung tawar-tawaran harga sama pemilik anjing. Jadi mikir, ternyata nggak cuma di daerah tertentu aja di Indonesia anjing dijadiin sop or sate, di negara lain juga ada :p

Buat para penyayang anjing, baca deh buku ini, seru! Tapi gak sampe bikin saya jadi pingin miara anjing siihh *teteuup* :D

Gary Paulsen's "My Life In Dog Years," is a very captivating novel written about Paulsen and his K9 companions over the years. Gary fills the pages with stories about each of his friends. There are several dogs, and with each, he describes the personality of the pet and the attributes it possessed to make such a memorable impact on Gary's life. Each dog has a very specific story. Paulsen includes his dogs: Josh who a border collie and the smartest dog in the world; Derrek who was the strongest dog and acted as a bodyguard; Snowball who was his first dog; and Cookie who was a dog that saved his life. This biography would be good to introduce to students who don't know what a biography is. I wouldn't use it during a specific lesson outside of this purpose. For core related lessons, books about specific people in history would be more useful. This book does a great job of showing students what a biography is and how the information should be presented. The book is also very engaging to students because it is focused on the dogs. Everyone loves dogs! Students will love to read this book and learn about not only Gary Paulsen, but his wonderful companions.